Description

Twenty years on, this is a Vieux Télégraphe in its full maturity and drinking beautifully. The colour has softened to a garnet core with a clear brick and tawny rim. The nose is open and expressive: kirsch and dried red cherry give way to garrigue, leather, cured meat, black olive tapenade and a warm, earthy note of sous-bois, with a hint of pipe tobacco and orange peel lifting the finish.

On the palate the tannins have fully resolved into a silky, seamless texture, while the fresh acidity typical of the 2006 vintage keeps everything lively rather than heavy. The sweet Grenache fruit has moved firmly into its savoury, tertiary phase, and the stony, iron-tinged character of the La Crau plateau’s galets roulés comes through clearly on the long, gently spiced finish.