Piedlong CDP Red Blend with BBQ Ribs

Brunier Family “Piedlong” CDP Red Blend with BBQ Ribs

With the left over BBQ ribs from the other night, as noted at the time, the best ribs I’ve had in a long time, I opened a CDP (Châteauneuf-du-Pape) from Familie Brunier. We had these ribs the other night and they were spectacular, and enjoyable a couple days later to dust up the leftovers! 

I pulled this wine to take to son Alec’s last night but we arrived to find he had already opened a Big Red for pairing with our Pizza. So it was to open this for Sunday dinner with the remaining BBQ Ribs. 

This is from one of favorite Rhône producers that we visited at the Vieux Télégraphe estate during our CDP appellation tour back in 1998, and then again during our 2019 visit with Alec & Viviana with owner/producer Daniel Brunier at the Estate, which was a highlight of our visit to the Luberon and Southern Rhône that year.

Also notable, pertaining to Alec and Viv, we discovered this label during a visit to New York City to visit  when they were still living there. We discovered and enjoyed this label at Il Fiore Restaurant and Bar at the Langham Hotel in NYC back in 2018. 

Vignobles Brunier Chateauneuf-du-Pape Piedlong 2017

As I’ve written in these pages, Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe has been in the Brunier family since 1898,  it lies on the eastern edge of Châteauneuf du Pape and covers 150 acres of some of the finest terroir there on the famed “la Crau” plateau.

Famille Brunier embodies the group of holdings by the Brunier family, notably Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Domaine La Roquète, Domaine Les Pallières (along with Kermit), and other vineyards for wines under the Brunier label. 

Henri Brunier founded the estate back in 1891. Four generations later, at the very beginning of the 80s, Frédéric and Daniel Brunier took over the destiny of the family business in tandem to farm the land in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The brothers solidify the legacy left by their father, Henri, and their great-grandfather, Hippolyte. 

In 2015 and 2016, Nicolas son of Frédéric and Edouard, son of Daniel, entered the history of the Old Telegraph, fully integrating the company in key positions. Manon, daughter of Frédéric, joined them in 2018 now extending to the sixth generation stewardship of the family business. 

The Bruniers’ vineyards in the La Crau cru of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, most notably the flagship Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, are the most pedigreed of the appellation, producing wines of exceptional quality and longevity. Since purchasing Domaine La Roquète in 1986, the family has complemented their portfolio with additional wines, offering more affordable cuvées that showcase the diversity of terroirs within their holdings. The “Pigeoulet” and “Mégaphone” are fresh, rich in fruit, pleasantly representative of their terroir, and easy to appreciate young. 

This red Châteauneuf “Piedlong”, is sourced from the famed Piélong lieu-dit with some fruit from the Pignan vineyard as well, is a deeply mineral wine that balances elegance and purity with the muscle that is commonly found in wines from this great appellation.

The estate gets its name from the history of this site. Back in the 1800's , Claude Chappe, inventor of the optical telegraph, built a signal tower on the property due to its high elevation in the region, hence the property was given the name “Vieux Télégraphe”. 

When we met with owner/producer Daniel Brunier at the Estate, during our 2019 visit with Alec & Viviana, he asked, “what do you want to know about Vieux Telegraph?” I said, “we want to meet you, see the estate, and learn the essence of your wines and how they manifest the terroir of the estate”. He emphasized the care they use in gravity feeding the grapes with minimal intervention, how they have destemmed all their grapes since 1989 and how the wines see all native ferments, with no temperature control, and aging all in older foudre. The gravity feeding was a result of the recent completion of a new state of the art winery. 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe "Piedlong" Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rhône Valley 2017 

This Piedlong label that was first released in 2011, it is a blend of 90% Genache Noir and 10% Mourvèdre. Comprised of but two varietals of the thirteen that are allowed in the AOC sanctioned blend, its a simpler less complex wine than the flagship label which under appellation rules can contain up to thirteen different varietals. 

The 90% Grenache for the Piedlong section and 10% Mourvedre from the Pignan section, are both old-vine parcels. 

The predominant Grenache grapes are sourced from 70 year old vines on the Vieux Telegraph 27 acre site on the stony Piedlong Plateau which is in the heart of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC area. 

Piedlong is north of the village at the highest point of the appellation. The Mourvèdre fruit is sourced from 50 year old vines on the 22 acre Pignan lieu-dit, east of Piedlong.

This release was awarded 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck and Wine Spectator, 93-94 by Vinous, 92-94 by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 93 by James Suckling and 92 by DC

Whether a Grenache blend from Châteauneuf–du-Pape, a Bandol Mourvédre or a rosé from Pic Saint-Loup, classic wines from the Southern Rhône, Provence or Languedoc are often described as having notes of garrigue. 

