Le Vieux Donjon 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape 56.40 (#700922)
Insofar as I've discussed many characteristics of Chateauneuf du Pape's terroir and the flavour profile of its wines in my Beaucastel entry, I'll keep this a bit shorter. Like Beaucastel, Le Vieux Donjon is one of the best wines of the appellation. Better still, the 2005 vintage was superb in Chateauneuf, and many domaines produced their finest offerings in more than five years. While Vieux Donjon (as is the case with many of the better estates) produced phenomenal wine in both 2003 and 2004, if you put stock in the Wine Spectator's view of things, the 2005 is even a bit better than these highly rated bottlings. Indeed, the folks at the Wine Spectator think so highly of this wine that they ranked it 3rd on their list of the top 100 wines of 2007. What is nice about this top 100 list is that it is not based solely on the wine's rating; they also take into account price and availability. And though it is not cheap, at less than 60 dollars, this wine easily rivals bottles twice and three times as much.
Named after the old summer residence of the popes during the 14th century, Le Vieux Donjon is a traditionally made Chateauneuf du Pape. What are the defining characteristics of this traditional approach? The red is dominated by Grenache (75%), and it is aged for 6 months in cement tank which is followed by 12 months in oak foudres. A foudre is an extremely large cask that allows the wine to develop without imparting oaky notes. In addition to this, winemakers Lucien Michel and his wife Marie Jose have not participated in the trend of making a super cuvee. I like this approach in that it demonstrates their commitment to producing a single offering of premium quality wine. Why reserve "special" grapes for a limited release cuvee when they could go into the primary wine?
If there is a downside to this wine, it is that it requires patience. One word used to describe this wine is "backward." Although it would seem as though there is a negative connotation to this term, it in fact refers to the high degree of tannin and structure that defines big wines from good vintages. It is helpful to think about this term in a somewhat literal sense: it is the opposite of "fruit-forward." Despite this, there are underlying red-fruit flavours associated with the high percentage of Grenache, but they are currently overpowered by the tannin. At present the wine is quite closed, but it will start to show off its immense potential in 5 years or so. It has all the structure to develop into a complex mix of cherry, provencal herbs and stones. If you have the money, it would be nice to try one of these with a holiday dinner (think prime rib) and then put a couple away for the long haul. You will not be disappointed!
Domaine Grand Veneur Chateauneuf du Pape 2004 39.00 (#41954) and Cuvee Les Origines 2005 53.95 (#43059)
There are two offerings from Grand Veneur in the December 8th release, the standard bottling from the 2004 vintage and the super cuvee from 2005. They are both excellent wines. Aside from the vintage date, the primary difference between the two wines is that the super cuvee (Les Origines) comes from older vines, sees a higher percentage of Mourvedre (30% vs. 20%), and is aged in new oak barrels. This is a less than traditional approach, but there are now a number of estates experimenting with such bottlings (the most similar being La Nerthe's Cuvee des Cadettes). Built for the long haul, many of these wines require some cellar time before they reveal their true colours. But they are often wonderfully concentrated wines, and this is certainly the case with the 2005 Grand Veneur. Referring to Parker's tasting notes, one finds that despite moderate tannins, this wine is actually quite approachable now. Although he suggests 2-3 years of aging, this is quite different from the Vieux Donjon, and I'm sure this will appeal to many people unwilling to make the commitment to really cellar wines. Significantly, the Parker rating is a 95, which at this price point is nothing short of fantastic.
At about 20 dollars less, the standard bottling from the 2004 vintage is not giving a whole lot away to the 2005 Les Origines. Made in a more traditional manner, this wine is another lovely example of the great Chateauneuf terroir. Grand Veneur is located in the north of the appellation, and like all the top estates, features stony and windswept vineyards. The proprietor of the domaine is Alain Jaume, and his sons, Sebastian and Christophe, represent the 6th generation of Jaumes making wine in Chateauneuf du Pape. The awareness of such lineages always makes a wine that much more special to me. The thought that a family has been cultivating and caring for the land for so many years reinforces what a wonderful gift wine is and serves to remind us that the French are still the model of respect for the tradition of wine making.
Although this bottling would age for 10+ years, it can absolutely be drunk now, and that's what I'd strongly recommend. Save the other wines of this entry for the cellar; this is one to open now and enjoy with braised beef ribs or other slow-cooked red meat dishes. It has great aromas of raspberry, fig and garrigue, that combination of wild herbs and scrub brush that defines much of the Provencal landscape and the wines of the Southern Rhone. The Parker rating is 91, and though that's lower than the 2005 Les Origines, this is a classic case in which ratings are misleading and somewhat irrelevant. As a wine that doesn't require the same degree of aging, this cuvee offers a different drinking experience, not necessarily an inferior one. I thoroughly enjoy drinking young Chateauneufs (indeed, that's what I most commonly can get my hands on), and prefer not to place such wines in competition with other bottles that demand long-term aging. Having said that, one intriguing experiment would be to buy both offerings from Grand Veneur and try them beside one another. It might even be fun to blind taste them to ascertain which one you prefer (then you can really see if the ratings matter!). Spotting the differences in the two wines would really help the enthusiast to note the subtle differences between two closely related wines.
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