In Châteauneuf-du-Pape, there’s one vineyard that stands above the rest: the plateau of La Crau, covered in round stones (galets roulés). Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe is the largest landowner in this coveted lieu-dit. Named for the signal tower that was used in the 18th century to telegraph messages, Vieux Télé (as it’s affectionately known) has been run by the Brunier family for six generations. Many Châteauneufs are blockbusters in power and alcohol, but the Brunier style is famously elegant and savory. Sourced from 60- to 110-year-old vines, the flagship 2020 red offers charming, old-school appeal, impressive depth and a long life ahead.
(94) This shows a lot of aromatic appeal, with dusty earth and singed incense notes covering a well of fresh cherry and red currant flavors. A gutsy, grippy style on the palate, with a cast-iron spine bringing firm shape and underlying power. Slightly old-school, this still needs time to unfurl. Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault. Best from 2025 through 2035. 2,500 cases imported.
2018 Terrasse du Diable (91)
Solid, showing cherry and plum paste notes laced with singed tobacco, alder and red tea. The sneaky long finish has a nice chalky thread. Grenache, Mourvèdre and Clairette. Drink now through 2026. 585 cases imported.
2020 Vieux Télégraphe (94)
This shows a lot of aromatic appeal, with dusty earth and singed incense notes covering a well of fresh cherry and red currant flavors. A gutsy, grippy style on the palate, with a cast iron spine bringing firm shape and underlying power. Slightly old-school, this still needs time to unfurl. Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault. Best from 2025 through 2035. 7,500 cases made, 2,500 cases imported.
2020 Télégramme (91)
With gentle edges and an attractive mix of sweet red fruit and baking spices, this is supple and open-knit, reined in with notes of savory smoked graphite, earth and tobacco. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Drink now through 2028.
2021 Vieux Télégraphe Blanc (94)
Full and broad, with a well-structured framework for the green plum and citrus cream flavors, while subtle fleur de sel and buttercream notes stream along. The texture starts out glycerol smooth, then is propped up by chalky, slightly bitter tannins to pleasing effect. Fresh, with good intensity and balance through the powerful finish. This has a long life ahead in the cellar. Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc and Roussanne. Drink now through 2035.
2021 Clos Roquète (92)
A distinctive style, with an earthy side. Chalky and full on the palate, with ripe kiwi and mirabelle plum undercut by tangy acidity. Gains freshness from green herb and crushed stone notes, while a bitter almond accent lingers on the finish. Clairette, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc. Drink now through 2028.
2020 Piedlong (93)
A glossy, high-toned style, this seductive red displays red tea, licorice and cherry fruit leather flavors that ride along on a warm, open-knit palate filigreed with lavender and a hint of dried leaves. Elegant and pure, with an element of crushed iron, this has a density that offers plenty of stuffing and length. Grenache and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2032.
2021 Terrasse du Diable 2021 (90)
This offers some nice substance, locked up behind subtly firm tannins that are beginning to unfurl. Smoked oolong tea and cured meat flavors give this a savory edge, with notes of graphite shavings dusting plum skin and stewed cherry. Grenache, Mourvèdre and Clairette. Best from 2025 through 2030.
2021 Racines (90)
A racy, taut version, with high-toned floral aromatics sharing the stage with flavors of iodine and mesquite smoke. A salty, smoky meat note weaves through, infusing light red currant and raspberry accents on a light-to-medium frame. Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Clairette. Drink now through 2027.
2022 Au Petit Bonheur
Pale and polished, offering smooth flavors of mango and honeyed pear that glide through on a silky palate. Shows impressive weight yet stays fresh, with salty mineral notes nicely offsetting the supple, full feel. This distinctive style finishes with bitter pithiness and a smoke detail. Grenache, Clairette and Cinsault. Drink now. 450 cases imported.
2018 Vieux Télégraphe (95)
A nice throwback style, with a range of dried lavender and rosemary notes peeking out from a cedar-framed core of mulled cherry, blood orange and plum fruit. Features warm stone, licorice root and tobacco leaf accents that fill in through the energetic finish. A wine that’s very confident in its terroir. Best from 2024 through 2038. 2,495 cases imported.
