Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe

Overview

Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe is a top-end Chateauneuf-du-Pape estate with longstanding quality, run by brothers Daniel and Frederic Brunier (with Daniel’s son Edouard). Based at Bedarrides, the estate’s flagship La Crau vineyard sits on the famous galet stone plateau. JLL notes that fruit purity has been gaining as the domaine enters the 2020s, with freshness enhanced by the inclusion of 30-35% stems.

Appellations

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape (red and white, multiple cuvees)
• Ventoux (via Megaphone)
• Vin de Pays de Vaucluse (via Le Pigeoulet)

Key Wines

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau red — the flagship; came back to big performances in the late 2010s after a few years in the wilderness. The 2019 was a five-star STGT wine (“rich, concentrated, beautifully persistent”). The 2020 was upgraded to six stars in bottle — “really profound, a wine on a big stage.”
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau white — axis of Grenache blanc and Clairette blanche gives its foundation, allied to galet stone soils. Lives 20+ years. The 2020 was five-star STGT — “a vivid, authentic garrigue wine.”
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape Piedlong et Pignan red — new cuvee from sandy soils (using former La Roquete fruit since 2010); “most refined,” the 2017 and 2019 both five-star wines, “based on pure, perfumed content, a real good sense of place”
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape Telegramme red — second wine, incorporating fruit from the former Domaine La Roquete’s 25.5 hectares since 2010
• Clos La Roquete blanc — from a sandy 3-hectare plot; STGT in 2016 and 2017; “always displays finesse”
• Ventoux Megaphone red — full red Ventoux since 2011; since 2019 includes 15-25% stems, vinification lighter (more infusion than extraction); “represents the new tendencies of the domaine”
• Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Le Pigeoulet red and white — good value; the white was a striking four-star wine in 2018

Style Notes

The Bruniers also own Domaine La Roquete at Chateauneuf, Domaine Les Pallieres at Gigondas (with Kermit Lynch), and have interests in Lebanon at the Massaya vineyard. The domaine has been moving towards lighter extraction and more stem inclusion, enhancing freshness and purity.

Outstanding recent vintages (JLL):

• 2020 La Crau red: six stars — “really profound”
• 2019 La Crau red: five-star STGT
• 2017 and 2019 Piedlong et Pignan: both five stars
• 2020 La Crau white: five-star STGT

Key Wines & Vintage Notes (JLL / drinkRhone.com)

The JSON tasting data covers the full wine range: La Crau red and white, Piedlong et Pignan, Telegramme red and white, L’Hippolyte red and white, Clos La Roquete white, Megaphone red, and Le Pigeoulet red and white. Key highlights from the vintage notes reinforce the assessments already captured on this page from the producer profile. The most notable additions:

Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau red

Grenache-dominated blend from the galet stone plateau. 30-35% stems included in recent vintages.

• The extensive vintage-by-vintage notes confirm the trajectory: the 2020 six-star upgrade in bottle (“really profound, on a big stage”) and the 2019 five-star STGT are the pinnacle recent vintages.
• Older standouts include the 2010 and 1998.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape Piedlong et Pignan red

New cuvee from sandy soils, using former La Roquete fruit since 2010. “Most refined.”

• 2017 and 2019: both five-star wines, “based on pure, perfumed content, a real good sense of place.”

Ventoux Megaphone red

Full red Ventoux since 2011. Since 2019 includes 15-25% stems, lighter vinification.

• “Represents the new tendencies of the domaine” — lighter extraction, more infusion.

Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Le Pigeoulet white

• 2018: a striking four-star wine.

Clos La Roquete blanc

From a sandy 3-hectare plot. “Always displays finesse.”

• STGT in 2016 and 2017.

Vintage Assessments (JLL Vintage Reports)

2022 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: The August 15 tornado “wrecked a path across Chateauneuf-du-Pape’s La Crau vineyard, with Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe especially hard hit.” This event significantly impacted the estate’s 2022 production from its flagship vineyard.

2021 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Daniel Brunier: “most often there is better balance after a rainfall at harvest time. However, in 2021 the grapes didn’t need that rain for their balance — it had already rained a lot in the lead-up, which is why 2021 is not a Grande Annee.” On the degree: “for us, the degree on the whites is important. At 13.95-14.2 degrees on a Chateauneuf blanc, you have balance, aromas, ripeness, freshness. Our 2021 is in that range — balanced, not solar, a superb vintage.” On the reds: “the reds are beaus; during their first winter, I had the impression of a very average year, but around March suddenly the volume arrived, making the wines beaus, rounded, velvet, balanced — a vintage full of fruit that reminds me to some extent of 2006.” See 2021 Rhone Vintage.

2020 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: The summer was solar but the wines don’t reflect that — harmony is the keyword. La Crau red was upgraded to six stars in bottle (“really profound, on a big stage”). La Crau white was five stars STGT (“a vivid, authentic garrigue wine”). See 2020 Rhone Vintage.

My Tastings

2019 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: La Crau red five-star STGT (“rich, concentrated, beautifully persistent”). Piedlong et Pignan five stars. 2019 was very good indeed at Châteauneuf-du-Pape, certainly ahead of 2018 and 2017. See 2019 Rhone Vintage.

2018 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Brutal mildew year across the Southern Rhône. Organic estates working on a large scale suffered terrible yields. Le Pigeoulet blanc was a striking four-star wine. A vintage for careful selection. See 2018 Rhone Vintage.

2017 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Piedlong et Pignan five stars (“pure, perfumed content, a real good sense of place”). Clos La Roquète blanc STGT. A drought vintage with reduced harvest from Grenache coulure. See 2017 Rhone Vintage.

2016 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Exceptional vintage. JLL considers 2016 superior to 2015 in the Southern Rhône. Clos La Roquète blanc STGT. See 2016 Rhone Vintage.

2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: La Crau six stars (drink window 2041-44). JLL: “strong, purposeful; like 1978.” One of ten six-star CdP reds in this perfect vintage. See 2010 Rhone Vintage.

2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape: La Crau Tradition rated ★★★★ (drink 2024-26). A vintage of balance and harmony rather than power. Daniel Brunier later noted (in 2021) that the 2021 reds reminded him “to some extent of 2006.” See 2006 Rhone Vintage.

Sources

• sources/articles/JLL/Domaine_du_Vieux_Telegraphe.txt — Producer profile (John Livingstone-Learmonth, drinkRhone.com)
• sources/articles/JLL/rhone_wines_data.json — JLL / drinkRhone.com wine-by-wine vintage notes
• sources/articles/JLL/rhone_vintage_reports.json — JLL vintage reports 2006-2024