Vieux Télégraphe 1995 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Brutal, almost, in its structural primacy. Or perhaps primalness is a better word. This tastes as if it has barely budged, tannin- and acid-wise, though the fruit has undergone a bit of a roasted meatward shift. Not the full transformation one would expect from a Châteauneuf-du-Pape beyond fifteen years of age, though. Where this is going (or if it’s already gotten there), I have no idea. It makes a very powerful statement, though. (12/11)