La Crau and Gigondas: the great Rhone terroirs

Brunier brothers, focused on Grenache

The stony site of the old telegraph station up on the La Crau plateau is also the site of one of the greatest Chateauneufs of all, Le Vieux Telegraphe. While other vignerons had ignored the site as too difficult to farm because of all those pesky pebbles, visionary Hippolyte Brunier went ahead and planted through them, exploiting one of the region's most iconic terroirs. He founded the domaine in 1898, and it has remained in family hands ever since. In modern times it is brilliantly run by brothers Daniel and Frederic Brunier. While other Chateauneuf domaines have branched into producing special cuvees, the Bruniers have resisted and are focused on keeping quality as fine as possible in Le Vieux Telegraphe itself. Telegramme is a very distinguished joint second wine of both Vieux Telegraphe and La Roquette, made from the fruit of younger vines.

'Grandiose et exceptional', the 2015 vintage in the Rhone Valley was nigh perfect. Summer temperatures were high, but nights were much cooler, keeping acidity and tension in the resulting wines. Rain came just when it was needed, advancing phenolic ripeness in the grapes.

Famous for their mastery of Chateauneuf, where Grenache is king, the Bruniers have translated this to another part of the southern Rhone that also has a powerful sense of place, Gigondas. In 1998, they teamed up with American importer Kermit Lynch and acquired Les Pallieres, in the shadow of the imposing Dentelles de Montmirail. This domaine is one of the oldest winemaking properties anywhere in the southern Rhone, and while it may have seemed that its glory days were behind it before the Brunier acquisition, it is now clearly one of the very top Gigondas estates. /NT

Offered subject to confirmation for shipment autumn 2017