1999 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape

[Jean Brislance]

1999 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape – A dark ruby in color. Nose shows some earth and funk, with some barnyard, fresh black dirt, licorice, and some red berry fruit hanging out in the background. Flavors show a lot of minerals and herbs in the forefront, with some floral notes, spice, tea leaves, and some red berry and black cherry. The wine is really tightly wound at this point, with firm, chalky tannins. On day two, more of the red berry fruit came forward on the palate, but the wine still seemed to be quite closed down and not giving up much. There is some pretty stuff going on here, but it appears to be hiding behind a wall of tannins right now. Give this some time.

All the best,

Jean

[Rieslingfan]

Coincidence...I had this over hte last two evenings, I found it somewhat tight and unyielding on the first night, but last night it was much more open. Excllent stuff, but in need of 3 more years of cellar time.

[jeffperez62]

There is a big difference in the Parker(90+) and WS (80pts) rating for this wine which I thought was interesting.

[Redwinger]

There is a big difference in the Parker(90+) and WS (80pts) rating for this wine which I thought was interesting.

I don't pay a lot of attention to most wine critics, but when it comes to Rhone wines my experience has been that WS misses the fairway more often than not. Given the weak $, I can only wish more unfavorable reviews for one of my CdP favorites, so the price stays semi-affordable.

FWIW, I enjoy the Donjon CdP's after 8-10 yers in the cellar. Patience will be rewarded.