Alcohol: 15%
Grape(s): 70% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre and 15% Syrah
Location: Rhone Valley, France
Tasting Notes: The deep black-cherry and ripe-blackberry fruit, plus the full, soft body push this to the edge of sweetness on the palate. However, the gentle dry tannins at the velvety finish just keep it on track. A style that now seems a bit dated, but plenty of wine drinkers love this.
Notes: 80% aging in concrete tanks to favor the fruit purity and the grape expression. 20% aging in Stockinger (Austria) barrels for 12 months. Co-fermentation of the grapes for more aromatic complexity.
Food pairing: Grilled lamb ribs, braised beef, spicy pork chops.
The Domain: Son of a craftsman and the last link in a lineage of stonecutters.
Xavier Vignon has always valued science, rigour and reason. Originally from Picardy, this insatiable pioneer of terroirs followed a career path worthy of his curiosity, strengthened by encounters, innovations, and experimentations, and coupled with a humanist spirit rooted in the culture of an omnipresent French art de vivre.
Leaving his paternal calling to one side, he developed a passion for mathematics, agronomy, geology and paleontology from an early age and, after much searching, embraced a scientific career by becoming an oenologist.
And yet the family atavism did not escape him, and the young man decided to embark upon his own travels, which took him on a ten-year tour of France during which he got to know France’s wine regions, two of which left a particularly strong impression on him: Champagne and Bordeaux.
Fascinated by the science of blending, driven by the notion of freedom and loyal to his own high standards, Xavier Vignon began to build his project, nourished with his own experiences and personal encounters.
He also dreamt of traveling afar, of adventure and fulfillment, and decided to set himself the challenge of carrying out two vinifications in the same year. For seven years he cultivated vines in the the northern hemisphere in early Autumn before moving to the southern hemisphere. New Zealand, Tasmania and Australia taught him a great deal in terms of large volumes and modern production methods.
