2017 Pegau - Not a TN, a comment about pricing

WINE TALK
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[quoteJ a y H a c k wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:14 pm
Check Winesearcher, You can save $0.01 at Winelibrary. This price is not all that special.
I guess you didn’t read my third sentence.

Now all that said, even if it is $50 all over the country, still seems like (1) a great price and (2) a surprisingly declining price on a stalwart in a solid vintage.][/quote] Always loved this wine. I think the people buying Pegau have a ton of wine and don’t want to wait until it is drinking in its prime window. On wine searcher there is a ton of older vintages available at decant pricing.

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Fun anecdote from Jeff Leve’s website:

If you’ve wondered how to say Pegau, the daughter Laurence Feraud, who took over managing the property starting with the 2005 vintage, pronounces the name as Pay-Go. The father says it differently, Puh-Gow. That debate makes for a fun dinner conversation.

Read more at:> Learn about Domaine du Pegau, Chateauneuf, Complete Guide

I have always pronounced it the way the father does.

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Paul sounds more like Peh-Gow …

To the 2017 vintage: I haven´t yet tasted it from bottle, actually I´m not sure if it is already in bottle … late August it wasn´t …
so the quote prices are pre-arrival - correct? I´m relying on my barrel tastings.

The 2017 Pegau is a vintage I would call “classic” - typical for Pegau but more in the direction of the 2005 or 1995 …
it´s both structured (tannin) and lively (acidity) - it´s not (slightly) overripe (2015) nor extremely concentrated (2016) but nevertheless powerful and intense, definitely more concentrated than 2004/2008/2011 … which doesn´t mean it can be accessable young if you like it like that, although I would not call it “charming” in style. It´s masculine.
However for full maturity one should plan 15-20 years … at least.

Pegau hasn´t increased the vineyard surface over the last years (it´s app. 19 ha red and 2 ha white in CdP) …
They did not make any Da Capo in 2017 - so all the DC-juice is in the Reservée (but they will sure spare a foudre for the late release Cuvee Laurence) … and the lower price is (I think) set to move the quantities without the leadership of any Da Capo …

2017 is an excellent ageworthy and structured vintage typical for the Domaine … maybe just short of really great … and definitely something to buy by the case(s) … and there is no danger of going over the hill for the next 3+ decades …

2 Likes
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No.

It’s B-21. They’re in Florida.

The wine is all heat-damaged. But it’s so hot anyway, you can’t really tell, can you? neener

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Oh-oh…I just opened a 2005 and wasn’t that happy with it. It was lacking something and I would have scored it around an 89.

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I am less positive about either 95 or 05 than Gerhard seems to be. The 95 has, at its best, the charms of Lady Augusta in the Importance of Being Earnest. It was always a hard, tannic wine, and it went from that into elegantly austere age. The 05 is better but it still has a hard, tannic edge. I think the 17 will be considerably better than either of these wines, but, since, like Gerhard, I have only tasted it from barrel, I won’t go further than that. I expect, after the press for the 15 and 16 (both of which could be found for $60, at least briefly, in the US, and more easily for $65), the lower price represents an attempt to make a more classic vintage more competitive. I think Robert was right to jump at it.

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I’ve been out of the CDP game for several years, but the price of the '11 along with the cooler growing season got me back in. I’ve been happy with the toned down profile vs '05 and '07, so it makes for a nice contrast. I’m probably out again with climate change and having recently revisited wines from Rasteau, Languedoc, and Cotes Catalanes, I’ll be happy to reach for those more often.

To your point though, $50 does seem like a reasonable opening price-point for Pegau. Speaking as a buyer, it would be nice to see most wines at that quality/quality level that have increased in price in the last decade settle around there at retail.

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Yes, pre-arrival. And thanks for the information, much appreciated.

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I have seen Pegau discounted more often than the other CDP blue chips. But this seems more unusual that it’s being offered for $50 from many retailers for an extended time. Maybe they’re discounting it due to every 4th bottle being marred by brett, which is why I never buy it at higher prices.

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Don´t know if every 4th bottle overseas is bretty, definitely not here in Germany, and I buy them both in CdP myself and here via retailers.
Issues with shipping?

