Everyone remembers the disaster that struck the Ardèche, the Gard and the Vaucluse on September 8 and 9 2002: an exceptionally violent thunderstorm caused enormous material damage, floods and the death of 24 people. The epicentre of the storm was located around Nîmes; in Châteauneuf-du-Pape there was a rainfall of 450 mm, or 75% of the average yearly rainfall. No need to explain the effects on the grapes, up to that moment perfectly sound and ready to harvest …

The white 2002 is a good success, having a freshness that is not always so easy to become in this appellation, but for the red wine the Brunier brothers had to make a difficult decision. Thanks to an unusual severe selection of the grapes (the volume was reduced to 55% of a normal vintage) and an adapted winemaking they succeeded in making a pleasant, fresh and fruity wine, which unfortunately doesn't have the complexity, the structure and the ageing potential of a genuine Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. That's why the Brunier brothers decided not to release a red Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe 2002, but to commercialise the red 2002 under a new label with the original name of "Télégramme": an exceptional label for a wine born in exceptional circumstances …