So I bought a cellar; 11/12/2022-12/31/2030: Served during my Wednesday Wine Committee hosting. I opened this at 7:00 am for the lunch, starting at 11:30. Super thick foil, and both bottles opened had fully or almost fully saturated corks. And a bit nasty on top. But both bottles smelled and tasted correct on first pour. At the lunch, after decanting and sitting on the table, the nose became gamey and meaty, but still (stewed) fruit forward on the palate. Quite a few Bordeaux guesses. It showed really well.
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Needed a good 2 hour decant to wake up from its long slumber. Citrus fruits, oranges, strawberries, herbs; the palate is still incredible powerful and savory, there is beautiful acidity and a heavy dose of black pepper and herbs resonating on the very long finish. This is drinking perfect I think. 18.5/20
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Nose: mellow cherry, raspberry, cracked pepper, florals, spice and delicate perfume. Palate: extremely deftly balanced with no excess anywhere. Red fruits, cherry, strawberry, anise, garrigue, fennel and black pepper. Subtle yet commanding attention.
A beautiful wine likely at apogee, but there are years of enjoyment ahead. Makes me sad so much CdP chased the Parker styling in the 00's. These classics are remarkable.
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The 1985 Vieux Télégraphe La Crau has succeeded marvelously in amalgamating the mellowness of age with the spicey, feral nature of CdP, offering a soft nose of red cherry and strawberry accented by warm earth, fennel, game, and cracked black pepper. The juxtaposition of sweet, mellow fruit and perfectly integrated spice on the palate is so winning (particularly with rack of lamb). And its long finish is prone to carry you off if you’re not careful… or at least to carry your hand back to the glass.
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Wow, this is the real deal and shows how much time VT really needs before it struts its stuff. Full of dark fruit and black forest flavors along with hints of chocolate, garrigue and other darker spices. The finish here is concentrated and oh so complex with notes of tar, leathers, charcoal and minerals. Just delicious stuff and from a perfect bottle.
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Dark sweet spice with earth notes on the nose. Dark cherry, red and black plum. Fruit on the palate is complemented by a soft nuttiness and black olive on the finish. Still firm back tannins.
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From a great looking bottle with a 2 cm fill, this wine had a deep red center and orange rims. The medium intensity nose displayed black cherries, beet root, ginger, and some garrigue.
This wine was a bit rough and overly intense when first poured. After several hours of air, it was nicely balanced with a attractive sappy texture in the mouth. The tannins were rounded and the wine had good length.
While this was not a particularly sophisticated wine, it had some complexity, a nice mouthfeel, and good balance. I would say this wine is in the back-end of the zone, so drink up!
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Wonderful wine. Sweet cherry fruit (and plenty of it) fully integrated with tannins. Silky smooth. Moderate to light weight with leather, pepper, and other spices quite evident. I am surprised that it has gotten better (or at least this particular bottle was better) than the last '85 Vieux Telegraphe I tasted three or four years ago. Bravo!
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Double Magnum. Ullaged due to an undersized cork, not detected as it was still in its cardboard carton, and the leakage was absorbed by some plastic foam that had been placed in the original package to protect the wax capsule. Colour very pleasingly dark, but the nose was distinctly flawed: the hard, almost rubbery smell of an ullaged wine. Tipped it down the sink. A previous double magnum a couple of years ago was really lovely, sweet matured nose and delightful in every way. The moral of the story is to look at bottles and detect ullaging as early as possible.
A close look at the empty double magnum shows clearly that the hard wax capsule material is adhering well down into the neck, indicating that the cork was already too far down before the wax was applied. This, combined with the distinct taper of the bottle ensured a poor seal. The brittle wax eventually cracked, allowing leakage. I waited 25 year for this!
Bordeaux large format bottles have parallel necks, giving the cork a much better chance of working properly.
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French Wine Tasting Dinner at Renée's: Renée's: This label is pre-"La Crau"; showed sweet red cherry, raspberry, red licorice, white pepper and dried spices with anise and a little garrigue. Silky, still good fruit, no real barnyard or oxidation, and holding up very well for its age. Fantastic with leg of lamb with dried herbs.