JAMES MOLESWORTH
Rhône producers are crowing about their 2019s vintage, another vintage where the southern swath of the valley was drenched in sun and heat through the summer. The result is a set of bottlings marked by vivid fruit flavors and lush textures that allow the wines to glide. Maby will age on a fairly rapid (yet delicious) track, while the best examples have well-integrated grip for more serious cellaring.
Here’s a crop of late-release 2019s and a 2020 that missed my annual tasting report on the region (out now in Wine Spectator’s Feb. 28, 2022 issue), but can be explored here in our Insider Weekly. There are impressive wines from lesser-known domaines like Tour St.-Michel, led by vigneron Mireille Porte, as well as Raymond Usseglio, now under the hand of Stéphane Usseglio. There are also wines from more prominent names like Chapoutier, Giraud and Vieux Télégraphe. The latter two also account for two of this week’s Hot Wines: Giraud’s old-vine, Grenache-only cuvée and a spectacular 2020 white from the brothers Brunier.
This edition comes in just in time for the depths of winter, so cue the roasted game birds, mild mushrooms and truffles, and open up one of these delicious Rhône wines. — James Molesworth
DOMAINE DU VIEUX TELEGRAPHE – CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE LA CRAU 2019
93 points | $105 | 2,841 cases imported | Red
Silky and refined, with focused cherry puree, plum, reduction and raspberry coulis notes racing through, infused subtly with rose petal, warm stone and lavender hints. Features nice perfume through the finish. Grenache, Mouvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault. Drink now through 2036. — J.M.
DOMAINE DU VIEUX TELEGRAPHE – CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE WHITE LA CRAU 2020
95 points | $87 | 348 cases imported | White
Well-built, with a steady intensity to the waves of white peach, star fruit, acacia, honeysuckle and mirabelle plum. Delivers flashes of lemon shortbread and quinine through the finish, giving it both plump and racy elements. This is hard to lay off now, but it has some development ahead of it. Clairetty, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc and Roussanne. Drink now through 2030. — J.M.
PIEDLONG 2019
93 points | $65 | 400 cases imported | Red
Shows sneaky richness, as plus paste and cherry preserve notes unwine slowly, carried by silky yet substantial tannins. Features anise, black tea, and a late flash of shiso leaf, which add range through the finish. Alluring. Grenache and Mouvèdre. Best from 2023 through 2036. — J.M.
CLOS ROQUETE 2020
93 point | $59 | 150 cases imported | White
Vivid, with a mix of honeysuckle, white peach, star fruit, acacia, green plum and quinine notes that are racy, lively and well-detailed through the finish. Shows a lovely mineral echo at the end, too. Clairette, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc. Drink now through 2026. — J.M.
In the late 1990s, Daniel Brunier was expanding his family’s holdings. Along with his brother Frédéric, Daniel had Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, the family’s flagship property in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, humming along. Vineyards in the Ventoux had been acquired for additional bottlings and he had set up his Massaya venture in Lebanon.
« We were looking to expand a bit more, maybe [50, 75, 100 acres] of Côtes du Rhône vines somewhere, » he says. « To be honest, at that time, even though Gigondas was not a big name, it was a little too expensive for us. »
But one day Brunier got a call to come visit Domaine Les Pallières, a Gigondas estate with 60 acres of vines, and a big problem: It wasn’t selling any wine. In the cellar, still in foudres and vats, were five vintages’ worth of wine, from 1993 through 1997. The 1998 harvest was hanging on the vine, and there was literally nowhere to put it.
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The estate can be divided into two portions, upper and lower. The upper terraces are over 1,000 feet in elevation, average about 45 years of age and are planted primarily to Grenache with some Mourvèdre. The parcels around the winery itself range from 650 to 800 feet, and the Grenache, along with a mix of Cinsault and Syrah, are markedly older, at 70 years and up. Brunier vinified these two portions separately, then eventually blended them to make a single estate cuvée. But he kept finding the tannins a bit tight, even « rude, » as he puts it.