90 -93 points,

Rhone Report, The, September 2012

Tasted as a final blend, the 2011 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape is already complex and upfront, showing loads of wild herbs, meat juice, licorice, and cherry liqueur aromatics, a medium-bodied, supple mouth-feel, and good, but not great concentration. It is clean and very well-made, yet by Vieux Donjon standards, is surprisingly approachable at this stage. While most likely best drunk in its first decade or so of life, it should still benefit from short-term cellaring. - Jeb Dunnuck

90 -93 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, October 2012

With respect to the red wines, the 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape (75% Grenache, 15% Syrah and the rest Mourvedre and Cinsault) exhibits lots of tapenade, new saddle leather, garrigue, black currant, black cherry, smoke, earth and gamy/meaty notes. It is a surprisingly full-bodied, rich, layered 2011 that should drink well for 10-15 years. -Robert Parker

91 -93 points,

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, February 2013

Deep ruby. A wild, complex bouquet displays candied cherry, lavender, smoked meat and licorice. Sappy and penetrating, offering sweet cherry and floral pastille flavors and a smoky nuance. A note of bitter chocolate comes up with air and carries through a long, sappy finish. In an old-school style and quite a bit more feral than recent vintages for this property, which will please long-time fans.

About Winery

Le Vieux Donjon, as it exists today, was created in 1979 with the marriage of Lucien and Marie José Michel. Both Lucien and Marie José's parents owned vineyards in the region, and those holding were combined to form Le Vieux Donjon. The domaine covers fourteen hectares of vineyards (all farmed organically), thirteen planted to red grapes and one planted to white. The Michel's holdings are primarily in the North and Northwest of the AOC, but they also have small plots in the Southwest and East. Their most important parcel is Pialons, and the grapes from the 2008 come from that parcel as well as those in Cabrieres, Bois de Boursan, Les Marines and Le Mourre de Gaude. The soils are mainly limestone and clay, and are studded with the famed galets roulé, the round, rust-colored stones which were left behind after the retreat of the Alpine glaciers which once covered the region.

Shipping Details

This is a pre-arrival item. You will be contacted once this product has arrived at our warehouse to arrange delivery.

Need it faster? Call us now at (888) 859-4637 for special arrangements.

Free storage available. We offer free 6 months storage for any wine purchased at JJ Buckley. We highly recommend storing your wines during the summer months to avoid heat damage during shipment.

For a shipping quote, add this product to your shopping cart. From there you will be able to enter a zipcode and get a detailed quote. For full details on our shipping policies, click here.