NV Xavier Vignon Côtes du Rhône

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 89 points

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  11/22/2020 - caspernick wrote: 89 Points

  The second wine of the 12th virtual wine tasting was this NV blend of Grenache and Syrah. Semi opaque in the glass it had a medium purple shade. The tasters noted chocolate, white pepper, Kirsch, marshmallow s'mores, dark cherry, cedar, charcoal with earth, funk, spice and a nutty component. On the palate the wine had black pepper, lots of it. Cedar, cola, Birch and black cherry. For me, the tannins came out of nowhere to a big crescendo on the finish. The pepper component was a hit with some, for others it was just a tad overpowering. This wine was ranked very highly with the pros and cost us $23. I am giving it 89 points and 3 stars. Drink till 2022 (this wine is a mixed vintage of 2015/16).
  
  https://caspernick.com/2020/11/22/xavier-vins-sm-nv-cotes-du-rhone-france/

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  12/23/2009 - Ian S wrote:

  A veritable dog's dinner of grape varieties used in this blend (and let's quickly gloss over the twaddle on the back label re: contents).
  
  The colour points towards this being very young and the nose offers bright blackberry & licorice fruit and a little spice, albeit also slightly fumey (alc is 14% which might partly account for this aspect).
  
  Brightly fruited on the palate with acidity gamely keeping it fresh and accompanied by the faintest fine tannin. It's not especially complex, nor particularly challenging. However it's charming enough and doesn't need to hide behind residual sugar to offer charm. In truth, this really isn't a style that appeals greatly to me (I prefer a little structure to support ageing), but it's hard to find fault in objective terms. I'd suggest drinking within a year or two of release for the fruit at it's brightest.

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