I have tasted both imported and European bottles. I forgot to check the label on the most recent bottle, but I believe it was an imported bottle. In any case, Yaacov articulated better than I. 2003 is just not for me. I’m excited to get my stash of '08 as I suspect I will enjoy that vintage more. I began to purchase with '98 vintage. FWIW, '99 is my favorite vintage followed closely by '01. I suspect with more bottle age, '01 could become my favorite vinatge.
i tend to agree re: vintages. 2001 holds the most promise, but the variability among bottles is frustrating. other domaines are much more consistent. but clean bottles of the 2001 should be epic.
Oh goodie, one of my favorite horses to ride! I have stopped buying Pegau because of the bottle variation and the apparent lack of interest shown by the producer in addressing it.
Jerry… I would not think this wine is for you. But I love it! 2003 Pegau remains my favorite vintage of this producer. I do not find it overripe. It’s powerful, lush and frankly, delicious.
I’ve had this wine on 5 or 6 occasions, and ‘bottle variation’ is an understatement. The first bottle I had, shared with a half-dozen other winemakers during a post-harvest party, was so brett infested that many of them took one sip and that was it. It was this bottle that I went ‘toe to toe’ with RMP about back on ebob, for he had never experienced this profile from this wine. Other bottles I’ve had have been ‘better’, but, to me, not wonderful wines a la somne of their earlier vintages.
Bottom line - when a producer bottles wines unfiltered with a small amount of RS and brett, and then the wine is shipped a considerable distance with the possibility of it getting warm, there is ALWAys a huge chance that you will see bottle variation - not due to ‘heat issue’, but due to microbial ones.
Cheers . . .
Almost no bottle variation here with Pegau.
My Pegau vertical some years ago was one of the most consistent and most pleasureful of all tastings - and there were a lot.
From 2001 through 2007, excepting 2002, I’ve had between 3 and 6 bottles from each vintage (infanticide, yes I know) including 6 2003s, from Provence to Minnesota, and have had exactly one bad bottle of Pegau (2001) and it was corked. Some have been a wee bit horsey but only in an interesting way. None have been anywhere near the shit circus that was the 1990 Montrose I used to own. The 08 Pegau has a little barnyard in it. Very nice.
A '99 I had recently was brettier than I like; I’ve found that some brett in Beaucastel seems less intrusive than brett in Pegau.
I have to agree, I’ve also had lots of Pegau from 1998-2008, and I can remember only 1 or 2 off bottles.
I also had one corked bottle, a 1998 cuvee Laurence that I bought at the Pegau cave in Chateauneuf. ![[cry.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/853b6e76c6e8406be77a6727c2a27ad1672678b3.gif "cry"){kind=small}
Bought a lot of the 2000 and 2001 vintages of Pegau Reservee and have mainly been consuming them rather than other vintages for some reason (even the 1998, which really hasn’t been that open, for me at least). I’ve not found the 2000 to be anything other than terrific since release.
The 1998 Laurence has been extremely impressive also.
Maybe one bad bottle in the whole bunch thus far. I like Pegau in spite of (because of?) the brett.
Haven’t tried the 2003 yet but this discussion has certainly made me curious…
Cheers,
Doug
Ripping through a 2003 tonight. Very sweet upon opening. A few hours later is is settling down. Very savory and laden with garrigue. Painfully young. Incredibly enjoyable and promising. Laurence plays aggressively with brett so clearly not a wine for everyone. More for me then…
I have a couple of bottles due to be opened in 10 years or so.
Eric, that sounds about right. I started with 2.5 cases, so I am pretty aggressive about opening them when I’m in the mood.
I take it I’m in the minority in thinking that CDP is best had in the first 15 years of life? I’ve found that many bottles age similar to Napa cabs. Big and rich when young. Then, near the 10 year mark they start to balance huge fruit with garrigue, game, and leather, and then with an additional ten years, the pretty fruit fades out and you get a husk more heavily laden with secondary and tertiary notes, brett aside, with a tendency for iron and iodine notes to creep in and overpower the remaining sweet grenache fruit.
Depends upon the CDP. I have had plenty of Beau at age 25+ and plenty of Pegau at age 15-20 (plus 1990 Clos des Papes and 1990 Les Cailloux) to realize that some examples age really gloriously. That said, CDP is great for babykilling too!
I certainly don’t have Eric’s experience with aged CdP, but I’ve had 3 bottles of the 1990 Pegau over the last year and 2 were among the finest bottles I’ve ever had (with the 3rd not far off). But I also love CdP for early, lipsmacking consumption when it’s full of primary fruit.
I have had the 03 Pegau a few times recently. All of the bottles have really good, some have shown more lush fruit, some had more obvious brett. I happen to really like brett unless it just overwhelms the wine, that has not been the case with what I have seen from this producer. I like CdP young, just haven’t seen many good aged ones I guess.
Based partially on this thread, I opened another bottle of this last night. In a word - awful. I’ve had this wine a countless number of times and each time have loved it. This bottle was so riddled with brett it was ridiculous. Nose of raw sewage. Just terrible. Really hoping my remaining bottles show better than this.
I am not overly sensitive to brett at all. I actually enjoy it to a certain extent but this was just over the top.
It may well be best in 10 years, but it is drinking well now in its own style. As several have mentioned, this is on the extreme of ripeness, and probably beyond the pale for quite a few people. But the wine was cleverly acidified by Laurence, which helps to bring out the wine’s energy and extraordinary richness. Last night, I had another bottle that showed extremely well–certainly very very ripe, but also very focused and intense on the palate–like looking into the sun. Flavors of garrigue and licorice, this is clearly classic Grenache, even if the vintage is on the freakish side.