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Another fantastic bottle of this. Fully mature with the fruit rather gentle and understated, combining seamlessly with developed leathery, smoky, meaty and herbal elements on a very polished medium weight frame.
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Lovely wine. Mature, of course, but showing a heady palate of resolved red fruit and garrigue, with a very silky mouthfeel. I was quite taken by the nori/seaweed aspect that is so characteristic of Vieux Telegraphe and is still present and notable in this wine. Long, expressive, yet subtle finish. Salil's note below is pretty representative. A single bottle bought at auction years ago, I brought this to Marco's "Mature Wine" dinner.
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Mature wines at Marco's (Milford, CT): Drinking superbly now. The fruit's still quite rich and lively, ripe red fruits seasoned with developed earthy, meaty and leathery accents, seamless and very polished on the palate with the tannins fully integrated and so enjoyable.
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Le (limite') Tour de France (Home): Decanted at 11:35 as the 3rd wine of a 1 p.m. tasting. By the time we got to it, the decanter had held it for about 3 hours. Bouquet was good on opening and improved over the course of the afternoon. One amusing thing about this bottle was the label, which showed the alcohol as between 11 and 14%! My guess is that it was closer to the latter figure, as one of the tasters commented on a slight sweetness; I suggested it was probably the alcohol level. Garrigue was present in spades, as was spiciness. This bottle was imported by Kermit Lynch, and I recounted a story recalled from his classic "Adventures on the Wine Route". He insisted at the time (and I'm sure still does) that his wines not go through filtration. I suggested to the group that one reason we were able to enjoy such a smooth and expansive flavor profile in a 27-year-old non-reserve bottling was that Mr. Lynch kept his clients from knocking the stuffing out of their wines. Good for him, and we thank him and the Brunier family. This was a bottle at or just over its peak, but not so far in decline that it suffered. It was one of the tasters' favorite wine of the day.
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Very light color, fading to brick red. Nose was beautiful on opening, and much fruit still there, but a bit tart. After an hour in the decanter, opened beautifully. Light silk texture, completely integrated tannins, long finish. Still with round dark cherry fruit, and lots going on. Excellent with roast duck.
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Three Dinners: Great nose with dark fruit, dried herbs, expresso and a hint of brett (?). Expansive flavors on the palate. Very smooth but slightly drying on the otherwise nice finish. Still drinking really well.
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Popped and poured. Cellared since release; last bottle of a case. Considerable sediment. On the nose - classic V-T, funk, garrigue, stony character. On the palate quite smooth with all tannins resolved but not at all flabby. Still hanging on, but probably past it's peak. Interesting but not awe-inspiring.
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Drinking exceptionally well at this point. Still has lovely fruit, appropriate acidity and complex flavors. Smoke, porky-ness, spicy red berry fruit, leather, tobacco.
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Tasting Group Dinner - Chateauneuf & More (In Season, Minneapolis): Second time tasted, from the same source. Utterly beautiful, mature, classic CDP. Complex layers of secondary and tertiary flavors that meld dynamically with still-fresh, lively, red fruit. Deep and rich, showing a melange of truffles, baking spices, minerals, and beef broth flavors, suffused with garrigue. Elegant, mid-weight, silky mouthfeel. Just flat-out gorgeous, and my WOTN.
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this was a celebratory wine that my wife and I had with an organic pizza to celebrate the birth of our twin daughters. (no time to go out or cook a decent meal) A very rustic, leathery, tobacco nose that is a subdued brickish red. This wine hasn't seen air in 24 years, but the earthiness and smoothness of this aged wine was quite delightful. Drink now
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Otis opened a bottle of this at his house over the weekend. He popped the cork just before dinner and poured a little. We both thought it was an excellent wine. Loaded with fruit and garrigue with an impressive tannic grip on the finish. Otis put the cork back into the bottle and set it aside for dinner. No decanting. When we tried it again with dinner about an hour later, the wine was noticeably duller with some cardboard and we concluded it was corked. Very disappointing and strange how the wine could change like that.
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Purchased recently on auction for $60. High neck fill. Animalistic nose (at first), but that blew off into something very floral and earthy. I was pleasantly surprised at how much small-berry fruit this wine possessed, especially on the back end. Of course, it also had the peppery and spicy secondary characteristcs that I love about CdP. Finished with ample tannins. This could easily go for another 5 years, but won't disappoint if opened now.
