2020 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

Community Tasting Note

thesternowl wrote:

94 Points

Monday, May 1, 2023 - My first impressions of the 2020 Pégau “Cuvée Réservée”. I brought this bottle to Tasting Group and presented it double-blind to the crew, for science! The wine pours a deep ruby with a translucent core. Moderate staining of the tears; high viscosity. On the nose: the wine is moderate intensity; developing. Ripe cherry and bramble fruits with some strawberry, anise, exotic spices, garrigue, and lavender. On the palate, the wine is dry, medium+ tannin and medium+ acid and medium+ alcohol. The tannins are super grippy. The finish is long, herby and there is a streak of black pepper. Whoa…this is a gorgeously expressive wine! Some felt it was 1er cru Burg. Other thought something form Italy: Brunello or CCR. Only one, the only Advanced Somm in the group, called CdP, but he called 2016. Having had many 2016’s recently, I can see where he was coming from. But make no mistake, this will age well despite it’s current approachability. Drink now to enjoy its youth before it potentially (likely) shuts down. Otherwise, this will drink well for 10-15+ years.

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4 comments have been posted

Comment posted by DCHawkeye:

5/4/2023 8:33:00 PM - I'm a bit surprised - did this not have any of the trademark Pegau "funk" that's usually so exclusive?
Comment posted by thesternowl:

5/4/2023 10:40:00 PM - Lol. Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but I’ve been drinking Pegau for many years; vintages going back to early ‘90’s. I don’t know what people mean by “funk”…unless they are referring to the rotundone typical in Syrah (which is a small part of the blend). Personally, I don’t find these to be very Brett heavy wines.
Comment posted by DCHawkeye:

5/5/2023 7:46:00 AM - Totally serious - some folks perceive what is often described as "barnyard" in Pegau. (I was born and raised in Iowa, so that's a positive descriptor for me!) I suspect it's mostly the Brett to those who are particularly sensitive. Brett often seems more prevalent (or at least more overtly noticable) in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, generally. But I'm in the camp that Pegau's Cuvee Reservee is, year-in and year-out, one of the great price/quality buys in fine wine.
Comment posted by thesternowl:

5/5/2023 8:15:00 AM - I got you. Yeah...I think Pegau is actually pretty controlled when it comes to their cellar practices (as it pertains to brettanomyces). For this bottle, I can say confidently that nobody had barnyard or even horse blanket in their tasting notes. That being said, there was a little of that peppercorn thing from the splash of Syrah...