Producer profile: Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Châteauneuf- duPape, Rhône
The Brunier family’s ownership of one of the Rhône’s most famous names started with the purchase of some forested land in the late 19th century. Matt Walls pays a visit to the fiercely independent Châteauneufdu-Pape estate as the reins are passed from one
With his short, grey, curly hair and deep crow’s feet, Daniel Brunier has a patrician air as he stalks the winery. Cellar staff hush and busy themselves as he passes. Along with his brother Frédéric, he has built an empire that stretches from Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Gigondas, and all the way to Lebanon.
Daniel has just turned 60, and the brothers have now passed winemaking duties to their sons, Edouard and Nicolas, who represent the sixth generation. Is Daniel looking towards retirement? ‘It doesn’t exist for me. I don’t believe in it. I don’t know what it means,’ he says. ‘The job of a winemaker has many different roles: architect, gardener, goat herder... there is always work to do for people of any age.’ He may be modifying his role, but it’s clear he is still at the heart of the business.
Humble beginnings
It was Henri Brunier who laid the first stone in 1891. He bought some land to the east of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and gave it to his son, Hippolyte. ‘Why did he buy it? We don’t know,’ says Daniel. ‘It wasn’t even vines, it was woods.’ At this time, Châteauneuf was already internationally recognised for the quality of its wine, so even if clearing the land was hard work, deciding what to plant was less of a challenge. Hippolyte’s son Jules extended the domaine to 17ha and named it after a nearby stone tower that was used to transmit messages by semaphore.
The following generation, another Henri, enlarged the estate to 55ha before bequeathing it to current owners Daniel and Frédéric. Under their command, expansion has been rapid. They’ve grown their Châteauneuf holdings to 100ha, bought 20ha in and around Ventoux, acquired Domaine les Pallières in Gigondas with US importer Kermit Lynch, and created the Massaya estate in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley with partners Sami and Ramzi Ghosn.
The estate is at the tipping point between one generation and the next. Daniel’s son Edouard, 27, now controls their winery in Bédarrides. Frédéric’s son Nicolas, 30, is in charge of their other winery in the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and his daughter Manon works in the estate office.
The use of winemaking consultants has become increasingly prevalent in Châteauneufdu-Pape over the past few decades, but Daniel stresses that there is no outside influence over the winemaking at Vieux Télégraphe. Theirs is a fiercely independent family estate. ‘It’s important to be ourselves,’ says Daniel, ‘and not to try to copy others.’
La Crau, La Crau, La Crau
When I ask which three things all wine lovers need to know about Vieux Télégraphe,
Daniel’s answer is immediate: ‘La Crau, La Crau, La Crau!’ This plateau of galets roulés to the east of the village is one of the highest in the appellation, and has long been considered one of the best sectors for making wine in Châteauneuf. Their holdings are among the largest in the appellation.
To the naked eye, these endless fields of fist-sized, rounded beige stones appear callously inhospitable. But it’s what’s underneath that counts – deep, waterretaining clays which nourish the vine during the hot, dry summers. ‘The vines need to suffer a little,’ says Daniel, but hydric stress arrives relatively late here, which ensures steadier ripening, creating finer tannins.
Irrigation is allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but only to aid ripening during the growing season, and only when officially sanctioned. This was once only sporadic, but due to the increasingly parched summers, growers now get the go-ahead almost every year. Some producers believe irrigation is now crucial to making balanced wines. But Daniel Brunier is not a fan. ‘You could turn it on at night – who’s going to check?’ he says. ‘I’m not saying it