1988 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

The 1988 Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape (from magnum) was gorgeous and shows the ageability of the wines of this estate and its incredible terroir. Light ruby colored and youthful, with soaring and complex notes of ripe berry fruits, white pepper, flowers and Provençal herbs, it was weightless on the palate and still had a terrific core of sweet fruit. It’s certainly fully mature, but had plenty of life. I’ve had dead bottles of this in the States, so as always with older bottles, provenance is king.