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/

Piedlong CDP foie gras Il Fiore Langham NY

Piedlong CDP and Auxey-Duresses with Foie Gras small plates at Il Fiore Langham Hotel NYC

Langham Hotel Lobby Desk

During our NYC getaway weekend, before dinner, we stopped in the Michelin star Il Fiore restaurant bar in the tony Langham Hotel in NYC.

We were seeking small plates and some wine from their extraordinary selection for a casual setting. Not often does one have the choice of Phelps Insignia, Tignanello, Sea Smoke, Quilceda Creek, Cos d' Estournal and Vieux Telegraph BTG (By-The-Glass)!

I selected the Torchon Foie Gras with tart cherries and winter squash (shown below) which was perfect for the occasion and was spectacular with Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Piedlong.

Linda had the crispy grilled artichokes with parmesan and lemon aoli, with a Benjamin Leroux Auxey-Duresses Burgundy Pinot Noir which was not on the winelist and was substituted for our initial selection.

Il Fiore offers a elegant but casual comfortable setting for a delightful food and wine experience, albeit rather expensive, but in-line with New York prices and such quality premium offerings. We look forward to returning for dinner there during a future trip.



Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Piedlong 2013 

The BTG winelist (shown below) specifically said 'La Crau', which refers to the flagship CDP offering from this Domaine, but this label was served instead.

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe has been run by the Brunier family for six generations, since 1891. The estate’s vineyards sit on the Plateau of La Crau, the highest point, in the appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

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”.

This Piedlong label was first released in 2011. It comes from a 29 acre vineyard site from the stony soils on the Piedlong plateau in the heart of the appellation, north of the village, the highest point in the region. The Mourvèdre, comes from the Pignan lieu-dit, just to the east of Piedlong. We visited the Vieux Télégraphe estate during our CDP appellation tour back in 1998 and then again this year during our 2019 visit with owner/producer Alain Brunier at the Estate.

This label is a blend of 90% Genache Noir and 10% Mourvèdre. Comprised of but two varietals, its a simpler less complex wine than the flagship label which under appellation rules can contain up to thirteen different varietals.

This was dark garnet colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant black currant and black raspberry fruits, notes of spicy cinnamon, hints of dust, tangy cherry, tapenade and mushroom with a smooth soft peppery lingering finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2880773

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


Benjamin Leroux Auxey-Duresses Pinot Noir 2015

Il Fiore restaurant bar

Another substitution on the winelist, this label has a rouge and a blanc variant. We were looking for the blanc Chardonnay, but they served the rouge Pinot Noir instead.

Auxey-Duresses (pronounced “Oh-see”) is an appellation is in the famous Côte de Beaune area in the region of Burgundy, surrounded by two famous neighbors, Volnay and Meursault.

Readers of these pages know we don't do many Burgundies, mostly because we favor the Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) over the Burgundy Pinot Noir.

Also, I'm not knowledgeable in all the myriad of appellations and producers from the region and find it a bit confusing and mystifying. This is much the case for many folks, for many regions, but its especially challenging for Burgundy with all the mini and micro producers and labels that typifies what this regions is known for.

My advice to folks is to focus on one region, gather knowledge and experiences as a baseline and for comparisons, especially if one is going to start collecting wines.

We selected this Benjamin Leroux Pinot Noir from the Auxey-Duresses appellation, an area noted for high QPR and excellent value.

This is the label of Benjamin Leroux, manager/winemaker of Domaine Comte Armand who launched this label with the 2007 vintage. Leroux's Auxey-Duresses are from fruit sourced from vineyards that he manages, vineyards he owns, and he also buys fruit (never juice or wine) from growers with whom he works closely so to meet his standards.

The vineyards lie below the village of Beaune, adjacent to the Meursault Villages Les Vireuils Dessus and Les Meix Chavaux. The land is north-facing so it is affected by the cold air rolling down from the Hautes-Côtes.

The wines here come from three terroirs in this cool, mineral (rocky) place - Les Hautés, La Macabrée and Les Boutonniers. The oldest vines date back to 1946, planted just after the war. The vineyards span 2 hectares, large for this area where many of the properties are tiny in comparison. Hence Auxey-Duresses is a primary wine for Leroux.

Leroux's Auxey-Duresses is produced in a new winery in the center of the village of Beaune (just off the Boulevard) that is also used by Dominique Lafon and two other wine growers. The operation is very small and specializes in Puligny and Volnay, but there are over twenty different labels produced, in this ‘micro negociant’ operation.

Like so many Burgundy operations that are small, even tiny, only two to five barrels are produced from many of the offerings, resulting in extraordinary fragmentation and granularity in the plethora of small production labels.