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'85 and '90 VT Side by Side: One More Time (Foreign Cinema, San Francisco): Medium red with some lightening and browning at the rim. Gorgeous, forward "essence of Provence" fragrance, high toned herbs mixed with red raspberry fruit that was wonderfully persistent and seductive over 2-3 hours. Elegant, beautifully balanced fruit, long, perfect acidity and tannins that have melted away. Only showed a bit of decline at the very end of the bottle. This was in perfect condition and more youthful than the other bottles of this I have had this year. Tonight, this was the "wow" wine.
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Vieux Telegraphe Vertical Dinner (Rubicon, San Francisco): Medium ruby. The most complete wine of the older ones with perceptible sweetness of fruit, light dusting of herbs, good finish. I remember tasting this when it was released and not buying it because it seemed hot and port-like. Needless to say, I was wrong, and it has evolved beautifully over the years.
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CNdP Dinner @ La Tourvaille Ruby color, light around the rim. cherries and sweet spices on the nose. the mouth was much like the nose with cherries and some molases or brown sugar.weel balaced wine, med fine, med length
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Dinner with Craig, Chris, and Steve (Chez Moi): The color is a healthy brownish-red that is consistent with other recently opened CdP of this age. The nose is intense and expressive from the moment the bottle was opened -- giving a complex blend of dark cherry, garrigue/dried herbs, floral notes, and a mild mushroom. This intriguing complexity carries through to the palate. The flavors are augmented towards kirsch/sour cherries. The wine is balanced and smooth. Nice finish. Excellent.
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Steaks a la Manlin w/ The Dalluges and Friends (Dave's House): Dark fruit, pine/eucalyptus, and garrigue on the nose. Beautifully mature black fruit, espresso, and leather. Lush, soft mouthfeel. There is still grip and structure here, although the tannins are well resolved. Delicious. I preferred this slightly over the 1994.
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Two Mature Vieux Telegraphes (Range, San Francisco): Bottle in excellent condition with 2 cm ullage. Medium to light ruby color. An initial burst of black cherry fruit which then receded to reveal much more prominent lavender and rosemary herb qualities. Palate light with a strong early burst of acidity (not VA) which calmed down over a couple of hours. Nice residual fruit but finishes with a bit of astringency. While holding up admirably over the course of the meal, this wine is almost certainly past its best and should be drunk relatively soon.
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Surprised at how good this wine was. Mature, but far from over the hill. Beautiful fruity nose. Still dark in color. Well balanced flavors of plum and black fruits. Smooth, complex and evolved wih no harshness, alcohol, tannic or metallic flavors. WOTN tasted against several bottles of 98 Cote Rotie.
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Seattle Tasting Group does Southern Rhône (Seattle, WA, USA): This clearly had lots of age and some thought it was over the hill. To my palate it was gorgeous with a sweet, caramel entry, a slightly funky mid-palate with some metallic notes, and a searing, somewhat dry finish. Despite the finish, this was a classy and enjoyable aged CNDP. I would drink up if you are holding any of these, but to my palate this was still in good shape.
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Hot Basement Tasting @ Howard's (Westport): Obvious bricking on the rim. A bit of cedar and leather. A nice, mature, complex wine. A bit of tar and pepper, but this wine seemed to die pretty quickly after some exposure to air. Nice wine, but seemed to be at it's peak (from Magnum).
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With Michael Lehmann at Singer & Foy survey of 1985 Rhones. Washed out, faded color. Ruby, but brownish and light. Smells vegetal, almost like dill pickles. Starts off OK in the mouth, even seems rich, then it gets very weird and ugly. Ugh! I'm shocked. 4-5-5-2: 66/100.
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At home with Kathy and Miranda at dinner (spaghetti carbonara). Strong medium ruby color. Pretty. Fairly viscous. Good Rhone nose of game and fruit. Alcoholic. Powerful. In the mouth, it is smoky, gamy. Good depth of fruit and well-balanced. Big body. Excellent old style brawny, smoky wine. 5-10-15-7: 87/100.
