2021 Le Vieux Donjon, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

A smoky style thatÆs a touch herbal and meaty. Towards full-bodied, with good weight and texture. Quite a saline expression, ending on crisp raspberry acidity and quite strict tannins. Will always be a lean style, but should make interesting old bones.

This generous and well-structured 2021 Chateauneuf has excellent raspberry and strawberry aromas for the challenging vintage, plus notes of floral aromas. Surprisingly fine tannins, too. Still very youthful and in need of a bit of time in bottle to reach ideal harmony, but the freshness at the finish is already delightful. A cuvee 75% grenache, 10% syrah, 10% mourvedre and 5% cinsault that were co-fermented, then matured in foudre. Drinkable now, but best from 2024.

Også i denne årgang en mastodont blandt ligesindede, og med et imponerende samarbejde mellem meget feminine træk som mildhed, krydderi og kælen charme på den ene side û og muskler, saft og kontant garvesyre på den anden. Herlig vin, endnu alt for ung, men fuld af spændende løfter. Den udvikler sig mod bløde former i glasset, garvesyrebiddet tager lidt af, charmen stiger. Gem den roligt i 8-10 år og find det bedste kød frem.

A classic blend of 75% Grenache, 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah and 5% Cinsault, the 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape is a charming, easy-drinking effort. Marked by scents of cherries and garrigue, it's medium to full-bodied, silky, fine and classic but not great, with just a hint of dark chocolate on the finish. // The red wine matures in foudres or concrete tanks, so it also sees rather neutral aging. The wine is blended in December the year following the harvest, then put back into foudre or tank until bottling, several months later. François fra Le Vieux Donjon recalls 2021 as, "a normal summer, not too warm, not too dry. Very classical and easy, up until the end, when we had several rain episodesùthree or four." As at many estates, the 2021 red wine has turned out better than was expected when the grapes were harvested, and the 2021 Le Vieux Donjon, while it doesn't measure up to the wines from great vintages, is an excellent wine.

The 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape is a solid effort in the vintage. A normal blend of mostly Grenache with 10% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, with a splash of Cinsault, it has a beautiful perfume of ripe cherries, fresh strawberries, sappy green flowers, and peppery garrigue. This carries to a medium-bodied, layered, elegant Châteauneuf with fine tannins, a beautiful overall sense of balance, and outstanding length. It shows the fresh, pretty, nuanced style of the vintage and is a beautiful wine to enjoy over the coming decade. It's in the same ballpark as the 2008.

This offers real aromatic beauty, with incense, violets and red currant flavors melded with a layer of finely crushed graphite. Chalk-fine tannins guide the medium-length finish, adding nice chewiness. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Drink now through 2032.