This Pinot Noir was somewhat opaque, light in color and body, with blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by tones of leather, dusty rose and spice with smooth soft tannins on the finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2911060

Venge Scouts Honor Vieux Telegraph bbq dinner

Venge Scouts Honor, Vieux Telegraph highlight bbq rib dinner

Venge Scout's Honor Napa Valley Red Wine Zinfandel Blend 2013

We were invited to the kid's house for Friday night dinner with the grandkids. Ryan prepared rubbed smoked ribs and served this classic BBQ wine, Venge Scout's Honor Zinfandel Blend. I write in these pages often that every cellar needs some Zinfandel at hand for such an occasion and this one is as good as it gets. I brought along a vintage aged Vieux Telegraph CDP (Chateauneuf-du-Pape) for comparison.

I wrote about the 2013 vintage Venge Scouts Honor in my initial tasting blogpost last year. This is one of the best vintages ever for this label that is a tribute to their late beloved Labrador Retriever, Scout. We actually had the privilege of 'meeting' Scout when we visiting with founder/patriarch Nils Venge at the Penny Lane vineyards property back in the mid-nineties. My notes for this wine go back to the 1998 vintage.

Decades later, the wine is now made by his son Kirk Venge. In the past few vintages they have improved vineyard quality significantly with more “old - vine” plantings of the fruit source for this blend and it has taken the wine to another level resulting in a spectacular full bodied, delicious, hedonistic red wine. The complex blend takes Zinfandel into another dimension over typical Zins, that while being big fruit bombs, tend to be more single dimensional and less sophisticated.

This is a unique blend with a foundation of old-vine Zinfandel (71%), dry-farmed Petite Sirah (15%), old-vine Charbono (10%), and finishing with mountain vineyard Syrah (4%) that packs a wallop at 15.4% alcohol. Robert Parker notes that this may be the best Scout's Honor Venge Vineyards has  made. 

This was even better than when we tasted it last year with the fruit being more balanced and settled predominating more over the other complex notes - dark inky purple colored, full bodied, bold, jammy, chewy, tongue coating, mouth puckering, concentrated, complex yet smooth, polished and balanced, delicious sweet black raspberry, blueberry and black cherry fruits with notes of violets, dark mocha, truffle, anise and spices, with an long finish that almost tastes like candy. 


RM 93 points; Robert Parker gave it 94.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1825719

www.vengevineyards.com


I brought along this aged 1996 vintage CDP to compare and complement the ribs.


Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 1996

A visit to this legendary producer was one of the highlights of our trip to Chateauneuf-du-Pape a few years ago.

This was my last bottle of this vintage for this label and its just as well as it is reaching the end of its drinking window.

Already brownish color tones with heavy bricking on the rim with a cloudiness setting in, medium bodied, the rich berry fruits and spice tones have are overtaken by a preponderance of green vegetal notes of green olive and note of barnyard earthy wet grass.

Perhaps this was a slightly tainted bottle as other Cellartracker reviews don't indicate this level of diminution as yet. It was still drinkable and a bit intriguing, not as bad as it sounds, but nearing end of life none-the-less.

RM 84 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=19309

Thanksgiving feast features diverse Pinot vs Rhone Wine Approach

Thanksgiving feast features diverse Pinot vs Rhone Approach to Wine Pairing

Thanksgiving dinner was held at son Ryan's and Michelle's for a gala family gathering of seventeen. Ryan and I both sourced some special wines for the event, taking two divergent approaches to accompany the dinner feast. Ryan served two Rhone wines while I brought two California Pinot Noirs. Both were ideal accompaniments to the delicious festive turkey, yams, mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy.

From the Northern Rhone, Ryan served Guigal Saint Joseph, and from the Southern Rhone, he served a Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape. From California I brought a Calera Ryan Vineyard Pinot Noir and a Ninety Plus Cellars Sonoma Pinot Noir.

Rhone Valley Syrah

I admit we've missed out on Northern Rhone Syrahs which is tragic given our fondness for Syrah/Shiraz, and considering how much we collect and drink this varietal. We do hold a collection of (Southern Rhone) Chateauneuf-du-Papes which include Syrah in the blend, but our focus has been primarily on Australian Syrah/Shiraz with an occasional Californian and once in a while, one from Washington State.

Son Ryan has discovered Northern Rhone labels and has been preaching their virtues and brought them to our attention. These are the original old world Syrahs, after all, and deserve attention of fans of the varietal.