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With Michael Lehmann at Singer & Foy vertical tasting of Vieux Telegraphe. Medium ruby. Slightly stinky, but has some of the Rhone characteristics I like – leather, game. In the mouth, big and bold, lots of good old Rhône notes. Fine stuff. Best so far, by far. 5-11-17-9: 92/100.
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11/29/2023 - Gregmonroe wrote:
So I bought a cellar; 11/12/2022-12/31/2030: Served during my Wednesday Wine Committee hosting. I opened this at 7:00 am for the lunch, starting at 11:30. Super thick foil, and both bottles opened had fully or almost fully saturated corks. And a bit nasty on top. But both bottles smelled and tasted correct on first pour. At the lunch, after decanting and sitting on the table, the nose became gamey and meaty, but still (stewed) fruit forward on the palate. Quite a few Bordeaux guesses. It showed really well.
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1/29/2023 - ploher wrote:
Needed a good 2 hour decant to wake up from its long slumber. Citrus fruits, oranges, strawberries, herbs; the palate is still incredible powerful and savory, there is beautiful acidity and a heavy dose of black pepper and herbs resonating on the very long finish. This is drinking perfect I think. 18.5/20
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1/19/2023 - Stevie_chams91 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Amazing. Not too much acidity. Cant believe it still had that much life
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10/4/2021 - RockinCabs wrote: 95 Points
Nose: mellow cherry, raspberry, cracked pepper, florals, spice and delicate perfume. Palate: extremely deftly balanced with no excess anywhere. Red fruits, cherry, strawberry, anise, garrigue, fennel and black pepper. Subtle yet commanding attention.
A beautiful wine likely at apogee, but there are years of enjoyment ahead. Makes me sad so much CdP chased the Parker styling in the 00's. These classics are remarkable.
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10/3/2021 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
The 1985 Vieux Télégraphe La Crau has succeeded marvelously in amalgamating the mellowness of age with the spicey, feral nature of CdP, offering a soft nose of red cherry and strawberry accented by warm earth, fennel, game, and cracked black pepper. The juxtaposition of sweet, mellow fruit and perfectly integrated spice on the palate is so winning (particularly with rack of lamb). And its long finish is prone to carry you off if you’re not careful… or at least to carry your hand back to the glass.
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11/18/2019 - burgerking wrote:
Worth the wait!!!
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11/1/2019 - Alfaro wrote: 98 Points
What a treat!!
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3/10/2016 - brihprivat wrote: 92 Points
VT - Vertical 1983-2012
No formal notes. Tasted alongside the 1983, which was superior.
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2/28/2016 - moany rhoney wrote: 94 Points
Resolved tannins, savoury palette. A beautiful wine, but probably needs drinking.
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6/10/2015 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow, this is the real deal and shows how much time VT really needs before it struts its stuff. Full of dark fruit and black forest flavors along with hints of chocolate, garrigue and other darker spices. The finish here is concentrated and oh so complex with notes of tar, leathers, charcoal and minerals. Just delicious stuff and from a perfect bottle.
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6/9/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark sweet spice with earth notes on the nose. Dark cherry, red and black plum. Fruit on the palate is complemented by a soft nuttiness and black olive on the finish. Still firm back tannins.
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4/12/2015 - fclarity wrote: 92 Points
From a great looking bottle with a 2 cm fill, this wine had a deep red center and orange rims. The medium intensity nose displayed black cherries, beet root, ginger, and some garrigue.
This wine was a bit rough and overly intense when first poured. After several hours of air, it was nicely balanced with a attractive sappy texture in the mouth. The tannins were rounded and the wine had good length.
While this was not a particularly sophisticated wine, it had some complexity, a nice mouthfeel, and good balance. I would say this wine is in the back-end of the zone, so drink up!
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3/21/2015 - le fouloir wrote: 94 Points
Wonderful wine. Sweet cherry fruit (and plenty of it) fully integrated with tannins. Silky smooth. Moderate to light weight with leather, pepper, and other spices quite evident. I am surprised that it has gotten better (or at least this particular bottle was better) than the last '85 Vieux Telegraphe I tasted three or four years ago. Bravo!
