Country: France, Rhone
Grape Varieties: 75% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Cinsault

AWARDS
Decanter  98/100: Very full-bodied with a lovely sweetness to the fruit, fine tannins and great freshness. Really shot through with juicy, sweet, chocolatey tannins and great concentration. Very well balanced, however, not heavy or aggressive with a stony minerality on the finish. The most impressive barrel sample of Vieux Donjon I`ve ever tasted, this is profound stuff. This traditional estate owns 18ha of Châteauneuf, with considerable plantings of old-vine Grenache. Fermented in concrete vats, then aged in concrete and old foundry. Drinking Window 2025 – 2048 by Matt Walls

PARKER 94/100: These days, Vieux Donjon is one of the few estates in the region making only a single cuvée (Close des Papes is another). The 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape is a floral, violet-scented wine that`s supple and ripe. Only medium to full-bodied, it showcases complex garrigue and liquorice notes rather than oodles of red fruit and comes to a long, silky finish.

WINE SPECTATOR / JAMES SUCKLING 95/100: Rich and dark in profile, with delicious, velvety layers of warm fig, black currant and blackberry confiture moving through slowly, flecked with hints of ganache, roasted apple wood and tar. The finish has cut to match the heft. A real brick house that will age well.

Vineyard: It is made of 16 ha of vines in Châteauneuf du Pape. 10 ha are situated at the top of two plateaux of galets roulés (rolled stones) called Pied Long and Pied de Baud, the typical terroir of the appellation. The rest of the vineyard is spread around the town, on different terroirs, clay and limestone or sandy soil. This combination of soils gives complexity and a unique richness to the wine. The vineyard is 50 years old on average, a part of very old Grenache (more than 100 years old) and a part replanted 35 years ago.

Vinification and Ageing: Grapes are handpicked, strictly sorted in the vineyard and partly destemmed. The vinification takes place in concrete tanks for 20 to 25 days. Pump-over and temperature controls are daily made. After pressing, the wine is replaced in the same vats for the malo-lactic fermentation. Then it is aged in foudry (50hl) for 12 to 18 months before blending the different lots.