Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe (Famille Brunier), Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau, Southern Rhône, France 2014

Full of finesse and alluring notes of black cherry, eucalyptus, mint, and garrigue. Of course, it’s still Grenache grown under a southern sun and in a soil packed full with radiating rounded river stones, so there’s plenty of structure, flavor, and succulence. But if you welcome a soulful country rouge with a little more elegance and poise than usual, you’re in for a treat.

One cannot think of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the most celebrated cru of the southern Rhône, without thinking of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. The Brunier family is legendary in its own right, having been rooted to the enigmatic plateau known as La Crau for over one hundred years.

The wines of Vieux Télégraphe evoke the concept of terroir in its purest form: they reflect their dramatic climate, the rough terrain that defines the soil, their full sun exposure at a higher altitude, the typicity of the varietals with an emphasis on Grenache, and of course, the influence of their caretakers, the Brunier family. For many, La Crau is Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s grandest cru.