Notify me
2013 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau”
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe
This superb Vieux Télégraphe vintage is the example other southern French winemakers could look to when seeking where to go next. It is a breakthrough wine. Daniel Brunier said concisely what he, his brother Frédéric, and I were thinking as we tasted it after the bottling: “Truly classic Vieux Télégraphe, deep and powerful as usual, yet showing great finesse and class, almost an ethereal quality.”
The bouquet is as lovely an expression of the stony plateau of La Crau as I can remember. It brings to mind the magnificent 1978, 1981, and 1983 Vieux Télégraphes. At Châteauneuf, you can’t do better.
And pay attention to the remarkable tannin that supports the weight of the wine so well—you can actually use the word ethereal to describe the wine on the palate. Revel in that tannin—so present, so lovely. “Good grip!,” as Clive Coates likes to say.
Drink the 2013 young, old, and in between.
—Kermit Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2013 |
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: | 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: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

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.

2023 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Sagesse”
France | Southern Rhône
La Sagesse carries the full flavor, succulence, and savoriness we associate with Grenache on a graceful and lively frame.

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

2024 Côtes du Rhône Villages Rouge
France | Southern Rhône
We aimed for maximum drinkability: plenty of hedonistic purple-tinged fruit, along with a hint of wild herbs and lovely lavender and violet notes.

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

2023 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.

2023 Vacqueyras Rouge “Doucinello” MAGNUM
France | Southern Rhône
The Férigoules have honed a unique style of Vacqueyras that mixes deep, dark color with a lightness of touch, rusticity with warmth, and minerality with delicious fresh fruit.

2024 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc “Clos la Roquète”
France | Southern Rhône
Clos La Roquète’s blanc is luscious, yet finishes nice and dry with striking acidity.

2024 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc “La Crau”
France | Southern Rhône
Clairette, an unsung hero of the south, is the main grape here, undoubtedly one of many key elements to this singular wine.

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.
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
2023 Côtes-du-Rhône “L’Emouvante”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau”
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Piedlong”
Famille Brunier France | Southern Rhône
2024 Côtes-du-Rhône “Sierra du Sud”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” MAGNUM
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2024 Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge “Il Fait Soif”
Maxime-François Laurent France | Southern Rhône
2023 Vacqueyras Blanc “Un Sang Blanc”
Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux France | Southern Rhône
Clairette de Die “Tradition”
Domaine Achard-Vincent France | Southern Rhône
2023 Vacqueyras Rouge “Doucinello” MAGNUM
Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux France | Southern Rhône
2022 Gigondas “Racines”
Domaine Les Pallières France | Southern Rhône
2024 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Rouge
Selected by Kermit Lynch France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” HALF BOTTLE
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2023 Côtes-du-Rhône “L’Emouvante”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau”
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Piedlong”
Famille Brunier France | Southern Rhône
2024 Côtes-du-Rhône “Sierra du Sud”
Domaine Gramenon France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” MAGNUM
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
2024 Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge “Il Fait Soif”
Maxime-François Laurent France | Southern Rhône
2023 Vacqueyras Blanc “Un Sang Blanc”
Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux France | Southern Rhône
Clairette de Die “Tradition”
Domaine Achard-Vincent France | Southern Rhône
2023 Vacqueyras Rouge “Doucinello” MAGNUM
Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux France | Southern Rhône
2022 Gigondas “Racines”
Domaine Les Pallières France | Southern Rhône
2024 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Rouge
Selected by Kermit Lynch France | Southern Rhône
2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau” HALF BOTTLE
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe France | Southern Rhône
Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch