2012 Xavier Vignon Cuvee Anonyme Châteauneuf-du-Pape 750 ml

Torch-Bearer of a Monumental Vintage

Amidst the greatness of the 2012 vintage in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Xavier Vignon’s “Anonyme” shines, earning 95 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, which raved about its “thrilling purity and focus.” Quality like this in an under-$50 package simply doesn’t come around very often. Compared to the other leaders of the vintage — Beaucastel’s “Hommage à Jacques Perrin” ($530), Clos Saint-Jean Châteauneuf du Pape Deus-Ex Machina ($235) — Xavier’s “full bodied, ripe and textured” beauty, delivers on another front as well: your reviews, which average 4.35 out of 5 stars. Lock into as much of the 2012 Anonyme — the torch-bearer of Châteauneuf that over delivers — as you can.  

The beginning of the 2012 growing season was frighteningly cold. In Xavier Vignon’s old-vine “Anonyme” vineyard, yields were down considerably. But if the vines were well behind at the beginning of the summer, they surged ahead during the very hot months that followed. Then August brought much needed rain and cleansing winds — reminiscent of 2010. “His 2012s are certainly up with some of the top wines of the vintage as well,” declared The Wine Advocate.

As Xavier told us, the comparisons drawn by many critics — including Parker — to the voluptuous 2007s were on the money as well. He concluded, “the 2012 ‘Anonyme’ is a logical mix of the two greatest vintages since 1978 — 2010 and 2007.

— Wine Access Wine Team