In wine, the term garrigue suggests distinctly herbaceous, peppery or smoky tones reminiscent of the low-lying vegetation that grows wild in sun-scorched limestone soils along the Mediterranean, particularly the South of France.

Rather than a single plant or scent, garrigue refers to a variety of aromatic, resinous herbs like rosemary, sage, bay leaves and thyme. It also includes shrubs like juniper and artemisia as well as lavender and mint. 

The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Piedlong  was an ideal pairing with the tangy BBQ. I note often in these pages the importance of an effective pairing between food and wine, and how it amplifies the enjoyment of both. 

This was  dark ruby colored, medium to full-bodied, round, layered with core of ripe raspberry, red currant, cherry and plum fruits accented by herbes de Provence, roses, dried spices, licorice, with that signature garrigue and with minerality on the long smooth polished finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3187675  

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

Family 4th of July gathering features red wines

Family 4th of July gathering features medley of red wines 

The family gathered at daughter Erin and Johnny’s for a gala 4th of July celebration pool party and cookout. Ryan brought from his home cellar (shown below) two big reds and I took a red and sparkling white. 

R&L and eleven grandchildren … 

Ryan and Alec both acquired this label at auction and I featured it in a recent blogpost here - 

David Arthur DAV Proprietary Red Blend 2016

This was very good as discussed last week in the linked blogpost, when we had it with son Alec and D-in-law Vivianna’s, with pizza. 

As I wrote in that post, this Proprietary Red Blend, an introduction to a relatively new label from one of our long timer favored producers. 

Our CellarTracker records show we hold more than three cases of 20 different labels from David Arthur. We visited the estate up on Pritchard Hill Atlas Peak during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013 as featured in these pages in this blogpost - David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery.

Tonight, that was very good, but was overshadowed by this full throttle Big Red, also brought by Ryan.

Ryan shared this ultra-premium Napa Cab from one of our favorite producers. We've visited the Cliff Lede estate on several of our Napa Valley wine trips and several of our wine buddies including son Ryan source allocated wines as members of their club. 

Ryan discovered this wine at a tasting at the winery and declared it the favorite WOTN (wine-of-the-night) and acquired it as part of his wine club allocation. 

Cliff Lede Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

This is from the spectacular 2016 vintage continued a series of exceptional vintages in Napa Valley. 

This is sourced from the Diamond Mountain vineyards - exceptional, low-yielding vineyards with volcanic ash and gravelly loam soils in the Diamond Mountain appellation, nestled in the Mayacamas Range on the northwest side of Napa Valley. There the sun-drenched mountain vineyards have late afternoon breezes that ripen the fruit slowly and evenly. The winemaker notes that both Lede vineyard sites are planted to extraordinary old vines on a steep incline with historic Napa field selections and produce age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon with dark fruit, intense structure, minerality, and perfume.

The fruit was hand harvested and subjected to rigorous selection by a three-tiered sorting process, including high tech cutting edge optical sorting that works to eliminate less-than-perfect berries so that only finest fruit makes it into the wine. 

Crop levels were slightly below average due to a dry late spring and a cool weather spell during flowering which, when combined with the drought impacted dry soils led to small berries, creating very concentrated fruit. Ideal summer weather allowed the grapes to be harvested at optimal ripeness so that the resulting wines had intense and vibrant fruits.

The wine underwent twenty-one months of élevage in French oak, 78% of which were new.

Winemaker Notes - “The amazing 2016 Diamond Mountain’s bouquet is resplendent with cool wild blackberry jam scented with subtle notes of bay leaf, cardamom, clove and talc. There’s an interplay of rocks and loam in the nose as well.”

“Spiced fig, chocolate ganache, and blueberry flavors unfold on the palate underscored by blackberry and graphite notes. Like all of our 2016 wines, this wine has an expansive, mouth coating texture that is lush and joyfully persistent. The crescendo of the finish is a wash of savory cumin power, cedar, and violet flavors and aromas completing this wine of contemplation.” – Christopher Tynan, Winemaker

The Composition is a blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc that adds spiciness and structure, and 1% Merlot for roundness and highlights of softness.

Production was 750 Cases.

This release was awarded 93 points by James Suckling.

Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, this exhibited dense, concentrated, rich extracted chewy tongue coating dark berry fruits with notes of spice, tobacco and hints of tar with a full round but soft and polished long tannin laced finish. Delicious! 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3467542

https://www.ledefamilywines.com/

@CliffLedeWine  

Domaine les Pallières “Terrasse du Diable” Gigondas 2018

I brought this Southern Rhône Valley blend that was an appropriate pairing for grilled burgers. 

