2018 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe La Crau Chateauneuf-du-Pape 750 ml

Officially, Châteauneuf-du-Pape has no Grands Crus. But there’s no question among critics, collectors, and red wine lovers that the Rhône’s answer to the Lafites and Latours, Palmers, Pavies, and Romanée-Contis of the world is Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. And that’s thanks in huge part to La Crau. 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe’s signature bottling is an icon, one of the ultra-rare wines that stands with the best in the world, whether you measure them by pedigree or pure pleasure. As Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate put it, “The quality and consistency of the wines here largely speak for themselves.”

This is one of the wines that every member of our Wine Team purchases every single vintage, and the 2018 carries the La Crau torch proudly. Lifted and elegant, it’s aromas of black raspberry, red cherries, garrigue, violets, smoke, and black tea open to reveal hints of smoke, cracked pepper, and baking spices. This is Châteauneuf-du-Pape at its most pure and seamless, a beautifully refined red that should live in your cellar alongside First Growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy.

Grown on perhaps the most lauded parcel in the South of France, Vieux Télégraphe is a picture of Southern Rhône purity—a cuvée that packs as much power as any wine in France, without sacrificing an iota of complexity, minerality, or intrigue. 

This is the perfect wine to watch mature, whether in the cellar, or in the glass. Tasting it over a span of hours is like watching an accelerated and extremely graceful evolution: The wine goes from ripe and dense (showing off its sun-baked Grenache backbone) to aromatic and expansive, the garrigue and savory notes showing themselves slowly yet insistently. 

There is no piece of land in Châteauneuf-du-Pape more famous than the lieu-dit of La Crau. Located at the extreme southeast of the appellation, it shows millions of years of stratifications (including limestone, silica, and red clay molasse) all topped by round, heavy galets roulés. These stones insulate the organically farmed vines from extreme temperatures and provide excellent drainage for the roots. 

Only grapes from vines aged 20- to 65-years-old go into Vieux Télégraphe’s flagship—the younger vines go into the more precocious Télégramme bottling—and after harvest, they’re partially destemmed before spending 25 to 35 days fermenting in temperature-controlled stainless steel and wood cuves. After ten months in concrete and another in 12 in oak foudres, the wine is bottled unfiltered. 

The result is one of the most regal wines made in France, bar none. Take advantage, and you’re certain to thank yourself down the road.