Description
The Vieux Télégraphe estate has been operated by the Brunier family, for six generations, exactly since 1891. The vineyard, with an average age of 60 years, is located on the famous Crau plateau, the Mecca of the viticulture of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This terroir marks their wines with a very particular minerality, as if they had been filtered through the thick layer of rolled pebbles, left on the spot when the Alpine glaciers melted, long before the Rhône Valley formed.
When young, the “Terrasse du Diable” cuvée has the minerality, freshness and sometimes overbearing tannins of high-lying terroirs. The best vintages can age for more than 20 years.
Tasting Notes
From a cool site at 300-400 meters above sea level, the 2017 Gigondas Terrasse du Diable is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Mourvèdre. It boasts knockout aromas of violets, garrigue and purple raspberries, with an undercurrent of black cherries. It’s full-bodied and concentrated, with bright, crunchy acids. The overall impression is of a wine with sharper edges than the harmonious 2016 or 2018. Cellar it a couple of years and then enjoy it over the following decade. [91-93 Points, Joe Czerwinski – August 2019, robertparker.com]
