TN: 2003 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

WINE TALK
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  • 2003 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/2/2012)
    I picked this one out of the cellar because I wanted to get an idea how a traditional producer did in 2003 after my recent Cristia Renaissance experience. When I first opened, the wine showed clearly the exotic fruit that I noticed in the Cristia, as well. The 2003 vintage was clearly on display. The big difference between this and the Cristia is that this wine completely transformed over the course of a couple of nights. It went from showing dark blackberry and heavy-duty black licorice on night one to very nice earth, garrigue, meat juice and savory flavor profile. Don’t get me wrong…the acidity is still lower than usual so 2003 is still showcased. It’s just that this wine shows surprisingly typical in the VT style than I might have thought. This still is no 1998 or 2001 VT, but it’s a very good CdP anyway and it can be enjoyed right now without feeling guilty of drinking it too young.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Would you prefer this to the 07?

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I’ve had both in the last week. The 03 is much as Steffen described. A really exceptional wine and one of the few 03’s i think might continue to improve. The 07 is also exceptional but has clearly got the structure to age 15+ years like the classic 98.

Tom

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Spot on.