Vieux Telegraphe, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, La Crau Rouge 2017

Immediately a sense of darker fruit in this vintage. The nose has closed up a little since tasting in barrel. It has some reserved, sanguine notes and an essence-like, raspberry core. Some stones and chalk here, too. Very long and focused palate. The grenache is singing here. Dense but soft and supple tannins, the product of thick, healthy skins. Best from 2025.

Brilliant ruby. Powerfully scented aromas of ripe raspberry, blueberry, potpourri and garrigue, along with an exotic spice nuance that builds as the wine opens up. Subtly chewy and expansive in the mouth, showing impressive energy to its intense, mineral-laced red and blue fruit preserve, candied lavender and spicecake flavors. Finishes sappy and impressively long, with resonating spice and floral notes and harmonious tannins adding gentle grip.

The 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is another elegant, floral example from this vintage. Black raspberries, red currants, peppery garrigue, tons of minerality, and a seaweed note that I always find in this cuvée gives way to a rich, medium to full-bodied, balanced, structured wine that has everything in the right places. With good acidity, ripe, present tannin, and plenty of length, it will need 3-5 years of cellaring and keep for 15-20 years.

Slated to be bottled less than a week after my visit, the final blend of the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau is fresh, vibrant and zesty, with notes of roses, tea, raspberries and blood oranges. Full-bodied yet diaphanous and silky, it doesn't appear to have the richness of either the 2016 or 2018.