Deal Alert: 2008 Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Monday, November 12, 2012

Upper Falls Liquors in Newton, MA is offering the 2008 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape for $35/bottle. With a 93 point rating from Wine Spectator and a $63 release price this is a good buy. But 2008 is one of the least heralded vintages of Chateauneuf in the past decade so let's dig a bit deeper into the numbers...

Parker rated it 88-90 from barrel and evidently never released a rating for the finished product.

Spectator's Vintage Chart for Southern Rhone rates 2008 "88 points":
Cool, wet spring and humid growing season saved by the mistral; a small crop, with many producers eliminating cuvées. Quality very heterogenous, but some excellent wines can be found; stick to top names
Well, Donjon is a top name. I hadn't tried many 2008 CdPs prior to last night when I popped a 2008 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape to get a feel for the vintage. That wine carries a $100 release price and is starting to be discounted as well. I rated it 92 points (to Wine Spectator's 95) and felt it lacked some of the power and flavor markings I look for in CdP. That said, I thought it was an incredibly enjoyable wine.

So what to do? Buy from a great producer in an "off" vintage? Or go for something like the 2010 St. Cosme Gigondas at a similar price point? Decisions, decisions.

The 2008 Donjon currently carries a 90.2 CellarTracker Community rating.

Nationwide best price on Wine-Searcher: $44.99
(one retailer has half bottles for $39.99!)

More information on the offer in this link

To order call Mike O'Connell at Upper Falls Liquors at (617) 969-9200 or drop him an email at postscriptwine@gmail.com

Question of the Day: What do you think? Deal or no deal?

PS If you're looking for Wine Spectator to start revealing their Top 10 wines of the year, it's been pushed back to Wednesday due to Hurricane Sandy. Subscribe to the WWP for the latest on that.

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