Xavier Vignon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Anonyme 2016
How about this little nugget… 59% OFF!?! That’s one bonafide Ulysses S. Grant note that stays in YOUR pocket ($50, for those of you like me that don’t carry that kind of cash ever)! But, the wine! THE WINE! Xavier Vins! Châteauneuf-du-Pape! Epic 2016 vintage! So. Much. YES!!!
Let’s start with the name… “Cuvée Anonyme” is Xavier’s ingenious method of covering his backside. If you don’t already know Xavier…he’s a bit of a phenom. Big-time CdP producers like Raymond Usseglio, Grand Veneur, Beaurenard, La Nerthe, and others all hired him to be their winemaker – making cuvees that fetch just under $200 a bottle. The sacred plots scattered across Châteauneuf are exactly where Xavier is pulling fruit to craft this under-the-radar beauty! All secrecy and double-secret-probation talks aside… here’s what we CAN tell you…apart from how much this wine rocks!
This wine drinks like top-notch, historic estate-worthy Châteauneuf-du-Pape… for a price nowhere near what those estates command these days. Xavier’s winemaking here is modern, but with access to vines that are over 100 years old, and still rooted in tradition. The blend is an amalgamation of grenache, vaccarèse, counoise, mourvèdre, cinsault, terret noir, and muscardin – though other than knowing grenache is by far the dominant ingredient here, even Xavier himself couldn’t break it down precisely. Taste hedonistically rich and powerful flavors of blackberries, red plums, raspberries, lavender, roasted sage, mocha, blueberries, graphite…and…AND! This is luscious and full, with powerful fruit, intense spice, complex, and layered with impeccable balance. This will age a decade for sure… but really, why wait?!?! At nearly 60% OFF… go, go, GO!!!
Xavier Vignon has inherited two fundamental notions: the value of a job well done and the ability to transmit. They prove to be a driving force throughout his career. The time has come for him to express himself in his own name because Xavier Vignon wants above all to share with all-overs, neophytes or enlightened, the fruit of his passion: his wines.
Technical Details
Country: FranceRegion: Rhone Valley
Appellation: Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Varietal: Red Blends
Winemaker: Xavier Vignon
Aging/Cooperage: Aging for more than 15 months, 25% in French oak barrels (Allier - Tronçais), 25% in wooden tun, 25% in half-casks, 25% in concrete tanks.
Alcohol: 15.00%
About The Producer
Oenologist consultant for twenty years in Chateauneuf du Pape and Southern Rhone Valley, Xavier Vignon is considered one of the most prominent consultants in the region. He assembles his own wines under his signature by adding a touch of modernity to the sincere expression of the Rhone terroirs. Each vintage Xavier is the fruit of a meticulous work and a rigorous selection. The diversity of the Rhone terroirs, combined with the freedom offered by small structure, allows him, vintage after vintage, to select the wines that will allow Xavier's blends to combine concentration, minerality, and nobility of the fruit.
Pairing Suggestions
Lamb, Pork, Poultry
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