Vieux Télégraphe

Vieux Télégraphe, also known as Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, is a family-run wine estate based in Bédarrides in France’s southern Rhône. Henri Brunier began the estate’s story in 1891, when he donated plots on the La Crau plateau to his son Hippolyte. The site was then regarded as difficult to cultivate because of its dense covering of rounded stones. The Brunier family has overseen the estate for six generations. The estate’s identity is closely tied to La Crau, a plateau in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The family describes the area’s soils, climate, mistral winds, grape varieties, and exposures as elements that shape the wines’ expression. Its official site particularly associates the rounded stones of the plateau with a distinctive mineral character. The estate makes red and white Vieux Télégraphe wines and presents its work as an expression of the local terroir. The wider Brunier family wine business also produces wines under several other labels and from other Rhône Valley sites. The estate’s site names Télégramme, Piedlong, and Clos Roquète among its Châteauneuf-du-Pape expressions; Les Pallières is in Gigondas, while Le Pigeoulet and Mégaphone are associated with the foothills of Mont Ventoux. These are presented as distinct expressions and holdings of the family’s broader wine activity, rather than all being wines from the Vieux Télégraphe estate itself. The family history describes Vieux Télégraphe as a classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine that was developed into a recognizable house style and introduced to international markets. Frédéric and Daniel Brunier have managed the family business together since the beginning of the 1980s. The estate reports cultivating 100 hectares in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation and a further 20 hectares in IGP Vaucluse and AOC Ventoux. The family also took over Les Pallières in 1998 in partnership with Kermit Lynch; that property comprises 135 hectares in Gigondas, including 25 hectares planted with vines. The current official site emphasizes vineyard character, wine maturation, vintage information, and the family’s long stewardship.

The history of Vieux Télégraphe begins in 1891, when Henri Brunier made a donation of land on La Crau to his son Hippolyte in Bédarrides. The land lay in the southeastern part of what is now the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. Its dense covering of rounded stones made it seem inhospitable to cultivation. Hippolyte nevertheless planted the first vines on the plateau. The site had a much older viticultural association, and the estate’s history also links its name to the area’s communications heritage: in 1821, Claude Chappe, inventor of the optical telegraph, established one of his relay towers there. Hippolyte’s son Jules expanded the family property to 17 hectares and gave its wine the name Vieux Télégraphe. The next major period of growth followed the Second World War. Henri Brunier, the fourth generation of the family and the second to bear that name, rebuilt the estate’s fortunes. He expanded the property to 55 hectares in a single block, developed what the family describes as a Vieux Télégraphe style, and established the wine in prominent markets around the world. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Henri’s sons Frédéric and Daniel Brunier have jointly managed the family business. The estate’s history page reports 100 hectares cultivated in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and another 20 hectares in IGP Vaucluse and AOC Ventoux. The family’s broader Rhône holdings include Les Pallières, taken over in 1998 in partnership with Kermit Lynch. The property covers 135 hectares in Gigondas, of which 25 hectares are planted with vines. The official homepage describes the Brunier family as having responsibility for Vieux Télégraphe across six generations. Today, the Vieux Télégraphe name is associated with red and white wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and with the family’s account of La Crau’s particular terroir. The estate highlights the plateau’s stones, climate, mistral, grape varieties, soils, and exposure as parts of the character expressed in its wines. Its official site also presents vintage information and the maturation of older wines as important aspects of the estate’s history and continuing work.

• 1998

  The family takes over Les Pallières in partnership

• 1980

  Frédéric and Daniel Brunier take joint leadership

• 1891

  Henri Brunier begins the estate’s history

• 1891

  First vines planted on La Crau

• 1821

  An optical telegraph relay tower is installed on the plateau

• Jules Brunier names the wine Vieux Télégraphe

• Postwar reconstruction and expansion

A family-led, terroir-focused producer of classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, with a house style and a presence in international markets.

• Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe red

  Red wine from the estate’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape range.

• Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe white

  White wine from the estate’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape range.

• Télégramme

  A red wine named on the official site among the family’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape expressions.

• Piedlong

  A red wine named on the official site among the family’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape expressions.

• Clos Roquète

  A white wine named on the official site among the family’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape expressions.

• Les Pallières

  The family’s Gigondas property, producing red wine and blanc de noirs.

• Le Pigeoulet

  Red and white wines associated by the official site with the foothills of Mont Ventoux.

• Mégaphone

  A red wine associated by the official site with the foothills of Mont Ventoux.

1. 1Vieux Télégraphe, grands vins de Châteauneuf-du-Papevieux-telegraphe.fr
2. 2HISTOIRE - Vieux Télégraphevieux-telegraphe.fr