NV Xavier Vignon Vin de France Arcane 0 Le Fou (750ml)

Grenache from Rhône, France

B-21 Top Recommendation
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A superb one-of-a-kind Southern Rhone blend crafted by the region’s top consulting winemaker, the bold and powerful 96 pt. NV Xavier Vignon Vin de France Arcane Le Fou offers luscious, spiced old vine Grenache fruit with harmonious, velvet tannins, part of the masterful Xavier Vignon Arcane series of unique, one-time releases and a stunning value not to be missed by Southern Rhone fans and collectors.

Honing his blending skills in Champagne before working in top wine regions around the world, winemaker Xavier Vignon arrived in the Rhone Valley in the mid-1990s and quickly found his muse, drawn to the region’s varied terroirs, altitudes and varietals. As a renowned consultant working with such luminaries as Marcoux, Raymond Usseglio and La Nerthe, Xavier enjoys exclusive access to incredibly pristine parcels of some of the oldest vines across the valley, those top sites becoming the source for his own labeled wines with his first bottling released in 2002. Sourced from 10 different terroirs in and around Chateauneuf du Pape, the Xavier Vignon Arcane Le Fou boasts 15 different variations of old vine Grenache grown in five of the appellation’s greatest recent vintages - 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017. A blend of mostly Grenache with small amounts of Mourvedre, Syrah and Caladoc (a cross of Grenache and Malbec), the epic NV Xavier Vignon Vin de France Arcane Le Fou was aged in a mix of French and Austrian oak barrels, truncated wooden vats and concrete vats, yielding unfathomably deep complexity that Xavier sums up as “the Champagne blending style taken to its limits!”

Naming each Arcane release after a card in the Tarot deck with matching illustrations on the labels, Le Fou (translating as the Fool) represents a leap of faith into the unknown and an invitation to adventure, the formidable NV Xavier Vignon Vin de France Arcane Le Fou offering a rare opportunity to enjoy an impeccably crafted, age worthy Southern Rhone blend for the mere price of an entry level Cotes du Rhone - an invitation Southern Rhone wine lovers will definitely want to accept, no leap of faith required.

96JD

The NV Vin de France Arcane Le Fou is another unique wine from this incredible winemaker. This cuvée focuses on different clones of Grenache as well as just about every permitted variety out there (although it’s 85% Grenache). It has a big, sweet nose of blueberries, black cherries, lavender, and peppery incense as well as a full-bodied, layered, powerful yet seamless style on the palate. With no hard edges, silky tannins, and a big finish, it’s a singular wine (it’s mostly from vines in Châteauneuf Du Pape) to enjoy over the coming 10-15 years.

96 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Aug 2019)

Alcohol By Volume: 15.0%

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$26.99

This item is a pre-order estimated to arrive 9/5/2024. 60+ bottles available.

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