2007 Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Tradition and Soul in Chateauneuf
Sharp Pricing on a Star from this Top Vintage
"Always one of my favorite Chateauneuf-du-Pape estates to visit, proprietor Jean-Paul Dauman has made Domaine de la Vieille Julienne a brilliant reference point for this appellation."
- Robert Parker
It's amazing the genius that can be produced when wines are not manipulated, when very old vines (100 years plus) are tended to thoughtfully.
Perhaps we shouldn't expect anything less, especially in "the greatest vintage" Robert Parker has experienced in his thirty years working the Southern Rhône, yet still, even with all the hype, the purity and soul of the 2007 Vieille Julienne is impossible to deny.
Today we are proud to offer our collection of this beautifully concentrated, ultra-pure 2007 Chateauneuf at an incredibly sharp price, as low as $61.50 when you buy a 6-pack. (Which given the track record of this wine in the cellar, is a very good idea.)
This is a wine that definitely deserves a spot high on the list of the great 2007 Chateauneufs.
Why? Because this is traditional Chateauneuf with an emphasis on generous fruit and heady perfumes, as well as clarity, structure and balance.
While the estate is focused on making wines of serious concentration, there is no sleight of hand happening at Vieille Julienne. Since roughly 1990 Jean-Paul Daumen has been shifting towards biodynamic farming; only indigenous yeasts are used during the fermentation. The wines are aged in Foudres, so do not expect a massively oaked modern style of Chateauneuf. Instead, you'll find a richness without a lack of freshness (Parker calls it a "wonderful freshness and vivacity"), plush fruit with an undertow of clay and stones.
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If Vieille Julienne is not as rustic as Beaucastel or as rugged as Mont Redon, there is a density and rigor to the wines that is unmistakably traditional. The 2007 gains perhaps an extra dimension from the addition of juice from a parcel of 103-year-old Grenache vines, usually held back for a special reserve bottling.
The problem with most people's Chateuneuf collection is that it gets drunk so young. Many of the wines, including the Vieille Julienne, have such an overwhelmingly hedonistic charm when they are young, that it is very difficult to stop corks from getting popped, from bottles being emptied. We're as guilty as the next hedonist, but still, if possible we would recommend trying to cellar a few bottles. If you have the will power to limit consumption to just one or two bottles now, great, otherwise, consider going LONG!
The 2007 has the stuffing, the concentration, the structure to develop and improve well into its second and even third decade.
This is an estate with big history (the Daumen family has owned the Vieille Julienne for over 100 years, they have been estate bottling since the 1960s), though it's really only in the last 20 years that the family has begun to harvest the riches of its collection of old vines, which range from 55- to over 100-years-old.
This is an estate that has been on a meteoric rise - in a vintage like this, the wines will go quickly. Please email us at offers@crushwineco.com to order or call the store at (212) 980-9463. All orders subject to confirmation.
Ian McFadden
Director of Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Parker note: "While the beautiful 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape is already accessible, it will benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring, and should last for two decades or more. It exhibits an inky/ruby/purple color, a great texture, and a gorgeous nose of boysenberries, blueberries, blackberries, acacia flowers, licorice, and incense. There is wonderful freshness and vibrancy (because of the good acids) as well as a terrific finish."
Neal Martin: "The nose is incredibly pure with raspberry, black cherries, a hint of fig and a touch of cooked meats that should evolve after bottling. Very fresh with good definition. The palate is incredibly smooth and downright sexy on the entry, utterly harmonious with blackberries, touches of cassis and a touch of damson. This is unreservedly a thrilling Chateauneuf-du-Pape, opulent, incredibly focused."
NET | No further discount
Wine available for delivery beginning Nov. 10