Skip to main content
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant
Toggle Navigation Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant Your Cart

2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “La Crau”

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe
Discount Eligible $90.00
SOLD OUT

Daniel Brunier was absolutely beside himself with anticipation last month when the subject of the 2016 Vieux Télégraphe vintage came up. “I would never use this word lightly, but 2016 is the absolute best vintage I’ve ever seen here since 1978… I loved the 2010, the 2007, there were others which gave great emotion, but 2016…” and with that he just nodded his head in disbelief. This was at a casual, home-cooked, off-the-record dinner, not at a trade or promotional event. “This vintage is so… vibrant. The rusticity of our La Crau vineyards, of the old Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is back”.
     Intrigued, we went to the cellars the next day to taste. We tasted out of the casks, and indeed what was in the glass was unlike no other Châteauneuf I’ve ever experienced. The juice was luminous and bright, clearly alive and kicking. The taste was salty and spicy, herbal and airy…hardly what one would expect from this neck of the woods, yet a profile for which I believe all great southern wines can strive for, and perhaps once did strive for a few generations ago. 
     Four generations of Bruniers have been farming the rock covered La Crau plateau since 1891. The steady family stewardship of the land, coupled with one of the most singular terroirs of the world (the rock covered plateau where these vines grow is at points four meters deep with rock before you hit a grain of soil), along with ideal growing conditions and a winemaking approach of zero extraction, gives you…2016 Vieux Télégraphe.

Chris Santini


Technical Information
Wine Type: red
Vintage: 2016
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%

More from this Producer or Region

More from Southern Rhône or France

Discount Eligible $26.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $41.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $66.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $114.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $22.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $30.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $59.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $213.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $14.95
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $33.00
AT CART MAX
Discount Eligible $23.00
AT CART MAX
Vintage Chart

Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch