Le Vieux Donjon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2016

98 points Jeb Dunnuck
"The 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is unquestionably the greatest wine made from this estate to date and surpasses the 1998, 2007, and 2010. Checking in as a normal blend of 75% Grenache, 10% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, and the balance Cinsault, it offers a heavenly bouquet of blackcurrants, ground pepper, new saddle leather, garrigue, and an assortment of exotic spices. Deep, full-bodied, incredibly concentrated, yet with the purity, elegance, and finesse that makes this vintage so special, it can be drunk any time over the coming two decades or more. Bravo!."

97 points Wine Advocate
"My favorite of the Vieux Donjons on this visit, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape is outperforming its early showings. Dark-fruited and earthy, it's at the beginning of what will likely be two decades of drinkability. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it boasts great texture and ample length, plus some transfixing hints of licorice and fine suede on the finish."

Vinous Reverie Notes
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.