We don't offer the Blanc version of Vieux Telegraph often, but it is an excellent wine sourced from the same great vineyard as their Rouge bottling, La Crau. Vieux Telegraph is one of the most recognized addresses of the Southern Rhone. Founded by the Brunier Family in 1898, their work in the appellation has been significant as one of the measuring sticks for CDP and is still family operated by the fifth and sixth-generation Bruniers. The main reason why their wines excel is the prestigious area in which the grapes are sourced, lying on the plateau of La Crau in the southeast of the appellation. La Crau is considered one of the most excellent vineyards in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, comprised of alluvial deposits, limestone, silica, and a rich red clay known locally as molasse covered with a sea of large rounded rocks called galet. Vieux Télégraphe owns whopping 70 hectares of La Crau, which is more than half of the vineyard's total surface area, and while the vines for the Blanc aren't as old as the Rouge, they are on average 45 years old.
The blend here for the Blanc is 40% Clairette, 25 % Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussane, and 10% Bourboulenc. Grapes are hand-harvested and sorted three times before pneumatic pressing, seeing fermentation in a combination of fermented in barriques, demi-muids, and 30hl foudres where it also ages on the lees for one year prior to bottling.
2020 is an excellent vintage for the Blanc with incredible complexity and depth. It should really start to shine with a bit of time in the cellar but it is also so beautiful in this state it can easily be enjoyed now. Two nice notes below this is one of the top White cuvees from the Southern Rhone and slightly cheaper than previous vintages.
Wine Spectator 95 pts! "Well-built, with a steady intensity to the waves of white peach, star fruit, acacia, honeysuckle and mirabelle plum. Delivers flashes of lemon shortbread and quinine through the finish, giving this both plump and racy elements. Hard to lay off now, but this has some development ahead of it. Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc and Roussanne. Drink now through 2030. 2,200 cases made, 348 cases imported. -JM"
Jeb Dunnuck 93+ points! "The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is more tight and backward, with medium-bodied aromas and flavors of pear, white flowers, licorice, and crushed stone. Nicely concentrated and balanced, it’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. It’s a classic, age-worthy, regal white from this estate."
2020 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau
2020 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Crau
$69.99
$69.99
We don't offer the Blanc version of Vieux Telegraph often, but it is an excellent wine sourced from the same great vineyard as their Rouge bottling, La Crau. Vieux Telegraph is one of the most recognized addresses of the Southern Rhone. Founded by the Brunier Family in 1898, their work in the appellation has been significant as one of the measuring sticks for CDP and is still family operated by the fifth and sixth-generation Bruniers. The main reason why their wines excel is the prestigious area in which the grapes are sourced, lying on the plateau of La Crau in the southeast of the appellation. La Crau is considered one of the most excellent vineyards in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, comprised of alluvial deposits, limestone, silica, and a rich red clay known locally as molasse covered with a sea of large rounded rocks called galet. Vieux Télégraphe owns whopping 70 hectares of La Crau, which is more than half of the vineyard's total surface area, and while the vines for the Blanc aren't as old as the Rouge, they are on average 45 years old.
The blend here for the Blanc is 40% Clairette, 25 % Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussane, and 10% Bourboulenc. Grapes are hand-harvested and sorted three times before pneumatic pressing, seeing fermentation in a combination of fermented in barriques, demi-muids, and 30hl foudres where it also ages on the lees for one year prior to bottling.
2020 is an excellent vintage for the Blanc with incredible complexity and depth. It should really start to shine with a bit of time in the cellar but it is also so beautiful in this state it can easily be enjoyed now. Two nice notes below this is one of the top White cuvees from the Southern Rhone and slightly cheaper than previous vintages.
Wine Spectator 95 pts! "Well-built, with a steady intensity to the waves of white peach, star fruit, acacia, honeysuckle and mirabelle plum. Delivers flashes of lemon shortbread and quinine through the finish, giving this both plump and racy elements. Hard to lay off now, but this has some development ahead of it. Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc and Roussanne. Drink now through 2030. 2,200 cases made, 348 cases imported. -JM"
Jeb Dunnuck 93+ points! "The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is more tight and backward, with medium-bodied aromas and flavors of pear, white flowers, licorice, and crushed stone. Nicely concentrated and balanced, it’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. It’s a classic, age-worthy, regal white from this estate."
