Incense and spice on the nose. The palate instantly impresses with sous bois of the highest order carried by fantastic acidity, before giving way to slightly bitter dark cranberry fruit and a pinch of chewy tannin on the finish. Beautiful wine, and like the 84 Beaucastel drunk last year, easily overcomes the reputation of the vintage.
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Vinetasters: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Skokie, IL): Served double blind. Very nice intensity here, with beautiful fruit on the nose, as well as a hint of coffee. Spicy, with a nice mix of sweet red and black fruited aromas; seems to me this is slightly candied (but not in a bad way). The palate is gentle but big, with lovely acidity and freshness. The balance here is absolutely excellent. My 1st, group's 1st.
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Three Dinners: This was great from the moment it was opened. The nose gives tons of fresh fruit. A bit flat on the palate but very smooth and otherwise most enjoyable.
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With dinner at Staple & Fancy: No notes - but seemed like a very nice and mature cdp without being overly impressive. Was expecting more - not sure if this is just too mature for my taste or an off bottle - this is the oldest cdp I've had. But only dissapointing relative to my expectations.
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My last and best bottle from a six pack. The cork wasn't in very great shape and broke apart when opening. Filtered out the cork pieces with a aerator. This wine was in excellent shape. Brick red color. A touch of barnyard and animal on the nose. Flavors of raspberry, garrigue, anise, wild game, and cherry. Beautiful balance. Amazing depth and complexity on both the mid palate and finish. Rustic. Drank with the daughter of the winemaker Henri Brunier (his son's Frederick and Daniel had not taken over quite yet). Simply amazing and everything I look for in older Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
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Mature brick red color. Nose of raspberry and cherries. Tastes of raspberry, black pepper, plumb, anise and Herbs de Provence. Exceptionally well balanced. Long elegant finish. This wine is showing a little more age than the past examples from the same lot. Held up in the glass very well over several hours.
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pop and pour via the magnanimous generosity of my dear friend kstoddard. an absolutely perfect bottle drinking at it's wonderous height. the subtle interplay of fruit and perfectly resolved tannin, the long, beautiful finish, a wine of intricate contemplation, and a lovely example of CDP complexity and nuance. a southern rhone treasure. i love the fact that the nut-case parker rated this 86. what a schmo.
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A real treat! Stinky stone, dried herbs, tart cherry and licorsce on the short finish. Fruit was past it's prime however the wine still had plenty of tannins.
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Holiday Party (Jeff): Brick red color. Cherry nose. Tastes of raspberry, soy sauce, licorice and black pepper. A very nice core of fruit. Holding up extremely well despite being almost 25 years old. Still some unresolved tannins makes me thing this wine could go another 10 years easily. Quite rustic in style with very nice elegance and depth in the finish. Outstanding.
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decanted. an interesting wine that just blossomed with air. i suppose this will retain some aging ability, but i feel this bottle resulted in all i would be willing to wait for. tannins resolved, and plenty of secondary nuances.
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Decanted for approximately 2 hrs. The nose on this wine was intoxicating. Packed with raspberries, black pepper & garrique. I visited thru-out the night and there was zero decline. So fresh, pure & focused.....this wine was absolutely stunning & drinking incredibly young for a 28 yr old wine. 50+5+15+17+8=95
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Light brick red in color. Tastes of raspberry, cherry, plumb, earth. spice and olives. Very meaty, chewy Grenache character. Beautiful balance and finish. Still very much alive and kicking.
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Another contribution from George. The color is a light ruby red. The nose is very expressive offering red fruit, mushroom, iron and mineral. The texture is awesome with great balance and an elegant mouth feel. Red fruit and coffee dominate the expansive flavors. Still going strong and I would say showing no signs of decline.
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Vieux Telegraphe Vertical Dinner (Rubicon, San Francisco): A tremendous surprise from an unheralded southern Rhone vintage. Looked much younger than its 23 years, not much different in appearance than the '85, in fact. More solid and less complex than that wine, but very well constituted with good concentration of fruit. This has lasted well even if it does not approach the interest of other vintages.
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With Michael Lehmann at Singer & Foy vertical tasting of Vieux Telegraphe. Medium ruby, slightly washed out at the edge. Pretty good for a 1984. Good Rhone nose. Decent. In the mouth, quite good, drinking well now. Delicious. A real surprise for the vintage. 5-10-16-8: 89/100.
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4/15/2024 - Tobinski Likes this wine:
Incense and spice on the nose. The palate instantly impresses with sous bois of the highest order carried by fantastic acidity, before giving way to slightly bitter dark cranberry fruit and a pinch of chewy tannin on the finish. Beautiful wine, and like the 84 Beaucastel drunk last year, easily overcomes the reputation of the vintage.
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9/16/2018 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Vinetasters: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Skokie, IL): Served double blind. Very nice intensity here, with beautiful fruit on the nose, as well as a hint of coffee. Spicy, with a nice mix of sweet red and black fruited aromas; seems to me this is slightly candied (but not in a bad way). The palate is gentle but big, with lovely acidity and freshness. The balance here is absolutely excellent. My 1st, group's 1st.
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2/27/2014 - affordableCollector wrote: 92 Points
light red, in color. red fruit, cherry, white pepper, cocoa, burnt vanilla, burnt wood, on the nose. medium acid, on the finish.
