Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2020

Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2020 is a Clairette and Roussanne white from the Rhône with lemon, pear, pineapple and stone notes and a dry finish. It has the rare feel of a white from a domaine best known for red Châteauneuf. The stainless-steel ageing keeps the fruit clear and the finish pithy.

About the Wine
Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2020 comes from sustainable farming in the southern Rhône. This is the domaine’s scarce white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, made from Clairette and Roussanne in a cellar better known for one red bottling. The vineyard soils bring together sand, galets roulés and limestone. That mix gives this Blanc its sunny pear fruit, its citrus bite and its dry stone edge. The wine is matured in stainless steel. That choice keeps the 2020 Le Vieux Donjon Blanc close to its fruit rather than wrapping it in barrel sweetness. Clairette gives apple skin, lemon pith and a light floral note. Roussanne adds pear, pineapple and a rounded mid-palate. At 15% alcohol, the texture has real breadth for a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The finish moves back toward citrus peel, crushed stone and a faint vanilla warmth.

Tasting Notes
The first scent is apple blossom, lemon zest and ripe pear, with a hint of pineapple that points straight to the 2020 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. The palate feels juicy and broad, then the Clairette brings a pithy line through the richer Roussanne fruit. There is a small note of pencil shaving and warm stone under the apple and pineapple, which gives the wine a savoury edge. The dry finish carries lemon peel, pear skin and a quiet vanilla note that feels like ripe fruit rather than oak. Drink 2021-2025.

Food Pairing
Pour Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2020 with fish in a lemon butter sauce, scallops with fennel or roast chicken with thyme and garlic. The wine has enough body for poultry, and its citrus-pith finish cuts through the sweet shellfish flavour of prawns or langoustines. For a regional plate, serve it with brandade de morue from Nîmes, with olive oil, potato and a little garlic. It also suits soft goat cheese, grilled courgettes and a vegetable tian, especially when the dish has herbs rather than heavy spice.

Producer
Le Vieux Donjon is the Michel family domaine in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and its range has a strikingly narrow shape. The cellar channels nearly all of its identity into one Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge, then releases this Blanc in much smaller volume. That matters for this bottle, since the white is treated as part of the estate’s main voice rather than a side project. The domaine’s wines often feel grounded in the old village rhythm of Châteauneuf, with fruit from stony parcels, a calm cellar hand and very little noise around the range. In the 2020 Blanc, that restraint shows through a clear Clairette and Roussanne blend, stainless-steel ageing and a finish that stays on lemon peel and warm limestone. Le Vieux Donjon has built its reputation through continuity rather than a changing set of labels, so this rare white carries the same direct house signature as the red.

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