TN: 2005 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  • 2005 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (9/23/2020)
    Fantastic red berry fruits…kirsch liqueur, herbs, white pepper, leather…a nice elegance to it…darkened up with deeper flavors at the end of the bottle. Little edgy alc upon opening…a good decant worked it out. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I loved this wine young…drank every one of them.

Drank a bunch at Marche Bacchus in Vegas one night too on the patio…thankfully we went out after so I couldn’t blame the CdP for how I felt the next day.

I’ve had 2 of these in the past year and thought they were drinking very well. I have 1 left and will open it soon.

I bought a lot of these, and I mostly stopped buying Rhônes afterwards. But I enjoy these each time I have them. Very nice, balanced wine which is aging very positively.

I still have four — it will he fun to see where they go from here.

I’ve had mostly disappointing experiences with Vieux Donjon, however I had this 2005 last fall and it was fabulous.

Thanks for the note. Reminds me I need to dig my bottle out of storage.

I’ve had mostly disappointing experiences with Vieux Donjon, however I had this 2005 last fall and it was fabulous.

I have had mixed experiences with various vintages of this wine. Did not like 04, 05 and 06 however loved 2000, 2001 and 2014.

2005 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (10/14/2020)
– decanted immediately before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over approx. 2 to 3 hours –

NOSE: ripe red/purple fruits; youthful; not funky; a touch fumey; hint of Italian dressing herbs/seasonings.

BODY: some sediment present; fairly youthful ruby-garnet color of medium-deep depth; medium bodied.

TASTE: middle aged, if not relaxed-youthful; surprisingly elegant; little bit of fine tannins still hanging around; garrigue; acidity is medium-low; red-fruited — red currant, light boysenberry; not a big bruiser; this is understated 25 minutes after opening; tastes a little alcoholic; did add weight after 1.75 hours open, but still on the lighter side for CdP; this bottle comes across as a Drink Now wine. Odd/Surprising showing.

50, 5, 12, 15, 7 = (89 pts.)