I brought this in remembrance of our having discovered and were first introduced to this label while visiting the producer, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Pape winery estate with Alec and Vivianna during our Rhone Wine Experience back in 2018, so I took this for memorable casual sipping, ideally paired with burgers and hot dogs. 

Vivianna, Alec & Philippe with Daniel Brunier
Tasting this wine at the Chateau

This is from a joint venture between notable legends of Southern Rhône Valley wines, Daniel and Frederic Brunier of the iconic Vieux Télégraphe, and American distributor importer Kermit Lynch. They acquired the estate back in 1998 when long time owners, the Roux family, having no successor heirs, decided to sell the property.

Domaine Les Pallières was one of the greatest, longest-running properties of the Southern Rhône, having been within the same family since the 15th century. 

The Roux family decided to sell the jewel Les Pallières to the Bruniers and Kermit Lynch, with their focus and knowledge of Rhône terroir, they recognized their ability to realize its full potential. Domaine Les Pallières became a partnership among friends, and a creative collaboration of three leading, passionate experts on the wines of the Rhône. 

Frédéric and Daniel took over the destiny of the Brunier family business, also founded several generations earlier, by their ancestor Henri Brunier who founded the Domaine in 1891, in a partnership in the late 1980s. Their family involvement continued in 2015 and 2016 with Nicolas son of Frédéric and Edouard, son of Daniel, joining the ‘Old Telegraph’ business in key positions and, Manon, daughter of Frédéric, joining them in 2018.

This release was crafted by brothers Daniel & Frédéric Brunier, co-proprietors of Domaine Vieux Telegraph who collaborated as winemakers.

The Les Pallières 25 acre estate is terraced vineyards on the eastern side of the historic town of Gigondas in the Gigondas Appellation above and to the east and north of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, beneath the Dentelles de Montmirail landmark.

I visited Gigondas and the village of Segurat (shown below) up the hill overlooking the region during my visit to the area back in 1998. 

From the estate, Domaine Les Pallières produces two Gigondas cuvées each year, Les Racines from the plateau around the winery which includes the property's oldest vines, and this Terrasse du Diable from the higher-altitude, cooler parcels. Of the two, the Diable is usually the more powerful yet it manages to maintain a level of elegance. 

Map courtesy of Domaine Vieux Telegraph

This 2018 Gigondas Terrasse Du Diable release is a blend of Chateauneuf du Pape varietals - 90% Grenache from 50 year old vines, 5% Mourvèdre, and 5% Clairette. It comes from yields that ended up being approximately half of the average for the estate (only 11 hectoliters per hectare). The wine was aged in cuves for 10 months, then in foudres for 12 months. This was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate, 92-93 points by James Suckling, and 92 points by Jeb Dunnuck. Bright Ruby colored, medium to full bodied, bright ripe cherry, plum and red raspberry fruits with notes of mineral, tangy clove spice, bitter dark chocolate and licorice with a long chalky tannin punctuated finish RM 91 points.  https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3467118

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

https://shop.kermitlynch.com/product/detail/18FPS05/

Grand Veneur Les Origins CDP 2006

Domaine Grand Veneur "Les Origines" Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006

Linda prepared bbq ribs and scalloped potatoes with grilled asparagus and I pulled from the cellar this vintage Châteauneuf-du-Pape to accompany our dinner.

Domaine Grand Veneur is a 170-acre estate based in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the Southern Rhone Valley. The estate is at the northern edge of the appellation on the southernmost outskirts of the city of Orange. It has been owned and operated by the Jaume family since the early 19th century and is run by Alain Jaume and his two sons.

In addition to the family’s vineyards in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, they also have parcels in Cotes du Rhone and Lirac, the appellation on the other side of the Rhone River. Grand Veneur produces red and white wines, and the family also has a negociant business called Alain Jaume & Fils. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Grand Veneur “one of the best run estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

We hold a half dozen releases of this label dating back to the turn of the century.

This label release got 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast and 90 points from Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar. 

This is a blend of 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 30% Mourvèdre, the three primary varietals that are required to be in the blend according to Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation rules. 

I write about the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation in our blogpost from our visit to the region in 2019.

