ESTG does Pegau-Palooza
Seattle, WA, USA
Tasted Saturday, February 10, 2024 by Eric with 266 views
Introduction
I had the joy to organize and host a tasting focused on a deep vertical of my favorite producer, Domaine du Pégau.
Since "discovering" this wonderful estate 22 years ago, I have fallen in love with these wines. CellarTracker shows that I have purchased 432 bottles and consumed 307 bottles. In fact, for the last 19 years I have opened 15 bottles per year on average.
Pegau makes me very, very happy!
With that in mind, it was very fun to organize a tasting focused on a fairly deep vertical. It was truly educational!
Flight 1 (2 Notes)
Starting with the whites, one easy and one less easy.
Flight 2 (3 Notes)
When we organized the tasting, I was worried that this flight might be a bit old and creaky. That was laughable. While mature and secondary, ALL of these wines were shockingly vibrant and still quite structured.
Flight 3 (3 Notes)
This was the only flight where we really tried to explore the Cuvée Laurence, although we were a bit hampered with one flawed bottle. The style is clearly a bit different.
Flight 4 (3 Notes)
In this flight we explored all of the core cuvées in one vintage. Stylistically these are shockingly distinct. There was a LOT of conversation. Despite the truly impressive aspects of the Laurence and da Capo, everyone was ultimately more disposed to the raw energy and purity of the Cuvée Réservée. There are literally almost no other wines in the world more impressive and affordable for the sheer purity and intensity and quality. Stated differently, we all enjoyed the Laurence and da Capo, but we all swooned over the Cuvée Réservée. At a 2x1 and 10x1 cost ratio, we all preferred the Cuvée Réservée.
Flight 5 (3 Notes)
Mmm, this was the first flight getting into younger wines, and they are amazing. Although is 20 years old actually young?
Flight 6 (3 Notes)
And at last our only "young" red flight. The power and intensity of these was disarming.
I did have a flight of 2015, 2016, and 2017 lined up, but the group was offically fried.
Flight 7 (1 Note)
We finished with the one Pegau dessert wine.
Closing
Thanks all for bringing wonderful wines!
I have had a LOT of Pegau, but this was still deeply educational. I really had no appreciation for just how young and structured these wines are. It was actually quite shocking to experience these across 30 years. I have had many, many bottles in their first decade, but tasting these in a vertical it honestly feels like 20-25 years is a better entry point. These are stunningly ageable.
2020 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Réservée
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Fresh, citrus, very clean, white flowers, eventually showing some nutmeg and a more nutty personality. Lovely starter. (60% Clairette, 20% Grenache Blanc, 10% Roussanne, and 10% Bourbolenc)
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2017 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée A Tempo
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Mmm, deeper nose, waxy, intriguing. Darker color. Very closed. Deep and intense palate but initially quite linear. Really quite concentrated but does start to open up. Day 2 this has more clove and a smoldering hint of white pepper. Given the very reticent showing on day 1 and the more opulent showing on day 2, this is clearly a wine to either aerate heavily or wait a few years. (Equal amounts of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Clairette)
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