Summary
In the Southern Rhône, Xavier Vignon is something of the man behind the scenes: as a consultant oenologist he has helped shape the wines of top houses such as Château La Nerthe, Domaine de Beaurenard, Château Mont-Redon and Château de la Gardine over several decades. Since 2002 he has been bottling under his own name – initially as a pure négociant, and for a good ten years now increasingly from his own vines. Today the house farms around 37 hectares, roughly 16 of them in the Beaumes-de-Venise cru, and also makes Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Côtes du Rhône. Vignon’s trademark: the art of assemblage – across grape varieties, parcels and even vintages – and a love of experimentation that culminates in the Vinarium, his own invention.
History
Before Xavier Vignon arrived in the Southern Rhône in 1996, he had already worked as an oenologist in Bordeaux, Champagne, the Napa Valley and Australia. The decision in favour of the region was reportedly made on a hill above the village of Suzette, looking out over the jagged limestone ridges of the Dentelles de Montmirail. He settled there, made a name for himself as a consultant and at the same time set up an oenological analysis laboratory. From 2003 to 2012 he also directed the Sorgues laboratory of the Institut Œnologique de Champagne, before devoting himself more fully to his own wines.
The step towards his own label was more accident than plan. During his consulting work Vignon had assembled small quantities from various crus – originally to give away. Friends submitted the bottles to the Guide Hachette, several wines made it into the guide, and one from the Ventoux even earned a ‘coup de cœur’. When the enquiries started coming in, he registered as a négociant: in 2002 this became the house Xavier Vins. In 2007 the first Cuvée Anonyme from Châteauneuf-du-Pape followed – the flagship to this day.
After selling his laboratory, Vignon began buying vineyards – above all in Beaumes-de-Venise, where he now owns around 16 hectares and, as co-president of the cru, also represents the appellation. Parcels in Vacqueyras, Ventoux and Châteauneuf-du-Pape were added. The pure négociant thus became a hybrid of domaine and merchant house.
Location & Terroir
The company headquarters are on the Route de Sorgues on the edge of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the cellar is in the small village of Lafare at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail, and in Beaumes-de-Venise the house runs a tasting room. The heart of the estate’s own vines lies in Beaumes-de-Venise – an appellation Vignon likes to describe as having ‘two faces’: since 2005 it has been a cru for dry red wines, while also being home to the sweet Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.
The vineyards there climb from around 100 to as much as 500 metres in altitude. Geologically the area is unusually diverse: white Cretaceous soils, grey Jurassic soils and the famous Triassic marls that give the reds their spicy, almost salty note. In Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vignon draws on a network of around 120 parcels – his own and purchased – so that he can combine the appellation’s typical soils (galets roulés, sand, limestone and clay) according to the vintage. Climate change preoccupies him: he now harvests around four weeks earlier than 20 years ago and prefers to plant higher-lying and north-facing sites.
Style & Philosophy
‘Blending is life’ – for Xavier Vignon, assemblage is not a makeshift solution but the very heart of the matter. He combines grape varieties, parcels and terroirs, and goes one step further: following the example of Champagne with its reserve wines, he also blends vintages, for instance in his multi-year Réserve from Châteauneuf-du-Pape. His ambition is precision rather than power: around 80 percent of the vines he works with are old, yields are small, and the wines are meant to carry their alcohol without feeling heavy.
The house’s most spectacular invention is the Vinarium: a tank of around 7,000 litres in which five 200-litre barriques hang from stainless-steel hoops, completely surrounded by wine. The wine in the barrel thus matures without any contact with oxygen, while the surrounding wine – Vignon calls it ‘amniotic fluid’ – finishes fermenting in the tank. The idea grew out of the problem of dry tannins in hot vintages; today the house runs ten of these Vinariums, with ageing of up to 24 months, long lees contact and minimal use of sulphur. There was even a precursor: experiments with ageing wine in the sea, which foundered on the customs authorities.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is organised in series – from the ‘Originals’ of the classic Rhône crus to experimental bottlings:
- Cuvée Anonyme – the flagship from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in red and in white (Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Clairette)
- La Réserve – a multi-vintage Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend, for instance from the VII, IX and X vintages
- Arcane series – limited cuvées named after tarot cards: La Papesse (Châteauneuf-du-Pape), L’Impératrice and L’Ermite (Gigondas), L’Étoile (Beaumes-de-Venise)
- Intra & Extra – wines aged in the Vinarium, including a white Côtes du Rhône from Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Piquepoul and Marsanne
- SM Côtes du Rhône – an unusual blend of Grenache from the Southern and Syrah from the Northern Rhône
- Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Beaumes-de-Venise Rouge and Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise
Awards
It all began with the Guide Hachette, which around the turn of the millennium included several of Vignon’s wines at once and honoured one of them with a ‘coup de cœur’. The Cuvée Anonyme regularly scores in the 93 to 94 point range in the Wine Advocate. More recent tastings, for example by the British critic Jamie Goode, rate the Vinarium cuvées Intra and Extra at 94 to 95 points and the Gigondas Arcane L’Impératrice 2023 at 94 points. Just as important for his reputation, however, is his list of consulting clients: anyone who appreciates the wines of La Nerthe, Beaurenard, Mont-Redon, Raymond Usseglio or Grand Veneur has probably already had Vignon’s signature in the glass.
