Moore Brothers Wine Company

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Rasteau Xavier Vignon 2016

Rasteau Xavier Vignon 2016

Xavier’s Rasteau 2016 comes from 17 parcels spread over the appellation. 25% of the wine was matured in new barriques, another 25% in 600-liter demi-muids, and the balance in concrete tanks. In the glass, the wine has a saturated dark cordovan color, almost black at the center, with flashes of garnet and mahogany at the edge. Aromas of black griotte cherries, crème de cassis, and licorice root, along with melted dark chocolate and a cornucopia of herbes de Provence and spices, move in and out of the foreground as the nose evolves in the glass. On the palate the wine is solid, smooth, and opulent, with sweet graphite-infused red and black fruit flavors that echo the nose, all seasoned with brilliant berry acids and wonderful graphite mineral brightness, and unfurling like a peacock’s tail, gaining weight over time in the glass. Palpable mineral extract, voluptuous silky tannins, and the low-pH Mourvèdre all contribute to the wine’s compelling opulence and length. Drink now – 2026.

About this wine producer: As the technical director and head enologist at “Laboratoire Avignon Oenologie Conseil,” Xavier Vignon is the consulting winemaker at more than 300 estates, including most of the best-known domaines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In lieu of payment for his laboratory’s service, he sometimes accepts wine, which the micro-négociant company he established in 2002, “Xavier Vins,” uses to produce exceptional wines of the southern Rhône Valley. Originally a physical chemist, Xavier is particularly interested in how the spectrum of dissolved mineral salts in the groundwater of each vineyard, which varies from parcel to parcel, influences the expression of terroir in the grapes. “I’m a trained enologist,” he says. “I’ve examined wine down to the molecular level. Which, in the end, convinces me that what is most important are the vines, the depth of the roots, and the health and balance of the vineyard.”

$27.00

Reviews

Wow! So much going on with this wine in the glass. It's everything you describe, but with a level of elegance and power that move it to a whole new level.

John (September 19, 2020)

Ross (November 12, 2020)