TN: 2005 Le Vieux Donjon CDP

My second of three bottles, this confirms for me that one of my favorite traditional CDP producers has changed course. This wine is big, ripe and bold, with a touch of alcohol showing through. I would not say that the fruit notes are stewed, but they certainly are ripe. This seems more modern in style than any Donjon I have drunk other than the 2003, which I have hated each of the several times I have tried it. To be fair, I do not hate the 2005 version of this wine; rather, I think it is an acceptable drink. It just isn’t made in the more nuanced, restrained, traditional Donjon style that I used to appreciate.

Being a traditional styled wine, shouldn’t it reflect the vintages? If you want a leaner, more rustic, more acidic VD, there are lots of other vintages for you.

Maybe I would enjoy '04 or '06 Donjon more than the '05. But this producer’s wines seem to be evolving toward a larger, riper style (are you sure you can call it “traditional” anymore?). Given that I don’t commit much of my wine buying budget to CDP these days, I will focus on other producers that seem still to embrace the more traditional style, like Vieux Telegraph.

I hated the 2003 as well.

Donjon is no longer traditional. Cambie has put his stamp on it.

Precisely.

Although Cambie arrived in 00, the date for the changeover for me was the 03. At first, I put that off to the vintage, but 04 and 05 confirmed it. I haven’t had any since 06. It hasn’t been a traditional domaine for a while now.