Memorable wines for Christmas Eve Celebration Dinner

Memorable wines for Christmas Eve Celebration Dinner 

We hosted son Alec and his family for Christmas Eve celebration dinner. Linda prepared prime rib of beef with mashed potatoes, broccoli & rice casserole with crescent rolls and gravy. 

I pulled from the cellar a couple of wines that have special memorable significance for all of us. We visited and toured each of the Chateaux and tasted their wines, including these, during our Rhône Provence Chateauneuf du Pape Wine Experience back in 2019, as featured in these blogposts:. A visit to Château La Nerthe and Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We hold in our cellar more than a decade of vintages of these producers’ labels.

For a mini-horizontal tasting, both wines were from the same 2016 vintage for a comparison tasting of two wines from the same region, appellation, type and of course, vintage.

Chateau La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016

As mentioned above, we have visited this Châteauneuf-du-Pape producer a couple times over the years including with Alec and Vivianna back in 2019. 

This classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a blend of 37% Grenache, 29% Syrah, 25% Mourvèdre, and the remaining 7% Cinsault, and other permitted varieties, in accordance with Appellation regulations (ie. 70% of the blend must be GSM (Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah), and there are thirteen different sanctioned varietals). It was aged in a twenty percent new oak.

Winemaker Notes - “The dark, deep, inky color of the wine shows immediately the concentration of the vintage. Nose of blackcurrants, black tea and dried flowers definitely stands out. The mouth is rich, fruity and velvety with an incredibly layered tannin structure. The wine is balanced, pure, really intense and long with incredible ageing potential.”

This was rated 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 93 points by James Suckling and Wine Spectator, 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast.

James Suckling in his 93 point review said of this vintage release, “It's one of the finest classical cuvées I can remember.”

Dark garnet, rust colored, medium full bodied, earthy black currant, plum and black cherry fruits with notes of herbs, spices, black tea and cassis, pain grille and hint of vanilla with moderate tannins on the finish. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/2857447

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016

Our visit to the Vieux Télégraphe estate and meeting owner/winemaker Daniel Brunier (left) was a highlight of our Rhone Valley Wine Experience in 2019.

Our week of wine tours began with our visit to the historic Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Our visit to the estate hosted by proprietor Daniel Brunier was one of the highlights of our week. 

We've been fans of Vieux Télégraphe since the eighties and our visit there was a highlight of our trip to the appellation back in 1998 as well. We hold a dozen vintages of this wine spanning three decades. Back in 2020, I wrote about this vintage release, This is the best Vieux Télégraphe I recall ever experiencing. 

Joe Czerwinsk of The Wine Advocatewrites that the 2016 La Crau is undoubtedly one of the top vintages of this wine and rated it 96 points; Vinous gave it 93-95 points.

We've been fans of Vieux Télégraphe since the eighties and our visit there was a highlight of our trip to the appellation back in 1998 as well. We hold a dozen vintages of this wine spanning three decades. Back in 2020, I wrote about this vintage release, This is the best Vieux Télégraphe I recall ever experiencing. 

This was a perfect pairing with our prime rib of beef and is one of our favorite labels from the region and a go-to wine for such occasions. We also hold several other labels from Vieux Télégraphe including Piedlong CDP and Domaine les Pallières Gigondas Les Racines that we discovered during our tasting at the estate. 

Consistent with earlier tastings, this was bright garnet colored, medium bodied, nicely integrated and well balanced, polished bright expressive fruits of black raspberries and black cherries with hints of cranberry and pomegranate accented by notes of anise, Chambord and spice, turning to velvety tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 95 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2796580

http://www.vieux-telegraphe.fr/en

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/08/domaine-du-vieux-telegraphe-chateauneuf.html

Other producer labels tasted …

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2015

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2017

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?2796580

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2013

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2013

Linda prepared a leafy herbaceous red sauce with spaghetti and meatballs and I opened this Southern Rhone red blend as a complementary pairing.

Our visit to Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe was a highlight of of our tour of Châteauneuf-du-Pape year before last. Proprietor Daniel Brunier was very hospitable and generous with his time hosting our tour of the domaine. 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe is not only a winery but also an art gallery with a live exhibit of numerous artworks throughout the chai, production facility, cellars, and tasting room and hospitality center.

The wine was surprisingly bright and expressive matching well with the red sauce and spicy meatballs. 

This is a classic CDP blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mouvedre and 5% Cinsault. 

Produced from a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2013&wine=Domaine%20du%20Vieux%20T%E9l%E9graphe%20Ch%E2teauneuf-du-Pape%20La%20Crau

Produced from a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2013&wine=Domaine%20du%20Vieux%20T%E9l%E9graphe%20Ch%E2teauneuf-du-Pape%20La%20Crau

This got 92 points from both Wine Spectator and Vinous. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave it 90 points.

Garnet colored with a bit of opacity and a slight brownish tinge, medium bodied, bright floral perfume notes predominate with tangy smokey cherry fruits with pepper, spice, licorice and a layer of tobacco on the lingering dusty acid laced moderate tannin laced finish. 

RM 91 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1937705

http://www.vieux-telegraphe.fr/en

  

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2016

A year ago we were returning from our France Wine Tours. I continued reliving that experience by pulling from the cellar this Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Crau for Sunday evening dinner BBQ ribs. 

Our week of wine tours began with our visit to the historic Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Our visit to the estate hosted by proprietor Daniel Brunier was one of the highlights of our week. 

We've been fans of Vieux Télégraphe since the eighties and our visit there was a highlight of our trip to the appellation back in 1998 as well. We hold vintages of this wine dating back three decades.

Joe Czerwinski of The Wine Advocate writes that the 2016 La Crau is undoubtedly one of the top vintages of this wine and rated it 96 points; Vinous gave it 93-95 points.

This was a perfect pairing with our BBQ ribs and is one of our favorite labels from the region and a go-to wine for such occasions. We also hold several other labels from Vieux Télégraphe including Piedlong CDP and Domaine les Pallières Gigondas Les Racines that we discovered during our tasting at the estate.

This is the best Vieux Télégraphe I recall ever experiencing. Bright garnet colored, medium bodied, nicely integrated and well balanced, polished bright expressive fruits of black raspberries and black cherries with hints of cranberry and pomegranate accented by notes of anise, Chambord and spice, turning to velvety tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 95 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2796580

http://www.vieux-telegraphe.fr/en