Impressive vertical of Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape: 2004 – 2007

I attended a friend’s birthday party last night, also a passionate wine lover, and I was fortunate to taste an impressive line-up of wines from a producer  I absolutely love. Domaine du Pegau maintains a classic style of wine-making, the wines not only age superbly, but they have a certain freshness and very good ability to drink, unlike the more modern, fat and heady Chateauneuf’s.

I already tasted a couple of times the 2004 Cuvee Reservee of Domaine du Pegau and always found it just a fabulous wine. Last night’s vertical consisted of 4 different vintages: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. All four vintages were different in Chateauneuf du pape and the wines perfectly reflect those characteristics.

- 2004 was a bit cooler and produced more mineral wines with great freshness;

- 2005 was superb – just as in the rest of France, the wines have structure and will age long;

- 2006 a good vintage, but shadowed by the quality of 2005;

- 2007 a superb vintage in Chateauneuf du pape and generally the Rhone valley – unlike the rest of France, producing wines with perfectly ripe tannins, hedonistic fruit and amazing accessibility already.

After tasting the four wines, I can make the following remarks:

- 2004 and 2005 have the most similarities: fine grained tannins, great freshness and a touch more mineral character.

- both 2006 and 2007 have assertive and more pronounced tannins, bigger and riper fruit, while the texture shows more concentration on the palate.

My absolute favorite was 2004 followed by 2007, 2005 and 2006 in this order.

2004 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape

Saturated red ruby color. Superb nose, well developed, intense and very expressive, combining fresh red fruits with game, meat, graphite and spices. Full bodied, with a killer acidity, this wine has the minerality and the character of a Northern Rhone Syrah (reminded me of 2006 Thierry Allemand Reynard Cornas: odd but lovely !), savoury, long and really delicious. Long finish, with great freshness and some lovely thyme and sage flavors. This is fully accessible now and just a pleasure to drink. Will continue to age well also. 14% alc. (94+/100)

2005 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape

This wine was uncorked early in the morning, then re-corked and placed in the fridge for a slow oxygenation until 18:30 when we drank it. Even in these conditions, the wine still seems to hide more secrets.

Same saturated ruby red color. Well developed and intense nose, but not having the same palette of aromatics as 2004. It shows great fresh red fruit, spices and probably less meaty, but still resembles the 2004. Full bodied, with fine grained tannins and more structured in the mouth, the wine combines red berry fruits, spices, thyme, a touch of graphite and licorice with a lively acidity and welcoming freshness. Long finish, but not as convincing as 2004. 14% alc. (92-93/100)

2006 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape

Darker red color. It is the only wine that shows very ripe, almost prunes like aromas. This can be a bit tiring compared to the other wines. Rich, very ripe fruit, licorice, prunes and spicy aromas on the nose. Full bodied, it seems more concentrated and very spicy on the palate compared to ’04 and ’05, assertive and bigger tannins in the mouth, and a medium plus long spicy finish. A bigger wine, even though the alcohol stays at the same 14%. (91-92/100)

2007 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape

Dark red-ruby color. Well developed and expressive nose, it exhibits a beautiful definition of red fruit. Spices, chocolate, herbs and licorice gradually build on the nose . Full bodied, assertive, ripe and sweet tannins, balanced, combining freshness and concentration, this wine shows vibrant fruit, savoury spices and a lush palate. Long, racy and spicy finish. Up to an extent, this is 2004 packed with more fruit and more muscle. Still a baby but it will develop very well in time. 14% alc. (94-95/100)

It was certainly a compelling tasting experience from a producer that continues to make stunning, classical Chateauneuf du pape wines. Bring me more please.

2008 Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette

This is 100% Marsanne from Chapoutier – the emblematic Rhone producer. We opened this wine and put it in a decanter in a fridge where it rested for almost 2 hours.

2008 Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette

Deep gold color. This wine has a really complex nose that changed its aromatics constantly with each glass we sipped. Rich and intense aromas that resembles initially a Mosel Rielsing with pineapple, quince, pear and peach, then shifting to fresher aromas of orange and tangerine peel, ripe lime, melon and vanilla, with depth given by the complex Asian spices that always stay in the background. Full bodied, ripe and creamy on the palate, this has incredible richness and balance, with medium acidity. The Asian spice mixed with fresh tropical yellow fruits shows unbelievable concentration. Long finish and lingering flavors. This is a stunning wine. 13.5% alc (93/100)

Dinner with Davino and Pegau

I had dinner with two friends at Casa di David  last night and we were able to share and taste some really interesting wines. As I arrived a bit earlier and the plan was to do a mini vertical of Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape, I made the arrangements for a 2004 to be uncorked. While waiting for my friends, I took a first sip of this amazing wine that I had a couple of times in the past, just to check if the wine is corked or not. From the get go the wine showed healthy and interesting as I remember it.

