Marchbanks
Hat and Beard member
This is another Brunier Châteauneuf, made with grapes from their vineyards away from La Crau where Télégraphe/Télégramme originates. I would say the Piedlong is more robust and less complex than the Crau wines. It’s made from 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre, which surprises me as I would have guessed nearer 70/30. Mourvèdre to me is plummy yet darkly tannic - approachable but with an undeniable dark side. A bit like this...
(Try getting that image out of your brain the next time you are at a posh tasting and a grower is trying to impress you with talk of his 50-year-old Mourvèdre vines. ‘50 years! Count them! Ha! Ha! Ha!’)
Sorry. Yes, you can definitely taste the Mourvèdre. Although I enjoyed this I’ll probably give the next bottle a year to see if those tannins ease off a bit. I’d guess that Piedlong is designed more for the long haul than Télégramme, and so this one was pretty young. The price of the two is similar, but I think it would be unfair of me to try to compare the two in terms of VFM as the only Télégramme I have tasted so far has been fully mature.