I was able to find another superlative '07 CDP for the club - in fact, this month's selection is the first Châteauneuf that I ever tasted many years ago - Vieux Télégraphe.

Parker gave the wine 96+ points and raved:  "the 2007 Vieux Telegraphe may be the greatest wine made at this property since the 2005 and 1998. Dense ruby/purple-tinged with an exquisite nose of salty sea breezes, licorice, ground pepper, jammy black cherries, black currants, figs, and plums, this is a full-bodied, rich, Provencal-styled offering with lots of sweet, ripe tannin. It is surprisingly accessible for a Vieux Telegraphe (this wine normally shuts down several years after bottling), but it should have great longevity (25+ years) given its power, full-bodied mouthfeel, and enormous length and richness. This is a brilliant effort from brothers Frederic and Daniel Brunier."

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe does indeed derive its name from an old telegraph station, one which was once sited on the hill where this Châteauneuf domaine now stands. The station was one of Claude Chappe's optical telegraph relay towers, erected in 1792, part of a system of such stations spanning the whole of France which utilized a semaphore system to relay information. Each station was equipped with two telescopes, pointing up and down the line, to view incoming messages. The French Government opted for replacement by an electric telegraph in 1846, despite some fears that such a communication system was more open to sabotage as a cable was easily cut, and thus the station at Châteauneuf has long since been demolished. As for the vineyards, the history of the domaine itself begins with Hippolyte Brunier in 1898, who planted vines on the Plateau de la Crau, situated in the triangle between the villages of Bédarrides, Châteauneuf and Courthezon, thereby establishing the vineyard that today remains the prime source of fruit for Vieux Télégraphe.

Over the ensuing years the vineyard was expanded, most notably by the next generation, Jules, who saw it reach a size approaching 17 hectares. Jules was also responsible for christening the domaine, naming it after the aforementioned telegraph station that once occupied the spot on the plateau. During the early years of the 20th Century there was a downturn in the estate's fortunes, phylloxera and war both taking their toll. It was the next generation, in the shape of Henri Brunier, that was charged with rebuilding the domaine, a task to which turned all his attention, before subsequently handing it on to his own sons, Daniel and Frederic, in 1988.

The Vieux Télégraphe vineyards are unusual in that they lie in a single block, on the La Crau plateau, today covering an area of 70 hectares. The ground is covered by the galets roules, the large rounded stones which originated in the Alps to the east, and were transported down to lower lands by the action of floodwaters. They are classically associated with the vineyards of Châteauneuf du Pape, although they can also be found in other areas across the south of France. Beneath these stones there is a more organic soil, and then deeper again there is a red clay.

The vines average an impressive 50 years of age, with a significant proportion old enough to draw their pension at 65 years. The oldest vines are Grenache, which account for 65% of the vineyard area. There is also Syrah (15%) , Mourvèdre (15%), Cinsaut and a mix other varieties, some of which are white, including Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne and Bourboulenc, altogether totalling just 5% of the vineyard. The white vines have an average age of around 35 years. T

he management of the vineyard involves la culture raisonnée (perhaps best translated as reasoned agriculture), minimizing those treatments in use to the lowest possible level, and they have gone as far as reducing the grape worm pest by the use of pheromones in the vineyard, confusing the adult butterflies and reducing their breeding capacity as a result. There is a green harvest and leaf stripping to manage yields and encourage ripening, followed by manual harvesting and a double sorting before vinification.

The grand vin here is the red Vieux Télégraphe, a classic Châteauneuf blend. The fruit for this wine is destemmed and pressed, then fermented in stainless steel tanks with temperature control, for a period of two to three weeks. Malolactic is encouraged. The wine then goes into concrete tank for nine months, before going into oak foudres (up to 70 hectoliter capacity) for up to one year. The wine is bottled at two years of age, without filtration.

10 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

Bring the chick-peas, stock, water, garlic and thyme to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the salt and cook until tender. Drain, reserving the garlic and cooking liquid. Process the chick-peas and garlic, gradually add the oil and if needed some of the cooing liquid to make a smooth puree. Season. 

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