2018 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

For decades the small domaine Le Vieux Donjon has been one of the most consistently outstanding producers of classically wrought Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Michel family owns 18 hectares of vines in the appellation, with just one of them devoted to white grapes. A decent amount of red wine is made here each year, around 7,000 cases, given that this is one of the holdout estates to issue only one red and one white bottling. Lucien Michel put his wines on the map back in the 1970s. Today, his children, Claire Fabre and her brother, François Michel, are more than upholding the domaine’s reputation. Both the 2018 and 2019 bottlings deliver the goods, with the 2019, especially, a long-distance runner based on its balance.