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Parker's 92-94+ Point "Sleeper of the Vintage"
No cojones. That's all we have to say. It used to be that importers traveled, tasted and made a call. Not so anymore apparently. Ever since times got tough, from Sweden to Rome, London to NYC, the importers just won't take a shot, fearful of getting stuck with inventory they can't move.
There's no other way to explain what happened last summer when we, and hundreds of other buyers descended upon Chateauneuf and Gigondas, fueled by early reports on the astounding concentration and superb structure of the greatest 2010s. Everyone tasted, but unknown to us, few made a call. Fortunately, we were among the courageous ones.
Of course, none of those who initially passed had written off a harvest that most in the region reported trumped the voluptuous 2007. Not at all. They were just waiting. Waiting until the last days of 2011 when Robert Parker would weigh in. If RP's thumbs were up, the importers would order. Thumbs down and they'd stay on the sideline. Bad call.
First, yields were down nearly 30% chez Xavier Vignon in 2010, trimmed in a single night by a spring frost. Second, when that exhaustive Wine Advocate report hit the web on October 31st, Parker didn't simply give the thumbs up, he suggested that many 2010s would outpoint the 2007s -- sending importers across the globe into a frenzy.
It was damn near impossible to wipe the smirks off our faces. Our commitments had been made 3 months before all hell broke loose. Dozens of emails flooded in from our supplier winemakers who wanted to share their electronic brush-offs of Johnny-come-lately importers. Best of all was the email from Parker's newest and greatest southern Rhone darling, Xavier Vignon.
"15 emails on November 1st, less than 24 hours after The Wine Advocate came out. We told all of them that the wine was the same before the rating as after! Your allocation is waiting. Pas de probleme."
For those of you who have laid your hands on a few bottles of Xavier's brilliant 2007s or that leviathan 96-point 2009 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Anonyme," you know all about the southern Rhone's greatest enologist's deft hand with century-old vine clusters. But if the secret to Xavier's brilliant '07s and '09s was old vine, low pH Mourvedre, in the highly structured, equally concentrated 2010 vintage, it was ancient vine Grenache that stole the show.
The Wine Advocate heaped lavish reviews and big scores on the greatest estates of Chateauneuf. Beaucastel, Giraud, Beaurenard (Cuvee Boisrenard) -- all at $50-60/bottle -- shined as they rarely have before. But not one would outpoint the bottle that Parker called the great "Sleeper of the Vintage," Xavier Vignon's 92-94+ point 2010 Gigondas.
The 2010 Xavier Vignon Gigondas was drawn from 100-year-old Grenache that barely eked out two tons per acre of miraculously concentrated, finely delineated small berry clusters. The aromas are of purest wild raspberries, dark and piercing. Tremendously concentrated on the attack, packed with small, crushed red and black fruits, silken in texture, yet sculpted to age gracefully past 2020.
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Tasting Notes
2010 Xavier Vignon Gigondas
"A sleeper of the vintage, the blockbuster 2010 Gigondas is a spectacular effort from this appellation. Fashioned from 100% Grenache (somewhat unusual), it exhibits a deep ruby/purple color in addition to copious amounts of concentrated red and black fruits intermixed with hints of wet rocks and spice. Consume it over the next decade."
92-94+ points -- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate (October 31, 2011)
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*Important Shipping Information
- This is a Pre-Arrival Offer: Weather permitting, wine will begin shipping upon arrival, in October, 2012.
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By law, wine may ONLY be shipped to the following states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, KS, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY.
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