We had a Shafer Hillside tasting planned for last night, but unfortunately on of my friends broke some ribs and so we postponed the event. Given the date was on the calendar and still a month away, I offered to host a Pegau CdP vertical. It had been a while and I had a nice selection in the cellar. A couple of others chipped in and it was on. As it turned out, it was the day of the Cleveland Cavaliers Championship parade. That meant I had been up since 6:00 am to compete with the other 1.3 million people heading into the city, and been drinking since 10:00 am. Nevertheless, we persevered. A quick 20 minute nap and we were on. It was a gorgeous day with the sun not setting until after 9:00pm, so we set up in my backyard and continued to drink until I kicked everyone left out at midnight.
The original wines were consumed blind (as was the white) over the course of the evening. Breads and cheeses were served. The later two wines were pop and pour and non blind and cigars were added to the mix.
A couple of starters. I had no white CdP in the cellar so put this in. Of course, blind, no one was thinking Chenin. That was unfair but everyone seemed to like it and was impressed with how well it is ageing.
2002 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Demi-Sec- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Very nice showing for this. Really in a great place right now. Golden in color. The nose shows a nice crushed shell/salinity to go along with fresh and dried apricots. On the palate, this is ever so slightly oxidized (in a good way) with great minerality. Still some apricot fruit left. Complex. Well balanced. It has a perception of sweetness and a feeling of botrytis, but just barely sweet. (93 pts.)
2015 Château Pegaü Vin de France Pink Pégau- France, Vin de France
Pink/orange in color. The nose has some cherries and also some spice. On the palate, this is simple yet refreshing. Good cherry fruit. Not complex, but really made a nice transition. (88 pts.)
The blind flight of Pegau
2005 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Purple in color. Relatively clean nose. Cedar, cherries, dark cherries and spice. Great texture. Still youthful. Nice cherries. Good finish. Not yet at peak. (92 pts.)
2003 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Perhaps it didn’t live up to the hype (RP98) but it also wan’t obvious as an 03. Perhaps at this point in its life, the vagaries of the vintage are not as blatant. Whether that is good or bad is up to you. Purple/ruby in color. The nose has dark cherries and spice. Clean. On the palate, layers of complexity. Plenty of fruit. Mild tannins. Seems to be getting to peak but a long life ahead. (94 pts.)
2004 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Purple/ruby in color. The nose has great nuances. Not as robust as some but then besides the cherry fruit, there is a green tobacco, spice and just the slightest hint of funk. Great acidity on the palate. Still quite young. Sinewy tannins. Pure cherry fruit on the palate with lots of depth. Persistent finish. (93 pts.)
2012 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Easy to guess this as the 12. Right now, it is a very hedonistic wine. Not as much complexity but that is to be expected. Purple in color. The nose shows black cherries and spice with some fresh cut oak. On the palate, a wall of fruit with some medium tannins. Great texture. Delicious. I would not open for a while for my tastes though. (92 pts.)
1989 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
As it was 9 years older than anything else, it was easy to pick this out. That said, it certainly seemed much younger than a 27 year old CdP. Impressive. Ruby in color. The nose has some stink on it. Love that. Also some cherries. On the palate, this has layers of complexity. Fresh and dried fruits. Tannins are resolved. Very pretty. Many comments about how elegant this was. That may have been in comparison as it tasted more mature than elegant to me. A real treat. Thanks to Jeff K for bringing it. (94 pts.)
1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Despite showing older than anything but the 89, this still showed quite well. At age 18, it seems to be about at peak. Ruby in color. The nose has some stink to it. Also some cherries with spice. On the palate, this has a lush texture. Juicy fruit still. Layers of fruit, earth and spice. Long finish. Maybe not the WOTN, but the wine that was closest to peak IMO. (94 pts.)
2000 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Corked. Someone said that Jeb had two corked bottles in a WA tasting recently. Perhaps an issue in 2000? It was my last bottle, so no back up. NR (flawed)
2001 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
My favorite of this flight. Purple in color. The nose is vibrant with black cherries, spice, very slight earthiness, and a nice wet leather. On the palate, this is youthful. Its a 15 year old CdP, but there it is. Medium tannins. Juicy black cherries. Tightly packed layers that unwind in the glass. Long finish. great wine with years left. (95 pts.)
It was a beautiful night, everyone was having fun, so i opened one more.
2007 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Pop and pour after the main flight. My WOTN. Great showing. Purple in color. The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, clean with violets and spice. On the palate, this is deep and juicy. Lots of fruit but not over ripe. Medium tannins. Long finish. This is so delicious you just want to keep sipping on it. (96 pts.)
And it was still a great night and what the heck, let’s add one more to the mix.
