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Wine Type
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Vintage
Name
Variety
Locale
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Date
Posted
Score
Helpful
Comments
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White
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2012 WILIXL Cuvée One-Off
Vin de Pays d'Oc
White Rhone Blend more
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The only vintage of this white Wilixl, hence the name. A blend of Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne, aged in an old foudre. 13% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Pale lemon-yellow color. Quite sweet and fragrant nose with aromas of acacia honey and apricot, some banana tones, a little bit of creamy oak, light perfumed floral notes, a hint of savory wood spice and a musky touch of something reminiscent of Muscat. The wine feels round, mellow and fruity on the palate with a rather full body and quite lush flavors of sweet white peach, some ripe nectarine, a little bit of creamy oak, light banana tones, a floral hint reminiscent of Muscat and a touch of apple jam. The wine is medium in acidity, which doesn't make the wine feel particularly fresh or structured, but still lends some sense of balance to the mouthfeel. The long finish is round, juicy and fruit-driven with balanced flavors of white peach, some creamy oak tones, a little bit of ripe apricot, light floral nuances and a hint of exotic spices.
A nice, balanced and fruity Southern French white. Enjoyable and quite drinkable, but ultimately a bit of the soft and voluptuous side. What was interesting, though, was how youthful the wine was for its age - I was quite adamant the wine must have Muscat or some other similar variety in the blend and I guessed it can't be more than 5 years old. Well, it turned out to have no Muscat or any other similarly aromatic variety in the blend and it was twice as old as I guessed it could be at its oldest! Live and learn. I did enjoy the vibrancy and purity of fruit here and how the wine was rather modest in alcohol for the varieties (that typically tend to produce higher-alcohol wines), but it was still perhaps a bit too soft and sweet-toned in character. I'm quite positive the wine will age gracefully and most likely develop some interesting tertiary notes over the years, but I suspect it'll remain quite soft and mellow, no matter how old it gets.
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Red
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2014 WILIXL Cuvée No. 6
Vin de Pays d'Oc
Syrah more
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"Cuvée No. 6": a 100% Syrah from Minervois-La Livinière. Aged for 12 months in oak barrels. 14,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Dense, concentrated and almost fully opaque blackish-red color with a youthful, plummy hue. Very ripe, concentrated and quite extracted nose with a pronounced streak of sweet cassis followed by some inky tones and toasty oak spice, light mocha tones, a little bit of peppery spice, a hint of evolved pruney fruit and a touch of blueberry juice. The wine feels ripe, full-bodied and very juicy on the palate with a rather extracted overall feel. Chewy and somewhat sweet-toned flavors of sweet cassis and blueberry juice, some chocolatey mocha oak, a little bit of vanilla, light plummy notes, a hint of boysenberry jam and a touch of extracted wood spice. Moderately high in acidity with quite ample yet surprisingly gentle, textural tannins. The finish is juicy, rich and subtly grippy with slightly sweet-toned flavors of ripe blackcurrants, some sweet toasty oak tones, a little bit of blueberry, light boysenberry tones, a hint of cocoa oak and a touch of extracted woody bitterness.
A very big, modern and quite polished Syrah with a lot of ripeness and oak. Due to its pronounced blackcurrant and oak character, my first guesses were Californian Cabernet and Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero, but when somebody suggested Syrah, I remembered tasting this wine before and recognized that it might actually be Wilixl Syrah from Minervois. Stylistically this wine feels more like new world rather than classic Minervois Syrah, making this a rather winemaker's wine where the terroir has been drenched underneath all that ripeness and oak. Doesn't feel young anymore, but hasn't developed much tertiary tones either. Most likely this wine will need another 15-20 years before it has lost most of its glossy, oaky sheen. Quite enjoyable, but not really my kind of wine.
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Red
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2014 WILIXL Cuvée No. 6
Vin de Pays d'Oc
Syrah more
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"Cuvée No. 6": a 100% Syrah from Minervois-La Livinière. Aged for 12 months in oak barrels. 14,5% alcohol.
Luminous, youthful and only very slightly translucent blackish-red cherry color. Bold, ripe and sweet-toned nose with intense aromas of blackcurrants, extracted toasty oak spice, some boysenberries, a little bit of vanilla, light inky notes and a hint of blackberry jam. The wine is rich, full-bodied and juicy on the palate with intense, sweet-toned flavors of ripe blackcurrants, boysenberries, some blackberry marmalade, a little bit of extracted woody bitterness, light toasty notes of sweet oak spice and a hint of vanilla. The acidity feels moderately high and the silky tannins are quite gentle, contributing more to the texture than to the structure. The finish is rich, juicy and moderately long with intense flavors of boysenberries, some sweet mocha oak, a little bit of extracted woody bitterness, light plummy notes of ripe dark fruits, a hint of vanilla and a touch of blackberry jam. The high alcohol makes the wine end on a rather warm note.
A big and tasty but also somewhat heavily oaked Syrah that is perhaps a bit too ripe for its own good. The fruit shows good intensity, but comes across as a bit too sweet with very little in the way of tannic structure - and a big wine like this could really use some firm, tannic grip. Although not too youthful anymore, the wine is perhaps still a bit too young for its own good and could benefit from some more cellaring - in the hopes that further aging might integrate the oaky tones a bit more and bring out some savory, tertiary complexity to complement the sweeter-toned fruit notes.
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Red
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2012 WILIXL Cuvée No. 4
Vin de Pays d'Oc
Carignan more
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"Cuvée No. 4": a 100% Carignan from Minervois-La Livinière. Aged for 12 months in neutral oak barrels. 13% alcohol.
Moderately translucent dark red color with a slightly developed maroon hue towards the rim. The nose feels concentrated and slightly creamy with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, some red plums, a little bit of blueberry and light sunny note of jammy red berries. The wine is medium-bodied, savory and quite crunchy on the palate with intense, dry flavors of redcurrants, sanguine iron, some savory wood spice, a little bit of blueberry, light bitter notes of sour cherries, an angular hint of stony minerality and a touch of ripe blackcurrant. The with is noticeably structure-driven with its high acidity and firm, assertive tannins, yet still the mouthfeel is wonderfully silky and textural. The finish is ripe, juicy and noticeably grippy with long flavors of blueberries, some ripe blackcurrants, a little bit of stony minerality, light lactic notes of creaminess, a hint of crunchy redcurrants and a touch of savory wood spice.
A very stern, serious and wonderfully crunchy Carignan made in a wonderfully transparent, fruit-driven style. It's weird how the wine retains a subtly lactic MLF note of creaminess even at the age of 7 years, but fortunately it's only a mild distraction and nothing too dominant. All in all, the wine is still very tightly-wound and while showing a little bit of development now, it feels like it is still miles away from its peak. I'd let it wait for many years more. Lovely stuff.
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