The 2006 Vieux Telegraphe "La Crau" has been uncorked....

[JimHow]

Mmmmm....

[alchemeus]

Damn Jim, that a lower class or higher class than the 'regular'. I honestly can't remember.

Even if a 'lower class' seems young to pop one.

I'll be interested.

[JimHow]

I think this is a notch up from the "Telegramme," Alch. I'm taking one for the team, in the name of science. It is a tough job but someone has to do it....

[alchemeus]

Well Jim, someone has to do it.

And heck, you're a lawyer, I can make jokes.

And a politician. More jokes!

But heck, you're a wine geek so I can't. I'm a wine geek too, just on a different scale. I don't make lawyer salaries of hundreds per hour. Even for telephone calls.

So I'll await something to bust your chops about. Even if I have to make it up.

BTW, how many feet of snow in your yard?

[JimHow]

We've had a long, snowy cold winter up here, alch. Cold as a bastard. I've got a long driveway and the snow has been piled well over ten feet high, although it went down a bit in the past week. But there's another 12 inches on the way tonight, should be starting literally any minute.

[alchemeus]

Just a faint dusting of snow in patches here. January was COLD though, but dry. Most below freezing days in a row (10) I can remember since the 28 inch plus snows of 1996 when it got to minus 7 (Fahrenheit).

One Global Warming scenario says some areas will be colder and dryer...we seem to fit that bill.

[JimHow]

I really like the spicy character of this Vieux Telegraphe. I don't find it closed at all. To the contrary, I find it quite fruit-forward. Those are my initial impressions, let's see how it performs with dinner. As the snow begins to fall....

[Chasse-Spleen]

With all that snow, I can see how you would want to open a wine like that. Sometimes Chateauneuf drinks brilliantly young. The idea that they don't close down is a myth I think, although Harry could clear that one up. A few years ago I had an Usseglio '04 (I think it was Raymond) that was beautiful young.
-Chris

[JimHow]

It's really coming down now, Chris. I live here in the Androscoggin Valley of southern/central Maine, on the wrong (north/west) side of a snow line that separates us from Portland and the coast. Our snowfall is usually six inches or more than in regions just twenty miles east or south of us. We had an ice storm here back in '98 that was unbelievable.... No power for two weeks, etc. It was like a nuclear holocaust from here to Montreal-- tremendous damage-- a hundred year storm, the damage from which we still see in the woods around here, a decade later-- but twenty miles south it was like spring. I love Maine, especially in the summer, but these winters are getting tougher the older I get. Last year was miserable as far as snow totals, I think we set a record. We literally had major snow falls every 2-3 days. This year we had a lot of snow as well, but it was the cold-- as much as 20-40 below zero, for days and weeks at a time-- that just rips your soul out. Ah well, February is almost over, we're getting there. Makes you feel more alive when spring comes....

As for this delicious 2006 Vieux Telegraphe "La Crau"....

Sometimes the best way to describe a wine of quality is in the negative: By describing what it is not. I get no astringency here. No unripeness. Absolutely no issues with the 14.5% alcohol level. As was the case earlier, so is it in the end: fruit-forward, ripe, tannic but not unpleasantly so. A very appealing spicyness that I like particularly. Not a big profound nose, but classy nonetheless. What's there to complain about with this wine? A classy, balanced wine. A baby, to be sure, but by no means closed, at least on this night. I liked it! And I'm looking forward to trying other vintages. As usual, Parker has it dead on at 92 points. I'll call it 91+ points, just to differ. I have no idea how long this wine will age, but I'm guessing it has both the fruit and tannic structure to stick around for at least a couple decades. Rating: 91+ points.

[DavidG]

I love VT. Been drinking the '95s. Thinking about starting in on the '98s and the '00s. Sounds like the '06 continues in a nice tradition.

I don't envy you the snow and cold, Jim. I grew up in Michigan, lived in Albany NY and in Milwaukee for years, and have had enough of the stuff. We usually get a few snowstorms here in MD, every few years one big enough to shut things down for more than a day, but most of them are not that bad. I think it's time you started looking for a winter getaway down south. I hear real estate in Miami, Las Vegas, and Arizona is pretty cheap right now if you've got any money left over from the crash. If only you'd invested in Carraudes...

[JimHow]

...Yeah that hike we took with rick in Miami on the walkway along the beach was a much-needed break from the winter we had up here last year. I think I need to move down there and become a novelist or an artist or some such thing.