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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: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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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.
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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.