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6/18/2014 - john_s wrote: flawed
Double Magnum. Ullaged due to an undersized cork, not detected as it was still in its cardboard carton, and the leakage was absorbed by some plastic foam that had been placed in the original package to protect the wax capsule. Colour very pleasingly dark, but the nose was distinctly flawed: the hard, almost rubbery smell of an ullaged wine. Tipped it down the sink. A previous double magnum a couple of years ago was really lovely, sweet matured nose and delightful in every way. The moral of the story is to look at bottles and detect ullaging as early as possible.
A close look at the empty double magnum shows clearly that the hard wax capsule material is adhering well down into the neck, indicating that the cork was already too far down before the wax was applied. This, combined with the distinct taper of the bottle ensured a poor seal. The brittle wax eventually cracked, allowing leakage. I waited 25 year for this!
Bordeaux large format bottles have parallel necks, giving the cork a much better chance of working properly.
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4/18/2014 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
French Wine Tasting Dinner at Renée's: Renée's: This label is pre-"La Crau"; showed sweet red cherry, raspberry, red licorice, white pepper and dried spices with anise and a little garrigue. Silky, still good fruit, no real barnyard or oxidation, and holding up very well for its age. Fantastic with leg of lamb with dried herbs.
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2/27/2014 - affordableCollector wrote: 90 Points
light red, in color. smoke, tobacco, on the nose. soy, spiced beef, dried fruit, earth, on the palate. medium acid, on the finish.
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2/27/2014 - europat55 Likes this wine: 91 Points
1981-1988 Vieux Telegraphe La Crau CdP Vertical (Tom's house in Palo Alto, California): Excellent nose (B++). Sense, smooth palate (B++/A-).
My #4, Group's #8 (144 pts). Tasted blind.
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10/17/2013 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Another fantastic bottle of this. Fully mature with the fruit rather gentle and understated, combining seamlessly with developed leathery, smoky, meaty and herbal elements on a very polished medium weight frame.
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3/23/2013 - Pknut wrote:
Lovely wine. Mature, of course, but showing a heady palate of resolved red fruit and garrigue, with a very silky mouthfeel. I was quite taken by the nori/seaweed aspect that is so characteristic of Vieux Telegraphe and is still present and notable in this wine. Long, expressive, yet subtle finish. Salil's note below is pretty representative. A single bottle bought at auction years ago, I brought this to Marco's "Mature Wine" dinner.
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3/23/2013 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Mature wines at Marco's (Milford, CT): Drinking superbly now. The fruit's still quite rich and lively, ripe red fruits seasoned with developed earthy, meaty and leathery accents, seamless and very polished on the palate with the tannins fully integrated and so enjoyable.
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7/29/2012 - Trickyone wrote:
Le (limite') Tour de France (Home): Decanted at 11:35 as the 3rd wine of a 1 p.m. tasting. By the time we got to it, the decanter had held it for about 3 hours. Bouquet was good on opening and improved over the course of the afternoon. One amusing thing about this bottle was the label, which showed the alcohol as between 11 and 14%! My guess is that it was closer to the latter figure, as one of the tasters commented on a slight sweetness; I suggested it was probably the alcohol level. Garrigue was present in spades, as was spiciness. This bottle was imported by Kermit Lynch, and I recounted a story recalled from his classic "Adventures on the Wine Route". He insisted at the time (and I'm sure still does) that his wines not go through filtration. I suggested to the group that one reason we were able to enjoy such a smooth and expansive flavor profile in a 27-year-old non-reserve bottling was that Mr. Lynch kept his clients from knocking the stuffing out of their wines. Good for him, and we thank him and the Brunier family. This was a bottle at or just over its peak, but not so far in decline that it suffered. It was one of the tasters' favorite wine of the day.
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12/25/2011 - zovizule wrote:
Very light color, fading to brick red. Nose was beautiful on opening, and much fruit still there, but a bit tart. After an hour in the decanter, opened beautifully. Light silk texture, completely integrated tannins, long finish. Still with round dark cherry fruit, and lots going on. Excellent with roast duck.
