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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 218 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Decanting Queen on 1/20/2024 & rated 92 points: Perfectly in its drinking window, served with French onion soup—a perfect pairing for an unusually cold evening (19F in Atlanta). I believe this was opened and slow oxed several hours before drinking, although I was told by our host that it was wide open even then.
A bit of funk on the nose, ripe cherry fruit and savory herbs, olives and earthy palate. So smooth and balanced and easy to drink. I don’t buy much CdP but this I would purchase if I stumbled across it. (1675 views) | | | Tasted by Phenol73 on 1/3/2024 & rated 93 points: Opulent, expressive, fleshy and lively with layered complexity. Rich in blackberries, star anise, leather and spices. Youthful and giving at nearly 15 years. Another excellent showing. (1084 views) | | | Tasted by Outplaying on 11/17/2023: Smells great. Olive, herb, saddle and earth, cherry. Soft and silky, with similar flavors. I thought this was a little round, fleshy and too easy going at first, but the acidity started to come into better balance as the wine opened and warmed. Overall, this is pretty good, and I there is no need to rush to open my last bottle. (1255 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 11/17/2023 & rated 94 points: Consistent with our last tasting note - but just a little bit more of everything, the best showing yet. Still kicking myself for not waiting until now to start opening bottles... (1173 views) | | | Tasted by Grinner on 7/19/2023 & rated 95 points: PNP then followed for 2 hours. Same score I gave it 6 years ago! It's evolved into a more savory wine, classic and old school. Cherry liqueur, garrigue, leather, earth and kelp notes. Supe smooth but the structure is there. This could be a 20 year wine! (1516 views) | | | Tasted by Mleh on 5/4/2023 & rated 88 points: Very fruity, nice smooth tannins. Medium bodied. Quite funky, forest floor and some earth. Needed 4/5 hours before the funk resolved to the point of being enjoyable. (1506 views) | | | Tasted by EMMF40 on 3/31/2023: The wine os very mature and requires time in the glass or decanted to find the balance and bring the acidity forward. (1524 views) | | | Tasted by biggie on 2/19/2023 & rated 94 points: Flower Day - Decanted off a small amount of fine sediment with more sticking to the side of the bottle. This note is after two hours in the decanter. Nose is dried and fresh red and black fruit with garrigue, red flowers and spice. Ultra smooth and full of garrigue and fruit on the palate with fully resolved tannins. And yet it still tasted youthful. Another one that is on the plateau but with lots of time there. This just kept getting better over the course of the evening. (1578 views) | | | Tasted by DanielAVTL on 2/8/2023 & rated 91 points: * Wine 2 of 4, CDP vertical tasting at al Coro. Opened 3-hours before dinner (no decant). From Magnum (1.5L).
Le Vieux Donjon has long been one of my favorite CDPs, producing just this one, often-stunning cuvee. And while this '09 was not the best Vieux Donjon I've tasted, it was still superb, and embodied the power, structure, and delicious fruit that I've come to expect from them.
On the nose, dark chocolate, espresso, plum, hint of truffle. Very seductive. On the palate, big presence, full bodied, round, perfectly integrated, velvety tannins, long finish with cherries, dark fruit, and pepper.
Strong performance, balancing power and complexity.
91 points on the night. Drink now through 2030. (1643 views) | | | Tasted by sastewart on 2/1/2023 & rated 94 points: Opened 90 minutes ahead. See my notes of 5/21/22. (1355 views) | | | Tasted by Phenol73 on 12/27/2022 & rated 93 points: Slow ox for 6 hours. Elegant, mature CdP offering notes of black cherry, blackberry, herbs, clove and old leather. Strong grenache character. Effortless on the palate; medium bodied and elegant, offering stewed fruits, anise and late summer florals. In a lovely spot; happily go another 5+ years. (1456 views) | | | Tasted by df1962 on 11/11/2022 & rated 92 points: PnD let air for 1hr.
