'A wine of risk-taking and patience' - Daniel Brunier
From an extreme site comes a wine of grace. The La Crau plateau in the south-east of Chateauneuf is not a very hospitable place, and its long-suffering vines do not have an easy life. On this exposed site they have to deal with the full vagaries of sun, rain, hail and the mistral, and the vines struggle to put roots through the stony soil. But from this labour comes one of the great wines of Chateauneuf.
It is not only the vines that labour; Vieux Telegraphe is the flagship property of the Brunier brothers Daniel and Frédéric, and Daniel describes 2014 as a vigneron's vintage, when work in the vineyard was paramount and lasted longer than in most other vintages. After a mild, damp winter brought welcome rainfall, a hot spring was followed by a cool summer, and harvest was delayed to give grapes extra time to ripen. The Brunier brothers' habitual practices of hand-picking and double sorting came into their own and kept any underripe grapes out of the final selection. This work, coupled with a gentle touch in the winery, allowed the best, most gracious aspects of this fresh, expressive vintage to show through. In Daniel's words, the resulting Vieux Telegraphe is a mix of 'red fruit and salty pebbles', with velvety tannins and a fine finish; a wine 'of great refinement and beautiful depth'. /NT
'Fine red robe. The nose is nicely reserved, holds gracious red berry fruit at its centre, has bright wings, a rocky sidecar. It is a subtle affair, and there are hints of flowers, pressed flowers, violets. The palate gives a close link to the nose, a belle liaison. This runs with an aromatic outer and a steel-inspired inner, shows its place in a more punchy finale. It is nice and natural, an intriguing wine, with the late grain crunch of the galet stones well delivered. Its content is secure, poised. The finish is varied and stimulating, has red jam and baking. Pretty complex wine. From 2019-20, for example, no hurry. 4.5 stars' - John Livingston-Learmonth, drinkrhone.com, October 2015
