2012 WILIXL Cuvée One-Off

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 87 points

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  7/14/2022 - forceberry wrote: 87 Points

  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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