Deeply funky and delicious. Great fruit and complexity. In a beautiful place. Drink or hold for 10 years (1442 views) | | | Tasted by Phenol73 on 6/20/2022 & rated 94 points: Another wonderful showing, right in its drinking window. Rich complex aromas of stewed blackberries, leather, anise, horse hide. Great tertiary expression starting to show. A fleshy palate with lovely freshness and very fine and sweet tannin. What a star; happily another 5+ years ahead. (1988 views) | | | Tasted by sastewart on 5/21/2022 & rated 94 points: Dinner in Cabo. Opened 45 minutes ahead. Garrigue, tobacco, spice and a bit of dried flowers on the nose. Medium plus body with nice acid and soft but persistant tannins. Red and black fruits with forest floor and beautiful spice flavors. Purchased on release and stored at 55 degrees, this is a great wine in a great place now and I expect for the next several years. Solid 94 points today. (1940 views) | | | Tasted by ftsai71@gmail.com on 5/9/2022 & rated 95 points: This is so good right now. We had a 2006 and a 2015 and this was the hands down favorite. Right in the middle where you still are getting the cherry fruit but it's resolving into the leather and tobacco notes of the 2006. Just wonderful. (2009 views) | | | Tasted by Jay Win on 2/17/2022: 5 years later and this wine has barely moved. A buy for sure (2312 views) | | | Tasted by acheng on 2/14/2022 & rated 92 points: Fabulous as ever. Should have bought more o this! (2193 views) | | | Tasted by jocelyng on 1/29/2022 & rated 94 points: Plum pudding with clove and fig flavors jump out of the glass. Walnut and prosciutto flavors mix with leather, blond tobacco, raspberry and chocolate on the finish. Superb complex mouth with long finish. At its peak now. (1901 views) | | | Tasted by Hanibal on 12/21/2021 & rated 92 points: Seemed like time has not affected this bottle one bit. Fruit flavors are very powerful with lots of crushed strawberries. Some animal/barnyard hint in the back but remains very civilized. Good QPR. (2650 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 12/17/2021 & rated 93 points: This one is aging nicely - notes of cedar/pine are emerging. Kind of kicking myself that I've already burned through most of the case...right now would have been the time to open the first bottle, not the tenth. (1747 views) | | | Tasted by rhapsody5435 on 12/8/2021 & rated 92 points: 80%歌海娜，剩下的是西拉和慕合怀特 。保存状态极为优秀，几乎没有任何浸塞。开瓶既饮，先是草药味，一鼻子就是CDP，然后草药味就压低了，接下来的是红果、茶叶，很优雅。非常轻微的烤肉以及薄荷带来清凉。酸度充足，单宁丝滑，融合无间，极轻微酒精感。回味咸鲜悠长。酒温低一点香气像勃艮第，但是口感和回味还是典型的南隆河特征。这是一瓶适饮巅峰的教皇新堡，至少还可以维持状态5年。 (1823 views) | | | Tasted by ChopperWine on 10/30/2021 & rated 94 points: Delicious. Better years than 2009 to be sure, but this was lovely and elegant. A little bit of sediment required a decant. After that, red berry, grape, leather with lots of acidity (which early in the bottle was confused with alcohol), smooth tannins, medium bodied, cherries, raspberries, figs, cocoa, tobacco, wild herbs, and that forest floor that I love so much in a CDP. Shorter finish than I like, but, oh well. (1958 views) | | | Tasted by dpihlain on 10/5/2021 & rated 93 points: Similar notes to Vancouver below... Lovely, slightly evolved bouquet with red berry flavours still intact. Tannins are gentle, not overpowering. I agree that there is not much reason to wait with this one, although it could last another 10 years if your preference is more on the highly evolved end of the spectrum. (1936 views) | | | Tasted by Vancouver on 10/4/2021 & rated 94 points: Beautiful medium ruby color- very little lightening. A swirl reveals some notable viscosity.
Pronounced and fully evolved nose of red fruits (candied) , baking spice and lots of forest floor, herbs and smoked meat notes. Very impressive nose with just a hint of age.
Palate is medium plus in body with more structure than one would expect. The acidity is still there and the wine finishes long, savory and delicious.
This will likely hold for another five years, but why wait. (1939 views) | | | Tasted by jdreillyjr on 9/11/2021: Decanted. Do it.
Dark garnet with brick edge.
Dark fruit flavors, (maybe slightly cooked or stewed) including blackberry. Long luscious finish in upper palette. Smooth tannins.