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10/31/2011 - Rupert wrote: 88 Points
Beaucastel v Vieux Télégraphe 1978-1990 (The Square, Mayfair, London): Minty nose, smooth and lactic on the palate, but again all a bit diffuse
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10/16/2011 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 93 Points
Three Dinners: Great nose with dark fruit, dried herbs, expresso and a hint of brett (?). Expansive flavors on the palate. Very smooth but slightly drying on the otherwise nice finish. Still drinking really well.
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3/19/2011 - rosenst1 wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured. Cellared since release; last bottle of a case. Considerable sediment.
On the nose - classic V-T, funk, garrigue, stony character. On the palate quite smooth with all tannins resolved but not at all flabby. Still hanging on, but probably past it's peak.
Interesting but not awe-inspiring.
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3/6/2011 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Tasted with Siggy and Craig back in December. Siggy's note captures it perfectly. A great bottle of wine that is in a great drinking window right now.
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1/16/2011 - bg2167 wrote: 91 Points
Drinking exceptionally well at this point. Still has lovely fruit, appropriate acidity and complex flavors. Smoke, porky-ness, spicy red berry fruit, leather, tobacco.
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12/14/2010 - Siggy wrote: 95 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - Chateauneuf & More (In Season, Minneapolis): Second time tasted, from the same source. Utterly beautiful, mature, classic CDP. Complex layers of secondary and tertiary flavors that meld dynamically with still-fresh, lively, red fruit. Deep and rich, showing a melange of truffles, baking spices, minerals, and beef broth flavors, suffused with garrigue. Elegant, mid-weight, silky mouthfeel. Just flat-out gorgeous, and my WOTN.
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10/23/2010 - KC Bloodlines wrote:
Delicious. Still super vibrant.
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5/14/2009 - dave smigielski wrote: 92 Points
this was a celebratory wine that my wife and I had with an organic pizza to celebrate the birth of our twin daughters. (no time to go out or cook a decent meal) A very rustic, leathery, tobacco nose that is a subdued brickish red. This wine hasn't seen air in 24 years, but the earthiness and smoothness of this aged wine was quite delightful. Drink now
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1/14/2008 - Vino Me wrote: flawed
Otis opened a bottle of this at his house over the weekend. He popped the cork just before dinner and poured a little. We both thought it was an excellent wine. Loaded with fruit and garrigue with an impressive tannic grip on the finish. Otis put the cork back into the bottle and set it aside for dinner. No decanting. When we tried it again with dinner about an hour later, the wine was noticeably duller with some cardboard and we concluded it was corked. Very disappointing and strange how the wine could change like that.
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11/3/2007 - otisabdul wrote: 93 Points
Purchased recently on auction for $60. High neck fill. Animalistic nose (at first), but that blew off into something very floral and earthy. I was pleasantly surprised at how much small-berry fruit this wine possessed, especially on the back end. Of course, it also had the peppery and spicy secondary characteristcs that I love about CdP. Finished with ample tannins. This could easily go for another 5 years, but won't disappoint if opened now.
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7/29/2007 - drwine2001 wrote:
'85 and '90 VT Side by Side: One More Time (Foreign Cinema, San Francisco): Medium red with some lightening and browning at the rim. Gorgeous, forward "essence of Provence" fragrance, high toned herbs mixed with red raspberry fruit that was wonderfully persistent and seductive over 2-3 hours. Elegant, beautifully balanced fruit, long, perfect acidity and tannins that have melted away. Only showed a bit of decline at the very end of the bottle. This was in perfect condition and more youthful than the other bottles of this I have had this year. Tonight, this was the "wow" wine.
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5/14/2007 - drwine2001 wrote:
Vieux Telegraphe Vertical Dinner (Rubicon, San Francisco): Medium ruby. The most complete wine of the older ones with perceptible sweetness of fruit, light dusting of herbs, good finish. I remember tasting this when it was released and not buying it because it seemed hot and port-like. Needless to say, I was wrong, and it has evolved beautifully over the years.
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3/13/2007 - reichken wrote: 90 Points
CNdP Dinner @ La Tourvaille
Ruby color, light around the rim. cherries and sweet spices on the nose. the mouth was much like the nose with cherries and some molases or brown sugar.weel balaced wine, med fine, med length
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2/21/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 94 Points
Dinner with Craig, Chris, and Steve (Chez Moi): The color is a healthy brownish-red that is consistent with other recently opened CdP of this age. The nose is intense and expressive from the moment the bottle was opened -- giving a complex blend of dark cherry, garrigue/dried herbs, floral notes, and a mild mushroom. This intriguing complexity carries through to the palate. The flavors are augmented towards kirsch/sour cherries. The wine is balanced and smooth. Nice finish. Excellent.
