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.