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Bottles with slight brett coming out of the winery can become quite bretty with even minimal heat exposure, so I do expect there is variation due to shipping. But, really, Pegau is a wine in which some brett is, for most of its fans, a feature and not a bug. I drink Pegau regularly both bought directly in CdP and bought in the states. There is always some variation among bottles and it does not track to from where I have bought the wine. I really think some of us are just more brett sensitive than others and that will affect one’s evaluation of Pegau. There isn’t a Pegau of the ideal that some of us are drinking and others of us aren’t/

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Pegau has Brett?

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Nah. It’s just the mourvedre, as they used to say about Beaucastel in the 80s and 90s.

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Sorry, just saw this thread as I have been on a work trip.

I import Pegau to most of the U.S.

Pricing: Laurence Feraud is one of the smartest people I know and that extends to business. In general, she prices vintages as she perceives quality, but is also sensitive to the market, in France, in the U.S. and worldwide. She has two basic price structures, for greater and lesser vintages. 2016 and 2015 obviously are greater vintages. 2014 and 2013 were lesser. She considered 2012 excellent and priced it accordingly, in the range of 2009 and 2010 (and now '15 and '16). The market did not agree, so there hasn’t been great sell-through.
She considers 2017 excellent. In fact, soon after harvest, she told me that if she had not made da Capo back-to-back for the first time in '15 and '16, she would have considered making a '17. However Chateauneuf is not as ‘a la mode’ today as a decade ago, so she priced 2017 in the same range as 2014 and 2013, and with a stronger dollar retail is at reasonable levels. Alan Rath’s post touched on this.

Style and quality: I think 2017 is an excellent vintage, it reminds me of a cross between '15 and '12, not as good as '15 but better than '12. I personally like to give bigger vintages of Pegau significant age, while drinking mid-weight vintages younger. I have hopes that 2014 will turn out like 2011, which is drinking incredibly right how, as are 2006 and 2004. In the same style, 1999 is at peak or maybe just past (provenance, storage, etc). Do not expect more than 20 years from mid-weight vintages of Pegau; they can live that long or longer but are usually not at their best past that.

commercial post: The retailer B-21 buys wines I import: Greg T talks about wines from the store being heat damaged. I will tell you that the owner is fanatical about appropriate transport and storage. I’ve been there when containers are being unloaded and even containers of inexpensive wines arrive at 55 degrees… always!

Pronunciation: Laurence says Peg Oh, Paul says Peg Ow. This ain’t rocket science: Paul grew up speaking Provencal, and ‘Ow’ is the Provencal pronunciation. Laurence grew up speaking French, and ‘Oh’ is the French pronunciation.

For those interested, about a year or so ago I posted my version of a vintage chart for 33 vintages of Pegau, should be searchable on this board.

My thanks to all who enjoy and are interested in Pegau.

Dan Kravitz

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Thanks for the great post, Dan!

As for this quoted section, I can assure you that Greg was totally kidding, making fun of us people down in FL roasting in our summer weather. B21 is a fantastic retailer, 3rd or 4th generation family-owned. I bet over the last 25 years, I have bought more wine from b21 over all other retailers combined. They personally deliver my wine in a temperature controlled van. They offer this service to several large cities in Florida, for purchasers who spend a minimum threshold of $500 per delivery, which is easy since they allow you to aggregate. My success rate with this retailer is like 99.9%, and the very small few times where something went wrong, they remedied instantaneously. Couple that with their very competitive pricing, and b21 is a major winner. I would buy even more from them if they carried the geeky Rhones and Chinons that I like, but that stuff just does not sell well in Florida.

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Since the word is Provencale, it would follow that Paul’s pronunciation is correct. The Pegau website, however, seems to imply that Laurence suggested the name when she came back from her studies and entered into the family business, in which case, since it’s her name, she gets to pronounce it as she prefers. I follow Laurence, but only because I also don’t speak Provencale.

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Yes, Laurence came up with the name ‘Pegau’, after a form of earthenware pitcher used in the palace of the Avignon (rogue) Popes. In fact, she has named all of the Domaine and Chateau Pegau wines, all very carefully considered. Before ‘Pegau’, it was simply Domaine Feraud for the tiny quantities they bottled (before Laurence came home, over 90% of Pegau was sold in bulk).

Dan Kravitz

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Only the rogue popes and not the accepted one’s who preceded them?

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Jonathan,

I personally am a Rogue Pole.

Dan Kravitz

1 Like
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Touché. Fixed.