Vieux Donjon - Châteauneuf-du-Pape blanc 2023

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

Since 1979, Marie-José and Lucien Michel have managed this estate, before handing over to their daughter Claire Michel-Fabre in 2008, joined by her brother François in 2012. While the cellars are located in the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, this small 17-hectare estate is situated in the northern part of the appellation. In a suave, floral and highly elegant register, Le Vieux Donjon has established itself as one of the spearheads of the refined, elegant style expected of a prestigious appellation like Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

White flowers, honeysuckle, wisteria, broom and a few exotic and spicy notes, the whole is loose, with a beautiful mineral depth. The juice is dashing and balanced, and the palate seduces with its controlled richness and tonic length. Less broad than 2022, but more sapid.

About the domain :

Domaine du Vieux Donjon wines are among the finest, most elegant and most consistent in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. This production should serve as a model for young winemakers who wish to produce refined, not just imposing, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. A meticulous and talented winemaker, Lucien Michel has gradually given way to his two children, Claire, who arrived in 2007, and François, an agricultural engineer by training, in 2012. This new generation harmoniously pursues the style that has made the domaine's reputation, with two cuvées of the highest quality. The wines are vinified in concrete vats and aged in large foudres. The whites are made with equal proportions of clairette and roussanne. The reds are only partially destemmed, which doesn't prevent them from being delicate. The domaine owns vines in some of the appellation's finest terroirs (8 hectares at Pied Long, as well as beautiful plots at Cabrières, Rayas, Cristia, purchased in 2013, Pied de Baud, Bois de Boursan, Le Mourre de Gaud...). It should be noted that the estate is expanding by 0.5 hectares in the lower part of Cabrières, on white Clairette and pink Clairette vines.

Jancis Robinson

Vinous A. Galloni

About the wine:

Bottled in February 2024, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2023 unfurls aromas of ripe pear, quince, spring flower, lemon flesh and fennel. Medium-bodied at best, the refreshing 2023 hits the palate with lively acidity, which can partly be attributed to blocked malolactic conversion. This is a fine white Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Jeb Dunnuck