This is 100 percent mourvedre from Bonny Doon Vineyard. I worked at Bonny Doon during my last year and a half of college. Old Telegram and Le Sophiste were the first wines I started to stockpile in the late 1980s. I depleted all of my reserves a few years back. I had a magnum of an 88 Telegram that I opened 4 years ago, and though it might have been in its twilight, it still showed beautifully.

The 2004 is dark cherry in color. Not a lot of fruit on the nose, but some pepper, tree bark and wet basement components. Solid tannins and some spice, leather and white pepper on the palate — again not a lot of fruit, (actually a little hollow). A bit austere, very dry and maybe a bit of a bully, making little if any attempt to temper its masculinity. This might not be a crowd pleaser, but I would be quite happy to share a quiet evening with a glass of the Old Telegram and a hearty, charred piece of meat.

They shipped this wine to me as part of my DEWN membership (which I finally gave up this year). The wine retails for $30 a bottle. Certainly much better values in the market place, but at least in my case, this wine does stir up some memories — and I still have a soft spot for Bonny Doon.