Exclusive: Rosenthal, Rare Wine Co. Join Forces Under Vieux Vins Group

Fine wine importers Rosenthal Wine Merchant (RWM) and Rare Wine Co. (RWC) are partnering up as fellow holdings of the new Vieux Vins Group. Vieux Vins, led by industry veteran David Townsend—formerly of The Country Vintner and Winebow—is backed by investment group Incline Equity, and previously held Rosenthal Wine Merchant as its primary investment. Now, San Francisco-based Rare Wine Co. will also join Vieux Vins. Financials on the new tie-up weren’t disclosed.

“Rosenthal Wine Merchant founder Neal Rosenthal and Rare Wine Co.’s Mannie Berk have forged similar paths over long careers of profound dedication to the fine wine trade,” said Townsend. “Their shared values have acted as a foundation for this next phase of collaboration between RWM and RWC.”

Rare Wine Co. brings a fine wine portfolio that includes producers such as Giacomo Conterno, Pingus, Bartolo Mascarello, Alvaro Palacios, Jacques Selosse, and Domaine Huet. According to the companies, its range lines up in a complementary fashion with that of Rosenthal, which operates in 45 states and represents more than 140 estates, weighted toward France and Italy.

“Neal Rosenthal is one of the very few wine importers with whom we’d ever consider joining forces, not only because of his highly principled approach, but because of the richness of his book and the fact that there is so little overlap,” said Rare Wine Co. founder Mannie Berk.

The alignment under Vieux Vins is intended to allow Rosenthal and Rare to leverage their respective strengths and widen their impact across the fine wine market, with Vieux Vins providing infrastructure and financial backing to fuel growth in the years ahead.—Daniel Marsteller

Tagged : Rare Wine Co., Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Vieux Vins Group

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