Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Rouge 2015
- Vintage
- 2015
- Country
- France
- Region
- Rhone
- Size
- 750ml
- Rating
- WA93,WS94,ST94
- Grape
- Granache,Mourvedre
This has a lovely, perfumy mix of savory, mint, tobacco, blood orange, cherry and bergamot notes all mixed together, carried by silky but ample structure before ending with a long, mineral- and shiso leaf-infused finish. Finely beaded acidity lets everything hang wonderfully. This should expand and cruise in the cellar. Best from 2020 through 2035. 13,500 cases made - WS95
The flagship wine, the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape, is a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah and 5% other permitted varieties. It features delicate floral scents and ample cherry and licorice aromas. Somehow, it manages to be full-bodied and almost creamy in texture but without much weight, then it ends powerfully, with a flourish of rich Mexican chocolate on the long, silky finish. It should drink well for up to 20 years - WA94
One cannot think of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the most celebrated cru of the Southern Rhone, without thinking of Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe. The Brunier family is legendary in its own right, having been rooted to the enigmatic plateau known as La Crau for over one hundred years. The wines of Vieux Telegraphe evoke the concept of terroir in its purest form: they reflect their dramatic climate, the rough terrain that defines the soil, their full sun exposure at a higher altitude, the typicity of the varietals with an emphasis on Grenache, and of course, the influence of their caretakers, the Brunier family. For many, La Crau is Chateauneuf-du-Papes grandest cru.
The AOC for Chateauneuf-du-Pape is in the Rhone Valley stretching from Orange to Avignon. Domaine Vieux Telegraphe was founded in 1895, and takes it name Vieux Telegraphe (Old Telegraph) from a rocky plateau of the Domaine where in 1792 Me. Chappe, the inventor of the optical telegraph, installed a relay tower.