Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas: top expressions of two great Rhone terroirs
At the heart of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the stony, elevated La Crau plateau is a wearisome place to farm. Vines struggle through the rocks only to have to contend with frost, rain, hail and the fierce Mistral wind. Most vignerons think it is not worth the effort. But the Brunier family know differently. The rocks that make the site so hard to work are also part of its secret; they insulate the vines from both heat and cold, and provide ideal drainage. For five generations, the Bruniers have been working here, producing one of the greatest Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines of all: Vieux Telegraphe.
It is always an elegant and profound wine, but in the warm 2020 vintage - when some minor properties seem to have succumbed to raisined flavours - the delicate, floral, very layered style of Vieux Telegraphe is an absolute delight. Sweet fruit is followed by a fresh, salty, mineral mouthfeel; the effect is extremely moreish.
The La Crau plateau is not the only great site the Bruniers farm. Further east, in the shadow of a spectacularly jagged rockface called the Dentelles de Montmirail, the herb-scented vineyards of Gigondas enjoy higher elevation and more limestone-rich soils. They offer a different but also very fine expression of Grenache. The Bruniers describe 2020 as 'one of the top three vintages' they have crafted here. They work two old-vine sites. Les Racines marries dark blue fruit, Chinese spice and dry wood notes with a cool, herbal vein; Terrasse du Diable is dark, dense, concentrated and pure, with a vivid and layered finish. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment Winter 2022
