[Tasted Double Blind] This pours light gold in the glass with a touch of green. The nose is lightly reductive showing struck flint, white flowers, a touch of honey, pear, green leaf, and red apple. The palate enters on lovely cooked apple and pear with medium plus balancing acid. No perceived RS. The finish is long and creamy with lovely florals and a pleasant bitter note. While some initial thoughts around the room centred on white burgundy for its reduction, dry palate, bright acidity and light mineral signature, to me this spoke of South African Chenin which I correctly identified this as.

This pours light straw in the glass with flecks of green. The nose is aromatic showing bread dough, toasted grain, dry hay, lemon, green apple, chalk, and white flowers. The palate is light and bright with laser focused lemony high acid, and a chalky finish. All in all this spoke quite clearly to me of Chablis, yet had an odd malty grain overtone that I found quite distracting. While it did lessen with air time it never totally went away. While a nice bottle the overall expression is not terribly expansive which also holds it back.

Quite a stewed profile with excessive VA. Calling this one heat damaged despite the pristine cork.

[Tasted Double Blind] This pours medium garnet with very light bricking. The nose is incredible from first pop to the final pour showing dried strawberry, dried cherry, seaweed, pickle brine, animal fur, wood ash, cigar smoke and decaying rose petals. The palate is bright entering on strawberry, still showing a fair bit of structure despite the age. Tannin is medium and acid is medium plus. The finish lingers nicely with lovely saline, red fruit, and animal fur. The aromatics on this were amazing and steered me toward the Rhone. I wondered if this was an 80s Beaucastel, or perhaps a Chave Hermitage. The saline and seaweed in particular stood out in this way. What I overlooked that was pointed out to me by other tasters was the elevated structural elements which totally fit the tempranillo origins here. There isn't any discernible american oak to the aromatics here that one might associate with tempranillo which is what I think left me confused. Regardless this was an amazing wine, and incredible showing and my personal WOTN. I love old Pesquera, but this is my all time favourite experience.

Corked

Corked

[Tasted Double Blind] This pours light garnet in the glass with faint bricking. The nose is classical and elegant with olives, leather, animal fur, pepper, butchered lamb, red plum, saline, black tea, and some stewed cherry character. I think there could perhaps some faint Brett here. The palate is plummy with medium tannin and medium acid with some moderate but noted kirshy character. The finish is generally fairly fresh though does show a little bit of prune alongside wet hay, wet wood, and a touch of sunried tomato on the finish. To me this spoke of Chateauneuf du Pape which I successfully guessed but I did have this pegged as a tad older. I was glad to see this Beaucastel showing so well as I usually haven't thought very highly of Beaucastel from 1998 onward.

Second time tasted in consecutive days. This pours light garnet with faint bricking. The nose on this is just beautiful showing classic Pegau characteristics, blasting black pepper, seaweed, light cherry, raspberry coulis, tar, crushed rocks, burlap, grilled pork, and dry bay leaf. The palate enters on bright red and lightly kirsch-tinged fruit. Tannin is medium, acid is medium minus. The finish is lengthy replaying much of the complexity of the nose. I poured this blind for others immediately after the 1999 Beaucastel and it was enjoyable to contrast the two. My preference was for the Pegau, but the room was split between the two. Regardless, most others had this a point or two behind me score-wise.

[Tasted Double Blind] This pours medium purple in the glass. The nose is extremely lifted showing clear carbonic character alongside a touch of reduction. Aromas are of bubblegum, fresh blackberry, violets, lavender, crushed granite, and a vague touch of pepper. The overall impression here one of tremendous aromatic lift that is wildly floral, almost like lacrima di morro d'alba. The palate is youthfully structured with bright blueberry on entry. Its quite structured on the midpalate showing medium plus tannin and medium acid. The finish is a bit clipped by the structure but does replay some of the blueberry and granite minerality. All in all this was clearly Northen Rhone with many of us landing in Cote Rotie. This is a young wine that is quite balanced and I expect will merit an improvement to my score with age. While I'd like a little more secondary character here, things like pepper and olive, I admit that could be hidden away in this bottle, buried in the youthful structure.

First bottle is suboptimal, second one corked. This third one seems decent so we dove in as it gained interest with air. This wine pours light garnet In the glass with medium bricking. The nose isn’t super expressive but gradually unfurls to show hints of gravel, plum tobacco, green plant stem, and violets. The palate shows the sternness of the vintage with medium plus tannin, and medium acid. The finish is certainly a tad clipped with some of the irony character that can mar older bordeaux. all in all this turned out to be drinking decently well. While its not winning any awards, there was pleasure to be had in this drinking experience.

This poured much darker than expected in the glass with a very simple and generic profile and zero complexity. Did not drink.

This pours medium ruby in the glass with virtually no bricking. The nose is brooding and intense, quite youthful and builds over time to show hot rocks, violets, plums, fire pit, a vague touch of bandaid, charcoal, and wet clay. The palate feels more youthful than it's years entering on plum and cassis with medium tannin and medium acid. The finish is layered, deep and rich in a relative sense closing on peat smoke and plum tobacco. This is a wonderful wine. It doesn't have that wide open complexity one might seek out in older wines. It is more buttoned up and suave. The comparison that resonated around the table was that a wine poured earlier like the 1985 Pesquera was there in jean shorts and a tuxedo t-shirt ready to party, whereas this one showed up in the tailored suit.