Ce domaine poursuit dans le style où la puissance côtoie l’élégance, mais aussi avec ce sentiment d’urgence « terrienne » où fruit et terroir sont liés depuis un bon moment déjà. La Patine est capiteuse, la texture finement « serrante » en milieu de bouche, le tanin palpable, riche, presque gras. Sérieux. 4 étoiles/5.
2009 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge, A$145 There’s something almost Burgundian about Vieux Télégraphe, with its clear, light colours; its refined scents of bay leaf and tobacco; and its unforbidding, glycerous flavours, full of faintly saline stoniness, licorice refinement, and with a gentle chocolaty sheen to the quiet, calm fruits. It’s almost as if you can taste the vast, bright sky, poised up above the boulder-strewn plateau of Crau, in the wine’s extensive openness of flavour: a serene summary of place.
(A$145) is a grand wine that still fits in the relatively reserved and savoury mode that defines this when young. The fruit is precisely ripe, nicely balanced with an abundance of sweet eastern spices and gentle earthy tones, red and darker reddish fruits evident too. The palate is dense yet supple, showing good weight, fleshy through the middle palate and impeccable poise. Superb length and balance, this boasts essence-like concentration. Again, one to leave alone for some time.
This is crammed with fruit, spice and structure, as braised fig, plum skin, cassis and anise notes wrestle with roasted appel wood, melted red licorice and tar for now. The embedded grip should carry the finish until this assimilates fully.
The 2009 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau is a beauty. A blend of 60% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre, and the rest an assortment of varieties, all from La Crau, it exhibits a traditional, muscular bouquet of both red and black fruits, white pepper, rolled stone, iron, and spice cabinet-like characteristics. This is followed by a medium to full-bodied, structured wine that has a firm, focused feel, solid concentration, and an edgy, long finish. Overall, this is an old school, classically styled wine that’s meant for aging; it will need time to be approachable. I would give bottles 5-7 years in the cellar, and then plan on drinking them over the following 10-15 years.
This classic offering had been bottled before my visit, so it was probably tighter than it will be in 6-12 months. Deep ruby/purple-colored with notes of garrigue, seeweed, licorice, plums, black cherries and raspberries, it typically reveals a Mediterranean sea breeze-like character that is difficult to articulate. The sweetness of the tannin, fullbodied mouthfeel, and evolved style remind me somewhat of the 1983, which is still drinking beautifully.
93. Bright ruby. Intense red fruit and potpourri aromas show excellent precision and a suave, spicy character. Licorice and lavender nuances add complexity to juicy raspberry and bitter cherry flavors, with the wine putting on weight in the glass. Finishes taut and youthfully tangy, with echoing licorice and spice notes
A deep ruby/plum color is followed by a big, sweet nose of boysenberries, raspberries, licorice, nori seaweed wrap, black currants and earth. Fullbodied, with beautiful texture, purity, depth and power, the 2009 is a notch behind the extraordinary 2007, but it is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage. It should drink well for 20 years.
Vivid ruby. Explosive raspberry and blackberry aromas,sustained by hints of star anise and rose; showing excellent clarity and energy. Silky in texture and alluringly sweet, with palate-coating red and dark berry flavors and no rough edges. Finishes with impressive persistence and lingering sweetness, repeating the dark berry note. I really like this wine’sseamless texture.