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Xavier Vignon Vins
France - Rhone Valley

Originating from Picardie in the North of France, Xavier is proud of his « Picard » roots and of his modest origins. His mother is an agriculturist and his father is a stone mason trained by the craftmans guild “Les Compagnon du Tour de France.” Xavier was brought up the hard way which has given him good, strong values: the love for a job well done, but also a certain contrarian state of mind.

His in depth knowledge of the Rhone Valley with no less than 34 harvests as an oenologist in every corner of the globe, his mentors, all the vintners he has been working with, and his incredible memory have been forging his style and identity.Xavier has been consulting for the very best wineries all his life and now dedicates his talents to his own creations.

After years of branding his wine under « Xavier Vins », the time has come for him to express himself in his own name, Xavier Vignon, as he desires before anything else to share his wines, the fruit of his passion, with people whether they are new wine drinkers, amateurs or connoisseurs.

The wine making process always favors soft diffusion of tannins versus extraction and the oenological inputs are limited as much as possible. The wines are the result of complex blends including different soils types within a same appellation to guarantee the best possible balance while reaching good complexity.

Reviews and News

Xavier Vignon - WA 2020

Xavier Vignon - WA 2020

wa"Vignon's seeming obsession with minerality in wine has led to him seeking sites that express that feature (as he perceives it). He's also experimenting with various different vessels for aging, and even submerging filled barrels within tanks of wine—as he did with the outstanding 2016 Arcane La Papesse. - Joe Czerwinski"

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (September 2020)

Xavier Vignon - WA 2018

Xavier Vignon - WA 2018

wa"I visited Xavier Vignon at his aging-bottling cellar in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, just beside Château des Fines Roches. He does most of the vinifications at another facility in Beaumes de Venise. Vignon, who started out as a winemaking consultant, sources grapes from many clients and former clients throughout the Southern Rhône for his own various labels. Fascinated by blending and tinkering, tasting with him is something like meeting with a benevolent mad scientist—there are so many different experiments to try, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with what is what. Many of his wines are released quite late onto the market, as he prefers to age wines up to three winters before bottling and two winters after bottling. On the other hand, many of his 2016s are already in bottle. "2016 was just like a dream," he said. "The best autumn I've ever seen." In 2017, Vignon cut way back on extraction, basically relying on infusion once past the midpoint of fermentation, to avoid extracting any hard tannins.- Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #239, October 2018)

Gallery

Producer Details
Location
France
Wine Production Area
France - Rhone Valley - Beaumes de Venise AOC, Chateauneuf du Pape AOC, Cotes du Rhone AOC, Gigondas AOC, Lirac AOC, Rasteau AOC, Ventoux AOC
Owners
Xavier Vignon
Winemaker
Xavier Vignon