The world famous Vieux Telegraphe is one of the oldest and greatest estates in Chateauneuf du Pape and one of the foremost names in the world of wine. 2010 was an outstanding vintage for the Southern Rhone, reflected in extremely precise wines, with wonderful freshness, concentration of fruit and a superb expression of terroir. In 2010 Vieux Telegraphe made their greatest ever wine, receiving 97 points from Robert Parker. This gives the wine a Points over Price Ratio (POP) of 24, quite extraordinary for a wine of this notoriety and immense value at £210 a 6×75 case, or £35 a bottle for a 97 point wine. The 2010 is also priced very favourably against their 1998 vintage, which scored 95 points and trades today at a 30% premium at £600 a 12×75 case. Today we are delighted to be able to offer a small parcel of the incredible 2010 below market!
Vieux Telegraphe is a profound wine combining precision and power. While young it displays a fabulous fragrance of cassis, blackberries and raspberries, kirsch, sweet cherries, black olives and jam, with aromatics of lavender, liquorice, boysenberries, dried herbs, a beautiful smokiness and deliberate pepper and minerality. It has the potential to age and improve for decades; for example the 94 scoring 1978 is drinking perfectly now and offering immense pleasure, the 2010 will surpass this and live long in the memory of those who secured it or have enjoyed a bottle.
It is hard to dispute that Vieux Telegraphe is one of the greatest wines from the Rhone – or in fact across the entire globe – and its rich history matches this. The Brunier family have been producing wines in Chateauneuf du Pape for over 100 years, founded by Hippolyte Brunier the great-grandfather of the current guardians. He chose to name the wine after a signal tower built in 1793 by Claude Chappe, who was the inventor of the optical telegraph. The first vintage was made in 1900.
In addition we are offering the second wine of Vieux Telegraphe called Telegramme. In 2002 Henry and Daniel Brunier experimented with their mature vine Grenache and created Telegramme, a wine made primarily from Grenache with a small percentage of Mourvedre. As such it is the younger sibling of Vieux Telegraphe; while made from its younger vines it still embodies its quality and power. It is now considered the second wine of Vieux Telegraphe, made in its image, to be drunk while collectors wait for the first wine to reach maturity offering superb quality at £17.50 a bottle. Moreover, we are offering a 6×75 case of Vieux Telegraphe 2010 and a 6×75 case at the special price of £295.
Vieux Telegraphe’s Greatness
Vieux Telegraphe produces four wines from their 65 hectares; however, the best come from the very old vines in the ‘La Crau’ segment, which is now shown on the label. The best section is densely populated with large and small stones known as ‘galets’ several inches across which retain heat very well and reflect it up onto the vines during both day and night. It is here that their prestige wine Vieux Telegraphe is made from fruit derived from the oldest vines. This great wine evokes the conception of this region’s terroir in its purest form, a combination of the climate and extraordinary terrain and soil, while the vineyard’s high altitude gets full exposure from the sun.
The exceptional Vieux Telegraphe is typically a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Cinsault and 10% Syrah. The grapes are hand harvested and moved by gravity flow to the vatting room, where they ferment the incredibly concentrated and ripe fruit and age it in the cement for ten months, followed by 12 months in 50-70hl oak ‘foudres’. Vieux Telegraphe on average produces 16,000 cases a year and with 97 points the 2010 is already hard to come by.
Vieux Telegraphe 2010 – 6×75 – £210 IB or £266.76 incl duty and VAT
97 points Parker
Performing considerably better than it did prior to bottling, the 2010 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape is one of the all-time great Vieux Telegraphes I have tasted in the last 3+ decades. I believe it is even superior to the 2007, which I had several weeks ago. The 2010 boasts a dense purple color along with a sumptuous bouquet of spring flowers, boysenberries, black cherries, black currants, nori (the sushi seaweed wrapper), black olives, licorice and pepper. This full-bodied, meaty, thick, juicy effort possesses a boatload of tannin, but it also has incredible concentration. More massive than I remember from last year, it has put on considerable weight and intensity. Forget it for 3-4 years, and drink it over the following 25-30 years. Kudos to Daniel and Frederic Brunier! Drink 2015-2045
Vieux Telegraphe Telegramme 2012 – 6×75 – £105 IB or £133.56 incl duty and VAT
88 points Parker
Daniel Brunier loves this vintage, although he comments that he doesn’t believe it’s not a great vintage. The 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Telegramme hit a whopping 15.2% natural alcohol and has a supple, textured and ready-to-go feel. Giving up loads of sweet cherry, leather, licorice and floral aromas and flavors, it’s ideal for drinking over the coming 4-6 years. Drink 2014-2020
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