Aromas of blackberries, dark plums, bark and dried spices. Full body with firm tannins. Textured with a blackberry-like touch on the palate. Slightly chewy but the overall balance remains. Dried herbs towards the compact, spicy finish. 80% grenache, 10% syrah and 10% mourvedre. From organically grown grapes. Better after 2023.

A blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre, the 2019 Vacqueyras delivers garrigue-accented notes of blackberries, blueberries and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, it shows more freshness than some of the other 2019s from Vignon, while the tannins are ripe and supple, turning silky on the finish.

The full-bodied, creamy-textured 2016 Vacqueyras is another solid effort from Xavier Vignon. There's some peppery spice, ample dark berry fruit, then a nicely dry, savory finish. It should drink well for at least 5 years.

One of the standouts in the portfolio is the 2015 Vacqueyras and it’s a full-bodied, charming, even sexy blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre that’s aged in a combination of one- to three-year-old barrels. Giving up loads of black raspberries, plums, spice box and garrigue, it hits the palate with an expansive, rounded and ripe profile that just begs to be drunk. I expect it will benefit from a year or two of bottle age and shine through 2025.

Possessing slightly more texture and depth than the Gigondas, the 2012 Vacqueyras is another wine from this team that shows it terroir beautifully. Ripe, upfront, medium to full-bodied and voluptuous, it gives up beautiful dark berry fruit, violets, licorice and herbs on the nose. It too should drink beautifully over the coming 7-8 years.