Readers of this blog might recall our visit to the legendary Napa Valley Syrah producer Lagier-Meredith, where Carol Meredith is a plant geneticist. I asked her about the relationship between the Shiraz and Syrah varietals from the Rhone Valley, California and Australia. She indicated that at the end of the day, they're all related and essentially from the same lineage. So differences in labels from the various regions should be attributed generally to terrior, the distinct sense of 'place' from where the grapes are sourced - soil, climate, exposure, etc.

Tonight's Rhone experience showed two remarkable Syrahs or Syrah inclusive blends.

Guigal Saint Joseph Rhone 2009

Of course, knowledgeable wine folks know that old world producers (Italy, France, Germany) name or label their wines after the appellation or place where the grapes in the wine are sourced - Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Burgundy, St. Emilion, Bordeaux, and leave it to the consumer to know what grapes are associated with that growing area. New world producers, on the other hand, name or label their wines after the grape or varietal in the bottle - Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah, etc., as well as the locale from where the grapes are sourced. One might argue that this may be due to the fact that New World wine consumers are less knowledgeable, but it could also be argued that there is less correlation between regions and the varietals grown there - such as Sonoma Cabernet (a Bordeaux varietal) as well as Pinot Noir (a Burgundy varietal).

Guigal Saint Joseph Rhone 2009

While not as complex in the blend as a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which features Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, (hence the moniker 'GSM' given to some of this blend when from other regions), perhaps Cinsault, and may include several other varietals, this single varietal Syrah based wine still showed notable depth and complexity. This Northern Rhone label provides high QPR (quality to price ratio), especially compared to the CDP's and some of the named label Northern Rhones.

This was dark garnet and purple colored, medium full bodied, aromas and flavors of full, forward ripe black berry and black cherry fruits accented by a layer of cracked pepper, herbs, and tones of smoked meat, hints of creosote and smoke, with medium acidity, gripping but approachable tannins. 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1262699


Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2009

A visit to this legendary producer was one of the highlights of our trip to Chateauneuf-du-Pape a few years ago.

This was one of the most expressive, vibrant yet balanced and polished Vieux-Telegraphs, or CDP's for that matter, that I recall having in a long time.

Bright garnet colored, medium-full bodied, lively, rich, concentrated, forward red berry fruits predominate, accented by some dark berry flavors with a pleasant flavorful punctuation of tones of white pepper and hints of clove on a long elegant complex but smooth polished finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1023306


Fitting the occasion of son Ryan hosting the holiday, I brought a Ryan Vineyard Calera Mt Harlan Pinot Noir along with a Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 125 Monterey County Pinot Noir for a comparison tasting.

Calera are one of the original Pinot Noir varietal producers in California dating back to the '70's. Their founding and ascent are featured in the entertaining and educational classic wine book "The Heart Break Grape", about the challenges of finding and developing a suitable site for the finicky Pinot Nor grape in the untested California wine regions. Calera, known for vineyard designated Pinots released the Ryan Vineyard label in the last decade with the 2004 vintage release.


Pinot Noir makes up a fraction of our cellar collection as I am not a big fan or collector of Pinot Noir, but we do keep a couple labels for suitable drinking to fit the cuisine and occasion. Hence, I tend to be less discriminating and palate trained in Pinot than I am the Bordeaux varietals, which I favor. Knowing Ryan was opening Rhone wines, I selected and brought Pinot Noir, also suited to traditional Thanksgiving fare cuisine.

Perhaps it is my lack of Pinot discernment that I found a $46 to be almost comparable to one costing less than half the price, however, as I've written often, Ninety-Plus Cellars and the negociant practice often feature quality releases at a fraction of their comparable value due to their sourcing of overstock or excessive inventory from acclaimed producers. Such producers' branding is maintained by their anonymity as they are indicated by their "Lot' designation.

Hence this comparison tasting between these two Pinots.

Calera Ryan Vineyard Mt Harlan Pinot Noir 2011

Translucent ruby red colored, medium light bodied, scent of dusty rose, cherry and raspberry fruit flavors with a hint of cola and spice turning to tones of mushroom and smoke with fine grained delicate tannins on the moderate lingering finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1774888

 

Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 125 Monterey County Pinot Noir 2013

Similar characteristics to the Calera, albeit slightly less complex and less polished. While the Monterey County source for the fruit is unknown, it could come from the area close to or similiar to the Hollister Mt Harlan site of Calera. This provides good QPR (quality price ratio) with similarity to the Calera at a fraction of the price.

Garnet colored, medium light bodied, aromas and flavors of red raspberries and black cherry give way to tones of tangy clove spice and hint of cinnamon on the clinging tannin finish. 

RM 87 points.


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2163001