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2/27/2014 - europat55 wrote: 89 Points
1981-1988 Vieux Telegraphe La Crau CdP Vertical (Tom's house in Palo Alto, California): Strange nose with a 'bad' brett that burned off with time in the glass (B+). Excellent palate (B++).
My #6, Group's #6 (103 pts). Tasted blind.
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10/16/2011 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 91 Points
Three Dinners: This was great from the moment it was opened. The nose gives tons of fresh fruit. A bit flat on the palate but very smooth and otherwise most enjoyable.
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1/16/2011 - zovizule wrote:
With dinner at Staple & Fancy: No notes - but seemed like a very nice and mature cdp without being overly impressive. Was expecting more - not sure if this is just too mature for my taste or an off bottle - this is the oldest cdp I've had. But only dissapointing relative to my expectations.
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1/23/2010 - kstoddard wrote: 96 Points
My last and best bottle from a six pack. The cork wasn't in very great shape and broke apart when opening. Filtered out the cork pieces with a aerator. This wine was in excellent shape. Brick red color. A touch of barnyard and animal on the nose. Flavors of raspberry, garrigue, anise, wild game, and cherry. Beautiful balance. Amazing depth and complexity on both the mid palate and finish. Rustic. Drank with the daughter of the winemaker Henri Brunier (his son's Frederick and Daniel had not taken over quite yet). Simply amazing and everything I look for in older Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
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6/18/2009 - goofy Yno wrote: 94 Points
nose of plumb, black pepper,herbs. wonderfully balanced mouth with elegance. good fruit remains. complex.
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5/15/2009 - kstoddard wrote: 94 Points
Mature brick red color. Nose of raspberry and cherries. Tastes of raspberry, black pepper, plumb, anise and Herbs de Provence. Exceptionally well balanced. Long elegant finish. This wine is showing a little more age than the past examples from the same lot. Held up in the glass very well over several hours.
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5/15/2009 - jeff nowak wrote: 96 Points
pop and pour via the magnanimous generosity of my dear friend kstoddard. an absolutely perfect bottle drinking at it's wonderous height. the subtle interplay of fruit and perfectly resolved tannin, the long, beautiful finish, a wine of intricate contemplation, and a lovely example of CDP complexity and nuance. a southern rhone treasure. i love the fact that the nut-case parker rated this 86. what a schmo.
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12/20/2008 - jivey wrote: 89 Points
A real treat! Stinky stone, dried herbs, tart cherry and licorsce on the short finish. Fruit was past it's prime however the wine still had plenty of tannins.
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12/20/2008 - goofy Yno wrote: 92 Points
pepper, licorice nose, light cherry mouth with good fruit, balance and a medium finish.
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12/20/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 94 Points
Holiday Party (Jeff): Brick red color. Cherry nose. Tastes of raspberry, soy sauce, licorice and black pepper. A very nice core of fruit. Holding up extremely well despite being almost 25 years old. Still some unresolved tannins makes me thing this wine could go another 10 years easily. Quite rustic in style with very nice elegance and depth in the finish. Outstanding.
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12/20/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 94 Points
decanted. an interesting wine that just blossomed with air. i suppose this will retain some aging ability, but i feel this bottle resulted in all i would be willing to wait for. tannins resolved, and plenty of secondary nuances.
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12/20/2008 - ScottS wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for approximately 2 hrs. The nose on this wine was intoxicating. Packed with raspberries, black pepper & garrique. I visited thru-out the night and there was zero decline. So fresh, pure & focused.....this wine was absolutely stunning & drinking incredibly young for a 28 yr old wine.
50+5+15+17+8=95
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5/27/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 92 Points
Light brick red in color. Tastes of raspberry, cherry, plumb, earth. spice and olives. Very meaty, chewy Grenache character. Beautiful balance and finish. Still very much alive and kicking.
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4/4/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 93 Points
Another contribution from George. The color is a light ruby red. The nose is very expressive offering red fruit, mushroom, iron and mineral. The texture is awesome with great balance and an elegant mouth feel. Red fruit and coffee dominate the expansive flavors. Still going strong and I would say showing no signs of decline.
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5/14/2007 - drwine2001 wrote:
Vieux Telegraphe Vertical Dinner (Rubicon, San Francisco): A tremendous surprise from an unheralded southern Rhone vintage. Looked much younger than its 23 years, not much different in appearance than the '85, in fact. More solid and less complex than that wine, but very well constituted with good concentration of fruit. This has lasted well even if it does not approach the interest of other vintages.
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7/12/2006 - kstoddard wrote: 94 Points
Vieux Telegraphe Dinner with Henri Brunier's daughter Catherine (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix): A special thank you to George Kautzman for providing this bottle for us in absentia. Great pepper and spice with very lush fruit. Not liked by the critics but hey what do they know. Today this is an exceptional wine. Easily the WOTF for me.
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5/18/1990 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 89 Points
With Michael Lehmann at Singer & Foy vertical tasting of Vieux Telegraphe. Medium ruby, slightly washed out at the edge. Pretty good for a 1984. Good Rhone nose. Decent. In the mouth, quite good, drinking well now. Delicious. A real surprise for the vintage. 5-10-16-8: 89/100.
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