1999 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (5/29/2009)
Nice nose on this wine. Smells like plum, barnyard, dried herbs, and wet autumn leaves. Still has solid structure and mouthwatering fruit and acidity. Dark berry fruit with leather and peet moss. Good sappy finish. Has the texture of aged Burgundy and is very traditional in my opinion. Light on its feet yet deep in flavor and fruit profile. I like this quite a bit. I don’t think this will get any better with more cellaring. Should be consumed in the next couple of years in my opinion.
1999 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (2/21/2013)
– decanted immediately before first taste –
– tasted non-blind over a few hours –
NOSE: strongly-scented, with initial dominating notes of raspberry, red cherries, and horse stable; the Nose “darkens” approx. 1.5 hours after uncorking; light woodsy spice note; not terribly complex, but nonetheless enjoyable in its moderate simplicity.
BODY: cork streaked approx… ½ way up; garnet color with slight bricking throughout; color is of medium depth; medium bodied.
TASTE: very acidic — almost enough (but not quite enough) to make me wonder if there was some slight in-bottle secondary fermentation with this bottle; very strong garrigue; red fruits (red currants and red berries); youthful, but devoid of baby fat/gloss/sheen; very fine tannins; 13.5% alc. not noticeable; very well-balanced & fresh: a lovely CdP!; medium length finish of medium to medium-strong intensity; I purchased this bottle from a CA retailer a year and a half ago, and it was clearly very well-kept before that retailer obtained it. I don’t think this really has room to improve, even though it does have plenty of life left in it (and, therefore, room to evolve). My score may be a touch conservative.
This wine is certainly coming into prime time, but I think it has a few years left during which it will improve and a few after that that it will hold.
I wouldn’t panic about drinking it - over the next 7-8 years maybe?