Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe

Domaine Vieux Télégraphe is a familiar name in the Rhone Valley. The Brunier family has been producing wonderful wines here for over 100 years. The winery has 60 hectares of vineyard, of which 54 hectares are used for the production of red wine and 6 hectares for white wine. The winery has its origins in 1898 and was founded by Hippolyte Brunier. The winery was named after an outdated signal tower by Claude Chappe from 1792. Chappe is the inventor of the optical telegraph.

Under the leadership of Henri Brunier, the property was expanded and the brand became better and wider known. This happened in the 1940s of the previous century. His sons Frederic and Daniel are now in charge.

The best plots are in La Crau, a plateau characterized by rocky soils with small pebbles, sand and red clay. An important principle for the winery is the organic working method. The vines have an average age of 60 years old.

Various white and red wines are on the market, each of which is a different expression of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape terroir. The showpiece is the Vieux Télégraphe cuvée, followed by Piedlong, Clos la Roquète, Les Pallières, Le Pigeoulet and Mégaphone.

The vinification process follows a traditional method and starts with de-stemmed grapes, followed by temperature-controlled fermentation. After fermentation, the wines are aged in French oak. This period is between 15 and 22 months. Grenache is one of their favorite grape varieties, so this grape variety is responsible for the largest plantings, followed by Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Syrah. The blend varies per year and per cuvée.

The winery and its wines are prominent in the Rhône. The best vintages of Vieux Télégraphe are: 1978, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2016.