Gordon’s wines had a great tasting this week with Nico Brunier , the winemaker from Vieux Telegraphe. He was very charming and informative and some really good. wines in the tasting.
2021 La Roquete CNDP Blanc - lemon oil, white peaches on a somewhat reticent nose. Very nicely textured with a similar blend of lemon peel and peach on the palate. Not a blockbuster, but a very nice wine that was in harmonious balance.
2021 Vieux Telegraphe CNDP Blanc La Crau - This was my favorite wine of the tasting. Fantastic nose of tropical fruits, lemon peel, with a persistent lovely salty mineral note. Lovely full bodied palate with apricot and peach flavors but again balancing saline minerals and enough acidity to keep the wine in balance and light on its feet despite the significant lovely sweet fruit. Tremendous.
2021 Les Pallieres Gigondas Terrasse du Diable - A little stemmy on the nose with a strong black pepper note and a base of minerals. Nice rounded grenache fruit on the palate, Young, but not overly tannic. Liked it, but did not love it.
2021 Les Pallieres Gigondas Les Racines - Black licorice, dusty fruit and a deeper more soulful nose that the Terrasse du Diable. Also had a nice balance of black fruit and minerals on the palate, but definitely tasted a bit young with a tannic bite still and the tannins seemed to intensify as it opened. Has more potential for aging, and needs some time.
2020 Vieux Telegraphe CNDP Telegramme - Lovely plummy blackberry fruit and a hint of cocoa powder. Palate is more structured with some spicy blackberry fruit mixed with eucalyptus and strong backing acidity. Finish is just a bit clipped but a very nice wine from their younger vines on the estate.
2020 Vieux Telegraphe CNDP La Crau - Deep soulful nose with beautiful blackberry fruit, wildflowers and lovely bit of Asian spice. Still quite young and assertive on the palate but some silky elegant black fruit along with some serious structured acidity and body. Not tannic, but will need some time to really show all its potential and the purity of the materials are very promising for what it will be in maturity. My favorite red of the tasting.
2008 Vieux Telegraphe CNDP La Crau - Starting to show some bricking on the rim, but still has a dark core. I would say this vintage was on the lighter, more elegant side for the house. Menthol, cocoa and fresh herbs on the nose. Very nice palate with lovely dark rich black fruit and elegant minerality and acidity in a balanced package.
2021 Vieux Telegraphe CNDP La Crau - Interesting to see how different this was from the 2020. Lots of eucalyptus, herbs and high toned red fruit on the nose. Obviously quite young at this point, but much more acidity on the palate with less ripe black fruit and more strawberry and raspberry fruited. Definitely tastes like a cooler vintage, very nice and in many ways an echo of the 2008 in terms of structure. Very nice.
While I’ve not tasted any beyond the 2005 vintage (I believe Daniel Brunier was the winemaker back then, and it’s good to note that another Brunier, Nico, had taken over the mantle these days), I’ve always considered Vieux Telegraphe to be one of the torch-bearers for the region’s traditional CdP, especially as they had been consistent with their style year after year.
The TN on the 2021 La Crau (rouge) is encouraging as it sounds like something that I would want to cellar.
Ramon - Nico mentioned that 5 members of the family across 2 generations make all the decisions at assemblage. They are very much trying to maintain the house style while making incremental improvements to quality every year.
Thanks Jud for the great notes.
Encouraging note on the Crau Blanc, as a first time buyer of the 21 vintage.
Your comments make it sound like you like the les Racines more than the Diables?
I did. Thought it had more depth and more potential for aging.
Thanks for the notes. I’m a big VT fan, and my wife has told me she thinks La Crau blanc is her favorite wine of all time (so sad there won’t be a 2022), so we’re no strangers, but it’s nice to see a nice cross section like that all at once
La Crau blanc stands out as one of the better white wines from the region, imo. It’s hard to find an agreeable white for me in either N or S Rhone.