Domaine Grand Veneur "Les Origines" Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006 

This is dark garnet colored with a slight tinge of purple. Medium-full bodied the dense firm black berry, black currants and black cherry fruits are accented by notes of graphite, licorice, cola and what several of the critics refer to as 'smoked meats', and hints of tar, turning to tangy tight tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=467202

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2015

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2015

I picked up the latest available release of this label in preparation for our visit to the estate in our upcoming trip the end of this month. We visited Vieux Télégraphe during our trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Southern Rhone River Valley back in 1998 and are eager and looking forward to return. We hold Vieux Télégraphe wines dating back to the early 1980's. 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe has been run by the Brunier family for five generations dating back to 1891. The estate’s vineyards average 60 years of age on the Plateau of La Crau, a site known for growing Châteauneuf-du-Pape grape varietals.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC appellation rules allow a combination of thirteen different grape varietals to be included in the blend. CDP wines are also known for their famous 'crossed keys' in the bottle above the label as shown on the right.

The estate is named for the telegraph towers that sat on the site dating back to the early visual signal towers that were invented and deployed as far back as 1792. Lines of relay towers were built within line-of-sight of each other at distances of 5–20 miles. Tower operators would watch adjacent towers through a spyglass for signals produced by mechanical shutter arms and would pass the message on to the next tower. These early systems were faster and less expensive than horse drawn riders. These lines were a precursor of the electrical telegraph which would replace them half a century later.

At the end of the Second World War, fourth generation Henri Brunier revived the estate enlarging the Domaine to 136 acres, and developing the classic “Vieux Télégraphe” Châteauneuf-du-Pape brand and style of wine with its full dimension and minerality. His son's Frédéric and Daniel have been tending to the family business since the earlyl 1980's. They now farm 247 acres in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC area, and 49,5 acres of IGP Vaucluse and AOC Ventoux vines.

The estate wines are known for their distinctive terroir signature of predominant minerality from filtering through the thick layer of large pebbles left behind when the Alpine glaciers melted, long before the Rhône Valley formed.

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Télégramme 2015

This is the second label of Vieux Télégraphe. It is a blend of Chateauneuf varietals - 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 6% Mourvèdre, and 4% Cinsault, from vines that average 30 years of age.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, an interesting layer of smokey 'bourbon' tones accented by notes of clove spice, subtle hints of cassis, black peppar and metallic on a sharp moderate tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2621304

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

Rotie Cellars Walla Walla Rhone Style Blend Wines

Rotie Cellars Walla Walla Rhone Style Blend Wines

One of the highlights of our Walla Walla Washington Wine Experience 2018 was a visit to Rotie Cellars and discovering their Rhône Style red blend wines. Their mission is to craft traditional Rhône Blends with Washington State fruit. In the words of Sean Boyd owner, winemaker, "this means lower alcohol, less ripe, less oak, balanced, finesse driven, mouth coating wines".

We were hosted at their Walla Walla tasting room in the city centre by Madde Richards (right), head of hospitality and sales who keeps busy overseeing the myriad of details in creating a brand, building distribution and running the marketing operations. Note the Rocks District 'soil' in the picture behind us, and below.

Maddie hails from Dallas and spent time in Chicago before returning West where she enjoys horseback riding and camping with her husband, daughter and their pair of large dogs.

Like many of the Washington State producers, due to the remoteness of the Central Washington and Walla Walla regions, Rotie have a tasting room in Seattle. They also have a tasting room in downtown Walla Walla which is coming of its own as a major wine producing area and is becoming a tourist destination accordingly.

In the Walla Walla AVA, in the southeastern corner of the state, the number of wine producers has grown to over 150 and the total vineyard acreage has grown from 800 acres in 1999, to 1,300 in 2011 and nearly 3,000 in 2017. 

We knew going in that Washington State was producing some world class wines sourced from local fruit in both Rhône and Bordeaux varietals and styles. Rotie epitomizes classic Rhône wines in the styles of both the northern and southern Rhône wine regions. 

The Rhône is one of the major rivers of Europe flowing from the Swiss Alps to Geneva, then forming the border between Switzerland and France, running west to Lyon in the center of France, then flowing south through Avignon in the Southern Rhone wine region, emptying into the Mediterranean west of Marseille. 

The northern Rhône river valley experiences a mid-European climate with harsh winters but warm summers. The southern Rhône region has a more Mediterranean climate with milder winters and hot summers. A geologic feature of the region is the large pebble gravelly soil which absorb the heat of the sun during the day and serves to keep the vines warm at night.

Rocky soil at Chateau Beaucastel in Chateauneuf du Pape

Before this trip, I did not realize or appreciate how similar the area is to the classic wine appellations of the Rhône. The terroir soil composition in the Rocks District of Milton Freewater, the newest appellation in Washington State that straddles both sides of the Washington Oregon border, is amazingly like that in the Southern Rhône appellation of Chateauneuf du Pape (right).

The name Rotie conjures images of the Northern Rhone wine district Côte-Rôtie where the vineyards are comprised of the steep slopes facing the river with rocky soils that form stone walls.

