Notify me
2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau”
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe
Daniel wrote to me after the bottling of the 2005: For me it is without a doubt the greatest vintage since 1998, and our third grand vintage in a row. If I had to choose my favorite three wines of the last three decades, I’d say 1978, 1998, and 2005. The color is deep and complex. The wine is at once pleasure, richness, depth, and freshness. The body is velvety and not at all aggressive. You smell the stones, the minerality, a smokiness, the magnificent old-vines Grenache fruit ... I believe that the tannins are better integrated than in any previous vintage. It is as pow-erful as any we’ve made, but more elegant, more noble. It is ageworthy. How long? A client brought us a superb 1933 Vieux Télégraphe the other day, so who knows.
Rich, ripe fruit, chewy flesh, and that telltale mineral finish make this vintage of VT perfect for enjoying right now.
**Extremely limited quantities, maximum three bottles per purchase**
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2005 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 65% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 5% (Cinsault, Clairette, et al) |
Appellation: | Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
Country: | France |
Region: | Southern Rhône |
Producer: | Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe |
Winemaker: | Frédéric & Daniel Brunier |
Vineyard: | 65 ha, 20 to 60 years |
Soil: | Alluvial deposits, Limestone, Silica, and Molasse (red clay) with galets roulés |
Aging: | Wine rests in cuves for 10 months, and then ages for another 12 months in foudres, wine is bottled unfiltered, after 22 months of aging |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” HALF BOTTLE
France | Southern Rhône
It’s a gem, and you won’t be disappointed.

2024 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Blanc “Le Pigeoulet”
France | Southern Rhône
The blend is equal parts Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Clairette. Together, they create a wine that has a complex mouth-feel that finishes with a nice refreshing acidity.

2021 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Papesse”
France | Southern Rhône
Elevation and abundant limestone combine to give taut, high-toned wines with delicate floral aromas and stimulating mineral freshness.

Huile d’Olive Vierge Extra
| Southern Rhône
Full-bodied yet delicate, infused with the joie de vivre of the south of France.

2023 Vacqueyras Rouge “ Doucinello”
France | Southern Rhône
The flavors are mostly deep and dark—stones, licorice, black olive, and blackberry—but the frame is lithe.

2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Télégramme”
France | Southern Rhône
If Télégramme is more about fruit than stones, it is still undeniably Châteauneuf, expressing the nobility of carefully farmed Grenache from the Rhône’s finest terroirs.

2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau”
France | Southern Rhône
The majesty of the La Crau vineyard is encapsulated in this wine. I can't think of a grander expression of Southern Rhone terroir.

2009 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau”
France | Southern Rhône
Perfect for those who enjoy delicacy and finesse in their Châteauneuf.

2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” MAGNUM
France | Southern Rhône
It is important to remember the heights that old-vine Grenache can reach when planted on arid, stony plateaus in the shadows of Mount Ventoux.

2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” HALF BOTTLE
France | Southern Rhône
It’s a gem, and you won’t be disappointed.
About The Producer
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe
One cannot think of Châteauneuf-du-Pape without thinking of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. The Brunier family is legendary in its own right, having been rooted to the plateau known as La Crau for over a century. The wines of Vieux Télégraphe evoke terroir in its purest form, reflecting the dramatic climate, the rough terrain, the sun exposure at a high altitude, the typicity of the varietals, and of course, the influence of their caretakers, the Brunier family. For many, La Crau is Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s grandest cru. The wines of V.T. are classic, displaying strength, rusticity, and tremendous longevity. Their goal is to find a harmony between aromatic complexity, tannic structure, and richness, which they achieve year after year.
More from Southern Rhône or France
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” HALF BOTTLE
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2024 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Blanc “Le Pigeoulet”
Famille Brunier France | Southern Rhône
2022 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Sagesse”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Papesse”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” MAGNUM
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2024 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Blanc
Domaine de Durban France | Southern Rhône
2023 Tavel “La Combe des Rieu”
Gaël Petit France | Southern Rhône
2024 Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge “Il Fait Soif”
Maxime-François Laurent France | Southern Rhône
2023 Côtes-du-Rhône “Sierra du Sud”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
Huile d’Olive Vierge Extra
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe | Southern Rhône
2023 Beaumes-de-Venise Rouge
Domaine de Durban France | Southern Rhône
2022 Vacqueyras Rouge “Cuvée de Lopy”
Domaine le Sang des Cailloux France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” HALF BOTTLE
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2024 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Blanc “Le Pigeoulet”
Famille Brunier France | Southern Rhône
2022 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Sagesse”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Papesse”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” MAGNUM
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2024 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Blanc
Domaine de Durban France | Southern Rhône
2023 Tavel “La Combe des Rieu”
Gaël Petit France | Southern Rhône
2024 Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge “Il Fait Soif”
Maxime-François Laurent France | Southern Rhône
2023 Côtes-du-Rhône “Sierra du Sud”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
Huile d’Olive Vierge Extra
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe | Southern Rhône
2023 Beaumes-de-Venise Rouge
Domaine de Durban France | Southern Rhône
2022 Vacqueyras Rouge “Cuvée de Lopy”
Domaine le Sang des Cailloux France | Southern Rhône
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.