2001 Xavier Vignon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Ange

Community Tasting Notes (12) Avg Score: 92.2 points

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  1/21/2023 - WindFlyer Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Rhone reds tasting: this is extraordinary… as in both different and excellent.
  
  medium to deep ruby with garnet rim in the glass. it was a bit tight to uncoil and give up its heady bouquet of sour cherries, fig, blood orange peel, pomegranate, leather, pepper, truffle, charcuterie, and spices. it was also a bit reticent in the mouth with a soft fruit attack that rises like a tide and slowly starts giving layer upon layer of flavour. the freshness and the tannins are very well integrated and give the wine a delightful fluidity that carries to a long finish with a surprising chocolate note.
  
  the wine manages to be familiar and unique, mature and fresh, and traditional and modern all at once… it may be in a somewhat closed phase at the moment, but it's likely to be even more rewarding with a bit more time.
  
  14.5% AbV/ i have no info on the varietals used or their proportion, but those matured for nine years before blending in 2010. once blended, the wine continued to age in barrels submerged in wine (!) for another nine years and was bottled in 2019.
  
  perhaps now it just needs to complete nine years in bottle? (to drink in 2028!)

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  12/10/2022 - jvphoto Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Dark fruit, tagine spice, mushroom, leather. Doesn't seem 21 years old.
  Love these late release wines from Xavier. 2001 was his son Agne's birth year - after 10 years the wine was blended and then remained in barrels submerged in wine until 2019 when it was bottled.

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  8/28/2022 - BadOyster wrote: 89 Points

  Solid aged mature flavors with meat and licorice. But ultimately not giving me either the breadth or depth I’d expect at this price. Hard pass on buying any more.

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  11/24/2021 - Lyonspat13 Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Tasted over two days - poured a glass and left the rest in the decanter for an hour on day 1.
  
  Medium ruby fading to pale ruby off center and a bit orange around the rim. On the nose, after 15 minutes dark cherries / kirsch lept out of the glass, however this openness was short lived and in another 30 min (and through day 2) the nose was a lot more subdued (which may have been this shutting down) however some cherry, spice, pepper, licorice persisted when we went looking for it. On the palate some cherry (not a lot of fruit), acid, something a little funky but pleasant (I thought mushrooms my wife said earth), some tannin, finish wasn’t all that long.
  
  Overall I like this this wine just fine (and generally a fan of Grenache/CDP) but don’t know exactly what to make of it. Maybe I shouldn’t score it? I bought a couple out of curiousity as the story and vinification was unusual / interesting. I was hoping for a more interesting and open nose and a longer finish, but I have another and I’m thinking about forgetting it for a while and seeing what happens.

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  10/14/2021 - VinoCast Likes this wine: 90 Points

  After 1hr decant at cellar temperature:
  Nose: wet wood pulp, mild vanilla, dried herbs, earthy
  Palate: medium to high acidity, chalk, cherry

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