The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau is gorgeous, structured, impressive. Full-bodied and backward, with great depth, purity, and heady aromatics, this 20,000-case blend of 60% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, and 15% miscellaneous amounts of the other permitted varietals will easily rival the 1998. A deep ruby/purple-tinged color is accompanied by a sweet perfume of salty sea breezes, seaweed, melted licorice, kirsch liqueur, creme de cassis, and iodine ... a classic Vieux-Telegraphe aromatic display. Powerful as well as firmly structured, this is a wine to lay away for 4-5 years. It should prove to be uncommonly long-lived, lasting a minimum of two decades. It gets my nod as the greatest Vieux-Telegraphe since the 1998. The 2002 will probably merit a score in the low-eighties when bottled. Called “Telegraphe,” it represents only 50% of the estate’s production, nearly all of it Grenache. It is a surprisingly tasty effort, as is the 2002 white Vieux-Telegraphe, which has been declared. I rated it 89, and it was one of the finest 3 or 4 dry whites I tasted in Chateauneuf du Pape from this vintage.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

Produced from the estate’s younger vines, the second wine, the 2001 Le Vieux Mas des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape, is a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Mourvedre. This fruit-driven offering reveals hints of ripe apricots and jammy cherries in a medium to full-bodied, open-knit, luscious style meant to be consumed during its first 7-8 years of life.The 2002 will probably merit a score in the low-eighties when bottled. Called “Telegraphe,” it represents only 50% of the estate’s production, nearly all of it Grenache. It is a surprisingly tasty effort, as is the 2002 white Vieux-Telegraphe, which has been declared. I rated it 89, and it was one of the finest 3 or 4 dry whites I tasted in Chateauneuf du Pape from this vintage.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524