I drank a lot of Vieux Telegraphe back in the days when it was one of only three or four Chateauneufs widely available in the United States. And I wasn't terribly impressed with vintages of the 1980s when they were 10 to 15 years of age. These bottles were wasted, I now believe, opened way too early. Produced from high quality old vineyards, Vieux Telegraphe ages about as well as any wine from this appellation. And this 1988 is showing beautifully right now.Medium to light ruby. Scents of dried and fresh red berries, flowers, herbs and white pepper. Not as noticeably aromatic as the Pio Cesare Barolo beside it on the table but equally deep and complex. I find it hard to quit sniffing. The palate is even more expressive. Ripe fruit fills the mouth, then flares into a peacock's tail of flavors. Another great wine.
Happy Birthday Fred! I have enjoyed your blog for a long time and found your comments both interesting and helpful. We tend to like the same French and Italian wines as you and have vacationed many times in Gigondas and Barolo. Alas,I have none of those treasures from the 1900's as you do. I wonder how you keep wines successfully for so long in Michigan. We have a cave under our house by the San Francisco Bay which has worked well for many years. Now we are retiring to Carmel so I am trying to find the best storage for our wines.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your birthday wishes and your kind comments. Michigan, with its temperate summers, is a great place to live and a good place for cellaring wine. My cellar is what was once a fruit cellar, and our house is directly across the street from a park with many large old oak trees. We also have central air conditioning which helps maintain an even temperature. Most of my wines were purchased from Village Corner, in Ann Arbor, where Dick Scheer was stocking and recommending great wines in the days when Robert Parker was just getting started and barely known.
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