Rotie sources grapes from the well known prime appellations' sites with distinctive terroir across the state. Starting with the 2015 vintage, their Northern Blend is 100% Rocks District fruit from their 18 acre Estate vineyards - with 7.5 acres coming on line in Grenache, another 7.5 in Syrah, and a half acre in Viognier. The Rocks District of Milton Freewater is the country’s newest AVA. Wine Spectator calls the AVA “perhaps America’s most distinctive example of terroir." 

Rotie are building a winery with a tasting room at the Rock's District estate location. The unique riverbed of cobblestones and pebbles is as much as two hundred feet deep, formed 12,000 to 15,000 years ago from massive floods that swept through the region caused by ruptures in the ice dam that held Montana's glacial Lake Missoula. The Rocks District is a 12-square mile alluvial fan of 3,770 acres. 

Rotie Cellars is the vision, handiwork and artcraft of owner winemaker Sean Boyd. He started his career in oil and gas exploration utilizing his degree in geology. He pursued his passion for wine working from the bottom up learning the craft and business first at Waters Winery in 2004, and eventually stepping out on his own in 2007.

Sean's academic studies and early work in geology prepared him well to produce authentic wines using natural techniques and methods to reflect the terroir or sense of place that results from the vineyard sites where the grapes are grown. He believes great wine happens mostly in the vineyard, and that his main job is to stay out of nature’s way. The result is Rotie wines that reflect the style that Sean loves to drink — French-style Rhône blends. 

The wines:

The Spring and Summer Releases ....

Rotie Cellars Rose' 2016

This is 100% Mourvedre from the Painted Hills Wine District

Rotie Cellars Southern Rhone White 2017 

This is a blend of 65% Viognier, 18% Rousanne and 17% Marsanne. 800 cases are produced. 

This is straw colored and light medium bodied, it opens with pineapple accented by citrus fruits turning to hints of apricot and honeysuckle and finishing with notes of peach with a nice bright crisp acid finish. This has received 93 points by Wine Advocate. 

Rotie Cellars Southern Rhone Blend 2016

This is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah. Fruit for this is sourced from Alder Ridge. 

Garnet colored with medium body, it resembles the highlights of a Southern Rhone from Gigondas or Vacqueyras (lesser appellations to the better known Chateauneuf-du-Pape - known for Grenache based wines) with accents of white pepper on the black currant, black berry and raspberry fruits.

The 2015 of the label was awarded 94 points by Wine Advocate.

Rotie Cellars Northern Rhone Blend 2016

This is a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier.

Sourced from 100% Estate fruit from Rotie's Rocks District estate vineyard. This is a big full bodied fruit forward wine with structure by nicely polished aromatic dark fruits accented by notes of olive tapenade and bacon fat  

This 2015 label was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate. 

The Fall release wines ...

Rotie Cellars 'Little G' Grenache 2016

This is a Grenache sourced from the Mary Hill Winery Rock Quarry land in the Columbia Gorge in western Oregon. 

This is smooth and polished - a Grenache wine discovery for folks not familiar with the varietal. Garnet colored medium bodied with bright vibrant raspberry and currant fruits accented by tobacco leaf and black tea notes.

Rotie Cellars  Hommage Red Blend 2015

 

Like the Southern Rhone Blend, this is a blend of select fruit - 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah.

This is dark inky blackish garnet colored, full bodied,  structured but nicely balanced black berry accented by blue fruits with tones of anise and dark mocha chocolate. 

Rotie Cellars DRE 2016

This is 100% Mourvedre. I've never experienced or appreciated what Mourvedre is capable of or how it contributes to the blend in the CDP (Chateauneuf du Papes). This is remarkable and a case study in this varietal. What a discovery! Is this to CDP what Petit Verdot is to Bordeaux?

Dark, full bodied, structured and muscular with black berry and boysenbarry fruits on layers of tobacco, spice box and white pepper on a long lingering tongue coating finish. 

Several of these wines are allocated and available or preferenced to Club Members. In Chicago, we've sourced these wines from Vin Chicago. With limited production and increasing notoriety for Washington State, Walla Walla, and the Rocks District - get on the bandwagon and the Club to source these wines while they are available. And acquire and store these for future enjoyment, and before the prices escalate as they become more well known and more in demand.

NOTE that Rotie are offering LIFETIME price protection on allocated Club wines at the price in effect when joining, and $25 flat rate shipping in the 48 States, as well as complimentary tastings. 

We look forward to further explorations in Rotie wines. Watch for them, and pick them up while you can.


https://www.rotiecellars.com/