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Member Reviews:
 Spectacular when aged a few years
I should have waited longer before I opened the first bottle upon release. Initially tightly would and the flavors just not developed enough. Waited a year and the change has been magnificent! Fruit purity without being overly sweet, silky tannins, a classic. Sad I'm nearly out!
-- Brian from Conshohocken, PA
Xavier
Very good nose, very heady and I am expecting it will age well.
-- Mark from Tacoma, WA
Terrific Chateauneuf du Pape
A delicious, mouth-filling wine. Age will benefit the wine, but for the impatient folks, a couple of hours will definitely open and soften the wine.
-- Jay from Temecula, CA
Lived up to its billing
Aerated with a Vinturi. Clear, bright fruit already; looking forward to seeing how it develops over time.
-- Michael from Arlington, VA
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94 Points and "Aging Effortlessly"
Had we not hit the top cellars early, the first report in The Wine Advocate would have locked us out of the southern Rhone vintage Parker called "the greatest from top to bottom in my 30 years." Despite the weak dollar of 2009, RP's skyscraper scores quickly emptied the cellars of Chateauneuf of their voluptuous 2007s. We got our fair share, even managing to lock up what we believed to be the top bargain of the vintage.
When a sommelier friend in Avignon first introduced us to enologist Xavier Vignon, no one on this side of the pond knew anything about the brilliant enologist or his ethereal, gorgeously sculpted old vine reds. We tasted a jaw dropping 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, an old vine blend of dark, floral Grenache, plump Syrah and wildly aromatic, low pH, 75-year-old vine Mourvedre. At the release price, Vignon's 2007 was in a class by itself. Still, without a rating from Parker, Tanzer or the Wine Spectator, we moved ahead cautiously -- locking into just 100 cases after bottling.
Those disappeared on WineAccess in mid-2009 (at just $34.99 on cases) before The Wine Advocate review was published. But once Parker's 94pt review hit the web, describing Xavier's sensational 2007 as having "stunning power, opulence, body, richness and purity," we knew we were in trouble. The winery was flooded with importer calls and emails from Norway to Tokyo.
Not long after, we learned that Xavier Vignon is quite taken with our little website. He reads our offers, but mostly, he watches your ratings on his wines as they stream in. It wasn't lost on the frenetic winemaker that the initial ratings weren't as he might have hoped. Even if Parker had written that this one would 'age effortlessly for 15+ years,' members weren't waiting. This extravagant, wonderfully wound-up 2007 beauty needed a rest -- particularly with the healthy percentage of ancient vine Mourvedre. Xavier kept logging in, watching the ratings climb with bottle age.
By the end of 2011, over 140 members had scored the wine, a bunch tacking on stellar reviews. Little by little, as Vignon expected, the ratings spiked, finally reaching 4.15 stars out of 5 -- with an astounding 56 buyers rating this one a full five stars.
Xavier called on December 25, 2011, to wish us happy holidays and thank us for all we'd done. Then, Vignon told us he had a little present for us. Remember that 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape that Parker -- and WineAccess members -- were so worked up about?
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Tasting Notes
2007 Xavier Vignon Chateauneuf-du-Pape
"The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre and the rest Syrah, Cinsault, Vaccaresecarese and Counoise. The Grenache comes from 90-year-old vines, the Mourvedre from 75-year-old vines, and the rest from vines of at least 25 years of age. The Grenache is aged in tank and the Syrah and Mourvedre are kept in small oak casks. The 2007, which tips the scales at 15% alcohol, exhibits an extraordinary bouquet of garrigue, smoked meats, black cherries, blackberries, licorice and Asian soy. With stunning power, opulence, body, richness and purity, this brilliant Chateauneuf du Pape will age effortlessly for 15+ years."
94 points -- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
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