We think you should drink up, unless you’ve had it in a wine fridge. (1840 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Matt Walls
Decanter, 50 mature Rhône wines tasted in October 2020 (10/5/2020)
(Le Vieux Donjon, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jul/Aug 2013, Issue #46, Recently Tasted Rhône Wines Revisiting One of My Favorite Regions of Yesteryear
(Châteauneuf du Pape- Le Vieux Donjon) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/18/2012)
(Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/13/2012)
(Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By David Lawrason
WineAlign (11/9/2011)
(Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf Du Pape red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (11/2/2011)
(Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf Du Pape red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Issue #9 (9/25/2011)
(Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, March/April 2011, IWC Issue #155
(Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Decanter and View From the Cellar and JancisRobinson.com and WineAlign and JebDunnuck.com and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Le Vieux Donjon Producer website - Read more about Le Vieux Donjon
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
http://www.ultimatewineshop.com 9/2012
Le Vieux Donjon, as it exists today, was created in 1979 with the marriage of Lucien and Marie Jose Michel. Both Lucien and Marie Jose's parents owned vineyards in the region, and those holdings were combined to form Le Vieux Donjon. The domaine covers fourteen hectares of vineyards (all farmed organically), thirteen planted to red grapes and one planted to white. The Michel's holdings are primarily in the North and Northwest of the appellation, but they also have small plots in the Southwest and East. Their most important parcel is Pialons, and the grapes from the 2008 come from that parcel as well as those in Cabrieres, Bois de Boursan, Les Marines and Le Mourre de Gaude. The soils are mainly limestone and clay, and are studded with the famed galets roule, the round, rust-colored stones which were left behind after the retreat of the Alpine glaciers which once covered the region. Now that Lucien Michel has inched his way into retirement, his young daughter, Claire, who did an apprenticeship at Napa's Harlan Estate, is in full control of the winemaking (another example of a woman who has taken charge of a famous estate). Remington Norman in Rhone Renaissance says of Donjon, "The style of the wines is unashamedly, 'traditionelle' – vins de garde with plenty of backbone and muscle to them. However, these are no clumsy blockbusters, but wines with real definition and elegance underneath powerful exteriors…These are well-constituted wines with great depth and extract, which manage to retain finesse." The secret to the success of Le Vieux Donjon is really no secret at all. They have tremendously old vines (many in excess of 80 years of age) and they are experts at picking only once the grapes have achieved optimum ripeness.Red Rhone Blend Read about the different grapes used to produce red and white Rhone wines
On CellarTracker, Red Rhone Blend is the term for a wine consisting of two or more of the traditional 13 Southern Rhone grape varieties. Typically it's the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre or Cinsault grapes, but can also contain the Muscardin, Counoise, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Picpoul, Roussanne, Terret Noir, Picardan or Vaccarese grapes.
A 'food' wine. Lacking pretension and intended for local consumption with local cuisine. Lacks the 'high' notes on a Bordeaux, more earthy and sharper so often a better partner to meat dishes with a sauce. France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comRhône Guide to the wines, wineries and appellations in the Rhone Valley The Rhône Valley/Le Vins de la Vallée du Rhône (Comité Interprofession des vins AOC Côtes et vallée du Rhône)
### Wine Scholar Guild's Rhône valley vintage charts & ratings ###Southern Rhône Guide to the wines, wineries and appellations in the Southern Rhone Valley
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape Appellation - Read more about Chateauneuf du Pape
Another site on this appellation
Vineyards on weinlagen-info
"As I have written many times in the past, the sweet spot for drinking Châteauneuf du Papes is usually the first 5-6 years after the vintage. Then they seem to go through an adolescent, awkward, and sometimes dormant stage, only to re-emerge around year 10-12, where the majority of wines are often fully mature. The best of them will continue to hold on to life (but rarely improving) beyond 15-20 years. It is only the exceptional Châteauneuf du Papes that will evolve for 20-25+ years, and those are indeed a rarity. However, things may be improving dramatically in terms of the longevity of Châteauneuf du Pape, although Grenache-dominated wines, the vast majority of wines produced in the appellation, are wines that do not have the polyphenol (extract and tannin) content of top Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots, or Syrah-based wines. Nevertheless, the younger generation in Châteauneuf du Pape has taken seriously the farming in the vineyards. There are more organic and biodynamically run vineyards here than in any other appellation of France. The yields, which were already low, are even lower today (20-35 hectoliters per hectare), and of course, the proliferation of top luxury and/or old-vine cuvées gives a significant boost to the number of wines that will evolve past 25 or 30 years. The advantage of these wines is their broad window of drinkability." - Robert Parker
Vintage Chart 1978 to Today
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