Chateauneuf du Pape 2009

A very classically styled and structured wine, the 2009 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a blend of 80% Grenache and the rest Syrah and Mourvèdre, delivers captivating and slightly feral aromatics of garrigue, licorice, white pepper, leather, black cherry, and raspberry styled fruits on the nose. Readers looking for a textbook example of CDP for blind tastings couldn’t do much better than this wine and it screams southern Rhône on the nose as well as the palate. Medium to full-bodied and structured, with a clean, focused texture, medium concentration, and a solid, tannic finish, this might just have more structure than fruit and depth through the middle. It did fill in and evolve over the 4 days I had the bottle open, so I’m bullishly optimistic here and would give bottles 5-7 years of bottle age and then drink over the following decade. However, if you don’t mind tannin, don’t hesitate to open this over the near term as the bouquet is rocking.

Score: 93

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 25 September 2011

The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape is dominated by Grenache with major amounts of Mourvedre, Syrah and other authorized varietals. Its dense ruby/plum color is followed by aromas of smoked meats, roasted Provencal herbs, a gamy character and lots of kirsch, black currant and blue fruits. Rich and full-bodied, it is softer than most young vintages of Vieux Donjon tend to be, and should drink well for 12-15 years. 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).

Score: 94

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 31 October 2011