The Still & The VineSchool of Wine & Spirits
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe La Crau 2020
Red WineIssue 24

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe La Crau 2020

Famille Brunier · Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Bédarrides

$5514.5% proofFrom the La Crau plateau in Châteauneuf-du-Pape — one of the most storied vineyard sites in the Southern Rhône — Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe has been in the Brunier family since 1898.
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe La Crau 2020 is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape that serious collectors buy by the case while everyone else chases Beaucastel and Rayas. The Brunier family has farmed the La Crau plateau since 1898.

Kit Aromas

Tasting Notes

Nose

Rose petals and redcurrant emerge first, with morello cherry, raspberry, and strawberry layered beneath. A subtle smokiness and dried flower character wind through.

Palate

Full-bodied and seamlessly constructed, with dark bramble fruits, morello cherries, Provençal herbs, graphite, black pepper, and licorice. The tannins are silky and ripe.

Finish

Long, savory, and mineral-driven, with dried herbs, tobacco, and a fading echo of black fruit.

Specifications
Varietal
Grenache (65%)
Blend
65% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 5% Cinsault/Clairette
Vineyards
La Crau plateau, galets roulés (ancient river stones), highest elevation in the appellation
Serve & Pair

Cocktail Suggestion

Cocktail — Serve This Neat: A wine of this quality and complexity needs no cocktail. Decant for an hour to let the tannins soften and the aromatics fully express. Serve at 16–18°C in large-bowled Burgundy glasses.

Food Pairing

Pair with: Slow-braised lamb shoulder with herbes de Provence and roasted root vegetables — the wine’s Provençal herbs and dark fruit echo the dish as if they were made for each other.

Train These Aromas
More from Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Bédarrides
Redbreast Lustau Edition
Irish Whiskey

Redbreast Lustau Edition

Irish Distillers (Pernod Ricard)

The Lustau Edition is Redbreast's most layered expression — a whiskey that seems to change shape in the glass. That final year in Lustau's first-fill Oloroso butts doesn't overpower the pot still character; it adds a last chapter to an already complex story.

$8092 (46% ABV) proof
Cragganmore 12 Year Old
Scotch Whisky

Cragganmore 12 Year Old

Diageo

Cragganmore 12 is the Speyside malt that rewards the patient nose. Where many single malts deliver their story in one dramatic chapter, Cragganmore reads like a novel with slow-building subplots. Those unique T-shaped lyne arms create a spirit of genuine complexity that unfolds over an hour in the glass.

$5080 (40% ABV) proof
Old Grand-Dad 114
Bourbon

Old Grand-Dad 114

Beam Suntory

Old Grand-Dad 114 is the thinking drinker's value bourbon — a bottle that punches so far above its price point it almost feels like a mistake. That 27% rye mash bill, nearly double the industry average, gives it a backbone of spice that would overwhelm a lesser whiskey, but here it serves as architecture for layers of caramel, chocolate, and charred oak to hang upon. The high proof isn't a gimmick — it's a magnifying glass, amplifying nuances that lower-proof expressions wash away. At under thirty-five dollars, this is a bottle that seasoned bourbon drinkers quietly recommend to one another.

$28114 (57% ABV) proof
Chairman's Reserve The Forgotten Casks
Rum

Chairman's Reserve The Forgotten Casks

St. Lucia Distillers Group of Companies

The Forgotten Casks is the rum world's most eloquent argument for the virtue of accidental patience. Those extra years of unplanned aging produced a rum of remarkable layered depth at a price that would be impossible if it were intentional.

$4580 (40% ABV) proof
More Red Wine Reviews