Once my friends joined me, a 2000 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee was uncorked and poured into a decanter to aerate, as it showed some light signs of being corked. We started the evening with a 2009 Davino Sauvignon Blanc, a wine that is no longer available on the market.

2009 Davino Sauvignon Blanc has a medium gold color and has a mild oily appearance. There is a well developed nose that shows intense aromas, while the wine is served at almost room temperature. It has a nice complexity. It seems however to be a bit unfocused in the mouth, so we ask the waiters to cool it a little bit. After it gets colder and closer to a proper serving temperature, it feels more restrained on the nose, gaining better freshness, a pronounced mineral dimension, but maintaining its lovely aromas. On the palate the wine is focused, it is perfectly round and balanced, rich, showing a lively, but dense structure, with great acidity and plenty of flavors of ripe apples, honey combs, lime and an unusual oak-like-sweetness, unusual because the wine never saw any oak. The finish is medium long, with good freshness and lingering ripe citrus fruit flavors. We have a wine that just starts to blossom, with enough acidity to keep it alive many more years from now. (88/100)

The wine goes very well with my appetizer: Sea Bass Carpaccio, Dried Miso, Yuzu And Garlic Flakes as the minerality compliments the raw fish.

The next wine is 2009 Davino Reserva Blanc, a predominant Riesling blend, aged in new oak for close to one year.

Pale yellow lemon color. The nose is very mineral at the beginning, but as it aerates, it starts to develop. Aromas of smart oak combined with ripe citrus fruit, mango and peach complement a more mellowed minerality. The wine is rich, lively and interesting on the palate, reminding of a white Bordeaux from Pessac-Leognan. As the wine gets warmer in the glass, flavors of vanilla and honey combs get more pronounced. It has mouth-watering acidity and shows more vibrancy that it did in December when I last tasted it. I am surprised how much it evolved and, if there were some question marks in December about its capability to hold on longer, the acidity that I experienced tonight eliminates any shadow of a doubt about its capabilities to age further. The finish is medium plus long, on the same line of elegance and racy acidity. (89-90/100)

We slowly make the move to the two reds that aerated partly in our glasses and partly in the decanter.

2000 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape

Dark red color with a brick color rim. When initially uncorked, the wine had minor signs of being corked, but beautiful aromas of game and meat, combined with roasted herbs and red fruit jams are able to shine. Even in the mouth the wine seems maturing and open for business, with a lovely balance. So we are optimistic about it initially. Unfortunately, after almost 1 h of aeration, those lovely aromas dissipated entirely and the smell of bad cork takes the stage. In the mouth the same situation. The wine is beyond any redeem. Such a pity not to be able to drink this otherwise lovely wine. Not Rated

2004 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf du pape

Dark red almost opaque color. The wine is more closed than the 2000. As it aerates, it sports a well developed and youthful nose, with aromas of blackberry and cranberry jams, figs, smokey plum, bacon, roasted herbs, licorice, pepper and a touch of refreshing graphite. Full bodied, rich and denser than the 2000, this wine has great balance and concentration, a healthy ripe tannins structure that keeps everything in the right place, and a long peppery finish. It does not have the gamey flavors and the elegance of 2000, but it seduces with its powerful character. I tasted this wine several times in the past and I enjoyed it every time. (93-94/100)

We finished our dinner with a 2011 Davino Sauvignon Blanc Edition Limitee to clean the palates. It has a light yellow lemon color with green reflections. This wine shows a perfect Sauvignon Blanc typicality, with its intense aromas of horse sweat or ripe elder flower, lovely citrus fruit, green apple, passion fruit and also a touch of minerality. Full bodied and extremely vibrant, this wine possesses a killer acidity that lifts up and highlights all its flavors. Young, intense and lovely. It rivals the acidity of a Riesling. Medium plus long finish, fresh, mouth-watering, with lingering flavors. My favorite white wine of the evening. (89-90/100)

This was a lovely dinner that ended late in the night, spiced up with lots of fun and interesting wine related conversation.