2011 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
And one more for the road. Pop and pour. Purple in color. This is good, but the weak sister at the table. The nose has black cherries and spice. On the palate, medium bodied, the lightest bodied of the night not counting the rose. Still there is good acidity. A modicum of cherry fruit. An excellent wine, that would be better alone at the dinner table than at a vertical. (91 pts.)
What a fun night. What a great day. So exhausted today, but well worth it.
As for Pegau, the wines showed why it continues to be one of my favorites. With the pricing north of $100 a bottle, I can’t buy it like I used to. Its nice to have some in the cellar. The price tag on Jeff’s 1989 was still on it. $13.99. Posted from CellarTracker
I am glad the 2007 showed well since many consider it to be an off vintage. I have six bottles that I bought as a birth year wine for our niece. I need to open one just to see how it is coming along. I never said she would get all six.
The 03 Pegau has had an odd history so far. When it came out, it was one of the couple of wines that seemed least over the top of the 03s and it tasted beautifully for a few years. 3-5 years ago, it went through a very odd stage, not closed, but as if overly sweet flavors were etched on glass, a lot of sweetness but no depth. The last year or so it is coming out of that and I would agree with Loren’s tasting note, though I have doubts about its longevity. People who don’t like 03s, still won’t like this one though.
I last had an 07 somewhat more than a year ago. Like a lot of 07s at that point, it was showing very awkwardly, with big fruit over in one corner here, sudden bursts of tannin in another corner there, gangling along like a six foot teenager who hadn’t grown into his height. Those wines may turn into something or they may turn into the tall man in the circus.
I also do not think that ‘many’ believe that 2007 is an off vintage for Pegau. Maybe it is an off vintage for some other wine makers who created wines with not only a lot of alcohol but also significant residual sugar, but for my taste the Pegau Reservee 2007 is still quite balanced and does not suffer from those vintage marks. It is still a big wine and I will likely wait a few more years before I will start opening my bottles.
The notes on cellar tracker also do not show a low rating for the 2007. The average relative ratings are more or less in line with how I would score the different vintages, albeit that I would probably rate the 2001 and 2007 a bit higher (the latter for its potential in the long run).
I was referring to 2007 in general, not specifically Pegau. I bought the 2007 Pegau from a board member about a year ago so I still had enough faith in the winery to go for six.
The bad reputation here regarding 2007 Chateaunef may be partly caused by this quote: “This may be the most compelling vintage of any viticultural region I have ever tasted”, partly for it being a perfect pairing with sushi, when served from magnum.
Martin Zwick and I had a very satifying 2007 Pegau Cuvee Reservee from magnum in Berlin in February. Indeed a great wine now and for decades.
Btw drank the 2003 Marcoux last week. SPELLBINDING!!
Especially in the nose. Never smelled all these nuances in a Grenache dominated wine before
Parker raving about CdP 2007 indeed probably did put some people off. Expectations were set too high and no warning signs were put up at all that the wines of that vintage varied a lot in style and people really needed to look for the wines that fitted their taste preferences. I think many people not extremely familiar with CdP jumped in and bought lots of wines based on Parker’s recommendation. Only to be disappointed a few years later because they had bought some wines that were too big and too sweet for their taste.
Probably for most people, CdP wines from vintages such as 2006 or 2009 are already more than heavy and ripe enough and would have been preferred over their 2007 siblings. At least I generally prefer those vintages for drinking now. The great 2010 vintage has IMO also yielded a lot more balanced wines than 2007 and Parker could IMO have better reserved his extreme praise for such a vintage.
Maybe he decided he couldn’t wait and needed to increase the number of 100 pt ratings to draw some extra attention to the Wine Advocate and make it a hotter property when he would put it up for sale
Enjoyed your notes. Have some 05 and 07 in the cellar. Tried the 13 rose back in 14. First bottle oddly metallic and not worthy of Pegau name. 2nd bottle a few months later was better, but only average. Curious about tthe 2013 reservee. Fair amount on hand in PA state system at $52 per, tax inc.
What a great tasting, I love Pegau, and agree with most of the general consensus here. 01 long distant runner, 04 is a superb wine in the context of the 04 vintage, drinking perfectly right now. 03, good be really good, might turn out spectacularly, probably hold my lone 03 for a while yet. 05 is tight and needs time, and 07 has a lot of promise, I’ve had really good experiences with it.
I’m suprised no one has mentioned the one vintage that produced for me, one of the most promising young CdP’s I have ever tasted. The 2010. It has everything going for it, power, depth of fruit, balanced tannin and acidity, to buy without reservation. In fact, from what I have tasted so far, 2010 is far and away the best vintage for CdP over the last 15 years or so.
I agree with you regarding the quality of 2010 in CdP. I do not agree that no one has mentioned something about this quality Just see my last posting. I love 2010 in CdP and think it is on average much better than 2007 (at least for my taste)
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