1983 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

One of the top successes for this property during a period of very good rather than outstanding wine-making, the 1983 is spicy, peppery, and earthy, with a fragrant, in-your-face aromatic profile. This full-bodied, corpulent, muscular Vieux-Telegraphe is one of the few wines made during the estate's high tech period that displays some of the old, burly, thick character of pre-1979 vintages. Some amber/orange is creeping along the edge, but the wine reveals no loss of fruit. This fully mature wine should last another 4-5 years. Vieux-Telegraphe's wines are imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524