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Reviews
95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
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One of the few estates where the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape actually eclipses the 2016, this is a top-flight effort. Black cherries and red raspberries combine with dried spices in a complex swirl of fruity and savory elements, garnished with sprigs of garrigue. Full-bodied, round and rich, this velvety wine should drink well through at least 2035.
95+ Jeb Dunnuck -
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While it doesn't match the 2016, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape is a beautiful, elegant wine that also makes the most of this terrific vintage. Deep, rich, yet fabulously pure notes of blackcurrants, ground pepper, garrigue, and crushed flowers all emerge from the glass, followed by medium to full body, a stacked mid-palate, flawless balance, and a great, great finish. It's still backward and holding things a little close to its vest, yet it's a magical wine in the making. Give bottles 3-5 years of cellaring (although it's far from unapproachable today) and enjoy over the following two decades. It's as classic as it gets. The 2017 is a classic blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre, and the balance Cinsault, brought up all in foudre.
94 Vinous -
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Limpid ruby-red. A highly perfumed, expansive bouquet evokes ripe red fruits, garrigue and exotic spices, and a smoky mineral note emerges as the wine opens up. Sweet and broad on the palate, offering juicy raspberry, cherry compote, spicecake and candied lavender flavors that tighten up slowly on the back half. Conveys both power and finesse and betrays no rough edges. Fine-grained tannins come in late on a very long, spicy finish that leaves suave floral and red fruit preserve notes behind.
Technical Details
- BlendProprietary Blend
- WinemakerClare Fabre
- CountryFrance
- RegionRhone Valley
- AppellationChateauneuf du Pape
- Alcohol15%
Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape 2017
Rhone Blends | France
JD95+, WA95, VN94, WS93
28% off retail!
Too late, we are SOLD OUT!
Vieux Donjon is a wine to AGE! And we have it for under $45! Fun fact: Claire Michel, daughter of Vieux Donjon owner Marcel Michel, learned winemaking here in Napa Valley at none other than Harlan Estate. Another fun fact: the 2016 version was the best selling wine of all time on First Bottle with more than 1,000 bottles sold! It garnered huge acclaim, racking up Wine Spectator’s #8 wine of 2018 and Jeb Dunnuck’s #2 wine of 2018. Demand for Donjon is through the roof now, so we don’t expect this small parcel of the 2017 to last long. The Wine Advocate actually declared the 2017 better than the 2016! "One of the few estates where the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape actually eclipses the 2016, this is a top-flight effort."
INDEED! Don’t miss -- not a lot to go around!
Always gorgeously balanced, purely fruited, finely tuned and never over-the-top, Vieux Donjon’s new release is one of the top wines of the vintage, and tremendously well-priced (a couple 95 point scores to boot!). This is a no-brainer 6-PACK @ $269.70 for any CdP lover. In stock and ready to ship as always!
JD95+: “...beautiful, elegant wine that also makes the most of this terrific vintage. Deep, rich, yet fabulously pure notes of blackcurrants, ground pepper, garrigue, and crushed flowers all emerge from the glass, followed by medium to full body, a stacked mid-palate, flawless balance, and a great, great finish. It's still backward and holding things a little close to its vest, yet it's a magical wine in the making.”
About the Producer
Le Vieux Donjon is a fairly new winery by European standards, formed in 1966 by Marcel Michel. Marcel's daughter Claire Michel, who is now Claire Fabre, as she changed her name when she married Adrien Fabre of Domaine la Florane and Domaines de l'Echevin, manages Vieux Donjon along with her brother Francois Michel. Claire learned wine making here in Napa at Harlan Estate. The family's holdings have a huge portion of old vines with a third being over 100 years old. Some of their holdings are also in the sandy soils next to Rayas.