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2/21/2007 - Siggy wrote: 93 Points
Steaks a la Manlin w/ The Dalluges and Friends (Dave's House): Dark fruit, pine/eucalyptus, and garrigue on the nose. Beautifully mature black fruit, espresso, and leather. Lush, soft mouthfeel. There is still grip and structure here, although the tannins are well resolved. Delicious. I preferred this slightly over the 1994.
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2/19/2007 - drwine2001 wrote:
Two Mature Vieux Telegraphes (Range, San Francisco): Bottle in excellent condition with 2 cm ullage. Medium to light ruby color. An initial burst of black cherry fruit which then receded to reveal much more prominent lavender and rosemary herb qualities. Palate light with a strong early burst of acidity (not VA) which calmed down over a couple of hours. Nice residual fruit but finishes with a bit of astringency. While holding up admirably over the course of the meal, this wine is almost certainly past its best and should be drunk relatively soon.
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9/9/2006 - cos82 wrote: 92 Points
Surprised at how good this wine was. Mature, but far from over the hill. Beautiful fruity nose. Still dark in color. Well balanced flavors of plum and black fruits. Smooth, complex and evolved wih no harshness, alcohol, tannic or metallic flavors. WOTN tasted against several bottles of 98 Cote Rotie.
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9/17/2005 - johnnywebs wrote: 88 Points
Rust, stewed tomatoes, dusty sneakers. Strawberries and sour cherries. Nice aged bottle. Drink up.
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4/19/2003 - Eric wrote: 90 Points
Seattle Tasting Group does Southern Rhône (Seattle, WA, USA): This clearly had lots of age and some thought it was over the hill. To my palate it was gorgeous with a sweet, caramel entry, a slightly funky mid-palate with some metallic notes, and a searing, somewhat dry finish. Despite the finish, this was a classy and enjoyable aged CNDP. I would drink up if you are holding any of these, but to my palate this was still in good shape.
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7/25/1999 - mdefreitas wrote: 88 Points
Hot Basement Tasting @ Howard's (Westport): Obvious bricking on the rim. A bit of cedar and leather. A nice, mature, complex wine. A bit of tar and pepper, but this wine seemed to die pretty quickly after some exposure to air. Nice wine, but seemed to be at it's peak (from Magnum).
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7/4/1997 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 82 Points
Rhone Tasting and July 4th BBQ (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Very rich, dusty nose, too much tannin. lots of fruit but also lots of tannin, my #7 of 7.
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9/17/1991 - dbg wrote:
still great
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4/5/1991 - MicklethePickle Does not like this wine: 66 Points
With Michael Lehmann at Singer & Foy survey of 1985 Rhones. Washed out, faded color. Ruby, but brownish and light. Smells vegetal, almost like dill pickles. Starts off OK in the mouth, even seems rich, then it gets very weird and ugly. Ugh! I'm shocked. 4-5-5-2: 66/100.
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12/15/1990 - dbg wrote:
excellent mature C du P
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11/25/1990 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 87 Points
At home with Kathy and Miranda at dinner (spaghetti carbonara). Strong medium ruby color. Pretty. Fairly viscous. Good Rhone nose of game and fruit. Alcoholic. Powerful. In the mouth, it is smoky, gamy. Good depth of fruit and well-balanced. Big body. Excellent old style brawny, smoky wine. 5-10-15-7: 87/100.
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5/18/1990 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 92 Points
With Michael Lehmann at Singer & Foy vertical tasting of Vieux Telegraphe. Medium ruby. Slightly stinky, but has some of the Rhone characteristics I like – leather, game. In the mouth, big and bold, lots of good old Rhône notes. Fine stuff. Best so far, by far. 5-11-17-9: 92/100.
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5/13/1990 - dbg wrote:
Explosively rich, deep, fruity. Full bodied, very alcoholic, with
sweet, jammy, port-like richness & texture.
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