2003 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape
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Tasting notes
A wine I loved on release, the 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape continues to show more and more overripe notes of figs and raisins with each passing year. Sweetly fruited and nicely textured, it’s enjoyable, but it needs to be consumed sooner rather than later. Another bastillion of traditional Chateauneuf du Pape, Vieux Donjon is owned by Lucien and Marie Jose Michel, with the winemaking now firmly in the hands of their talented daughter, Claire Michel. They produce a single red and white Chateauneuf du Pape, with the red always a rough blend of 75% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre and the balance a mix of other permitted varieties. They started partial destemming in 1993, pulling out the green stems and keeping the more lignified stems. Aging occurs all in concrete tanks and older foudre. This was a fabulous tasting with both Claire and her brother Francois, and as I hope the notes show, the wines have classic Chateauneuf du Pape character and broad drink windows. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Starting out slightly port like, the 2003 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape blossoms with an hour of air, showing plum sauce and blackberry liqueur like aromas that are supported by beef blood, rusty iron and garrigue. This is followed up by a full bodied, hedonistic wine that’s loaded with ripe fruit, a lush texture and a long finish. While this is showing beautifully, if you’re not a fan of the 2003 vintage in general, this isn’t going to change your mind and the wine shows the ripe, heady nature of the vintage. Regardless, I’m a fan and recommend drinking remaining bottles over the next 5 to 8 years.
Dark red. Sweet, exotic aromas of blackberry, cassis, molasses, bitter chocolate and dried flowers. Richly textured and dense, offering ripe dark berry flavors and nuances of floral pastilles and dark chocolate. A fat, unctuous wine that also boasts excellent purity of fruit and length, with soft, rounded tannins.
Deep crimson. Very, very rich and layered – almost animal. Confident, powerful, rich with a juicy start. Masses of ripe fruit on the front palate. Big, burly classic Châteauneuf with rather a hot finish. (JR)