Whenever my husband and I want to really celebrate an occasion, we like to splurge on a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. There is something utterly romantic about it, something that feels special and rich with wine history, something that has that “je ne sais pas”.

Fortunately we don’t always have to wait for a big money spending event to indulge, not when we have the Telegramme, the second wine of Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe, produced by Daniel and Frederic Brunier.

Telegramme is made from the estate’s young vines, an average age of 25 years old, and is 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre.

The wine is a sultry, full-bodied minx. It sports fantastic aromatics of red cherry, currant, and raspberry. The palate here is soft and delicious with an up-front fruitiness and lots of herb-tinged wild strawberry and kirsch in the mouth.

This wine is in its prime. I tried it almost exactly a year ago to the day when we first brought it into the shop and found it a little tight. A year later it has blossomed into a lovely, giving bottle that truly expresses the terroir with its lush fruit, mineral underlay, and elegant balance. It’s all you could ask for in a du-Pape and at a great price.

You don’t need to wait to open this bottle, it’s ready to reward you now with its affordable deliciousness, and that’s reason enough to celebrate!