Description
Domaine du Vieux Telegraph is one of the better known names in Chateauneuf du Pape. The Brunier family has been producing wines at in the appellation for over 100 years. Vieux Telegraph was founded in 1898 by Hippolyte Brunier, the great, grand father of the current owners. They chose the name Vieux Telegraph from an aging signal tower built in 1792 by Claude Chappe. Chappe is the inventor of the optical telegraph, so it’s a very fitting name. The first vintage to be produced and bottled at Vieux Telegraph was the 1900.
94/100 points Wine Spectator 2012
Textbook, with singed cedar and tobacco leaf, lavender and bay notes weaving through flavors of date nut bread, dried currant and mulled cherry fruit. All of this is harnessed by pebbly tannins that leave a juicy, mouthwatering feel on the finish. A domaine that hasn't missed a beat in quite some time. Drink now through 2021.
93/100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau is gorgeous, structured, impressive. Full-bodied and backward, with great depth, purity, and heady aromatics, this 20,000-case blend of 60% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, and 15% miscellaneous amounts of the other permitted varietals will easily rival the 1998. A deep ruby/purple-tinged color is accompanied by a sweet perfume of salty sea breezes, seaweed, melted licorice, kirsch liqueur, creme de cassis, and iodine ... a classic Vieux-Telegraphe aromatic display. Powerful as well as firmly structured, this is a wine to lay away for 4-5 years. It should prove to be uncommonly long-lived, lasting a minimum of two decades. It gets my nod as the greatest Vieux-Telegraphe since the 1998.
CT 90.4 from 243 reviews
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