I would not deny that Dan may be ultimately right about the 07. It has always tasted to me more disjointed than overripe (which has been the hit on it on this board). But it is certainly the only Pegau I know of that didn’t taste well at 10-12 and then improved. Of course, the only other Pegaus I know of that have not tasted that well at 10-12 are the 95 and the 05. The 95 never really showed more than austerely elegant for me, and that is gilding the lily. We’ll see about the 05s, but they still have a hard edge.
Completely agree with Jonathan Loesberg about the 1995 and the 2005. I may have overrated the '95 giving it a ‘5’. I am certain that the '05 will be a better wine. '95 was a tough piece of meat and remains so, even though there are some redeeming features.
I cannot tell you what a pleasure and relief it is to be able to post about a wine that I love as well as sell, and give my unadulterated opinion. I am very grateful to Laurence. If this thread was about wine from any other producer I represent, I would have been sh*tcanned after my first post. It is good to deal with grownups.
Dan Kravitz
We had the 04 about a month age–spectacular!
Jonathan Loesberg, it seems like you =r experience with the 08 mirrors mine. I had one a few months ago and it was consistent with the other bottles I have had–not better, but not going downhill.
Jeff Vaughn, after I posted this thread, I got a 2007 to try and I found myself using a lot of the words you use in your note: dark, disjointed. Where I found the 04 to be deft, the 07 was a. plodder and it never really caught my imagination. I thought it interesting that Dan Kravitz thinks it will be at its best in 5-10 years. Like you, I’m not sure what to do with the 6 I have left.
Interesting. My confusing/bad experience was in 2010, and my good experience was exactly two years after that. I do think (hope) Dan is correct about 10 years out being a less-than-ideal time to pull that cork.
Based on a recent bottle of the 2007, I agree. Right now plenty of fruit but also plenty of tarry tannins.
Good to hear about the 07 possibly needing a lot more time. I am not convinced, but I look forward to finding out. Dan certainly has a lot more experience than I do. I hope he is right.
I had a 2010 Vieux Donjon last night, and it definitely needs more time, but it also seems better balanced at this stage.
My previous experiences were like that but I had one a year ago that was much more friendly.
Fascinating list and ranking! The crowd consensus on Cellartracker differs a bit. Restricting to vintages old enough to have 50+ ratings, here they are in reverse chrono going back to 2000:
2013: 91.7
2012: 92.8
2011: 91.5
2010: 94.2
2009: 93.7
2008: 91.1
2007: 93.0
2006: 92.2
2005: 92.4
2004: 92.8
2003: 94.1
2002: 86.2
2001: 92.8
2000: 92.5
Biggest disagreements – CT ranks 2012 clearly higher than 2011/2013, which are seen as worse than the typical vintage (Dan grades them well above the typical vintage). 2008 is not downgraded nearly as severely as Dan does and is within shouting distance of other years. Consensus however that 2002 sucks, 2009-2010 are great.
I know CT is not always trustworthy but for comparing within a single wine that is popular (hence lots of scores) I think there is some crowd wisdom there.
Pegau is remarkably consistent on Cellartracker, it’s hard to find a wine priced anywhere near Pegau that has has 91+ averages every year for 14 out of 15 years as in the list above.
Really incredible that all vintages (except the desastruous 2002) get avarage ratings above 91.0 points …
usually I don´t give anything on group-ratings, but in this case it certainly means something … ![[thumbs-up.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f84c5acc11486ee4baba6dee6cf61dbd133abb18.gif "[thumbs-up.gif]"){kind=small}
“I would never drink wines rated as low as 1-10. Everything I rate goes to 100”
– James Suckling
to Marcus Stanley,
Thank you. I had not looked on Cellar Tracker. I think the differences are pretty normal. My list is absolutely and only a personal opinion.
As to 2013, 12 and 11, I think I have some understanding of the differences between me and CT. I have an idiosyncratic preference for harmony and balance; I prefer wines that are deft to wines that are big. To me, 2012 is a bit burly. 2011 is very mainstream, it seems to be developing like 2006 and maybe like the 2004 that started the thread and has gotten a lot of love. 2013 is an anomalous vintage that I really like. It is a lightweight by Pegau standards. For some reason, to me it tastes much more like Syrah (even though the blend is the same), as if somebody smuggled a little Cote Rotie into the usual Pegau blend. I am not sure it will be as long lived as most vintages, but I really enjoy it right now.
Dan Kravitz
Philip Seymour Hoffman? A good actor.