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CDP Le Vieux Donjon, Le Vieux Donjon (Lucien Michel) 2019

Tasting Notes

I was able to taste the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape multiple times, and it’s the finest vintage I’ve ever tasted from this estate, surpassing even the 2016. Lovers of classic, impeccably made Châteauneuf du Pape should back up the truck on this beauty. A wine of incredible richness and depth, as well as elegance, it has a gorgeous nose of peppery herbs, blackberries, garrigue, cured meats, and sandalwood. Full-bodied and concentrated, it builds incrementally on the palate and is perfectly balanced, with sensational purity, ripe tannins, and a great, great finish. There’s nothing over the top or out of place, and traditionally made Châteauneuf du Pape doesn’t get much better. It needs 2-4 years of bottle age and will shine for well over two decades. Bravo!

99
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2021

A brilliant ruby colour in the glass, this is wonderfully aromatic, traditional Chateauneuf. Layers of fine herbs, dried flowers and succulent red fruits shine through on a layered, fragrant nose. The palate is fleshy and rounded as you might expect, but there is a finesse and lift here too. This makes for superb approachability despite the intensity, with an elegance and poise above the 2018. Bursting with red fruit and ripe herbs on the finish, this is very long and yet perfectly balanced. A superb Vieux Donjon.

95
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, November 2020

Cask sample. Oodles of fresh fruit with a sense of earthy minerality – fragrant sweet blueberry pie. A note of leather and then followed by layers of very fine refined tannins that drench the whole palate but always with grace, a lovely note of chocolate and violets with a mish mash of dark and red fruits – ripe, generous, succulent but also very focussed. Absolutely delicious. (AC)
Drink 2025 – 2045

18
Alistair Cooper MW, JancisRobinson.com, November 2020

A great vintage of Vieux Donjon, the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape is still sturdy and tannic, marked by concentrated dark fruit. Powerful and concentrated, it deserves another few years in the cellar, although it begins to be approachable after four hours in a decanter.

96
Joe Czerwinski, RobertParker.com, September 2023

A beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, classic effort from this team, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape boasts a deeper ruby/purple color, traditional notes of ground pepper, Provençal garrigue, smoked meat, and red and black fruits, a terrific mid-palate, ripe, silky tannins, and a great, great finish. This is an outstanding vintage for this cuvée that’s going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for 20 years or more. 2020 - 2040

94/96+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, October 2020
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.