2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Anonyme

There are approximately 10,000 bottles of the sensational 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Anonyme, which is fashioned from an unusual blend of 25% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 25% Syrah and the remaining 25% Counoise, Vaccarese and other authorized varietals. Its opaque purple color is followed by a wine of extraordinary intensity. Copious notes of licorice, garrigue, underbrush, blackberries, black currants and graphite are present in this full-bodied, modern-styled, fragrant, distinctive Chateauneuf. This terrific, voluptuous 2009 should drink well young and last for 15-20 years. ||This is an up and coming, small, high quality negociant operation run by oenologist, Xavier Vignon and two partners. As I mentioned last year, they have some important clients – Raymond Usseglio, La Gardine, Jerome Quiot, Beaurenard, La Nerthe, Mont Redon, Marcoux and Grand Veneur, to name some of the more prominent. Tasting through this portfolio in September confirmed the efforts they are making to turn out high quality wines at reasonable prices. Wine Advocate.October, 2011

A wine I wasn’t able to review on release, the brilliant 2009 Xavier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Anonyme is an eclectic blend of 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre, and the rest an assortment of varieties. Deep, dense, and layered, it offers up a truly spectacular bouquet of sweet kirsch, blackberries, lead pencil, garrigue, licorice, and flowers that continues to develop and evolve over the evening. Showing the perfume and slight red fruit-driven slant of the vintage, it shines on the palate as well and has a full-bodied, seamless, and polished feel, with surprising sweetness to its tannin, thrilling concentration, and blockbuster length on the finish. More than a little impressive, this beauty should be given another 3-4 years of bottle age, and consumed over the following decade or more. It has a solid mix of traditional aromatics and flavors to go with plenty of polish, texture, and fruit.