First bottle I bought for cellaring. I was in my internship. I kept it in my closet and transferred it to my ‘rich’ friend's cellar a couple years later.
Cost: $35 at the time, which was affordable.
The cork is short compared to current bottles. It leaked half the length of the cork, not to the surface.
Color is medium garnet.
Aromas were medium at open and fading to light after 1-2 hours.
In the mouth, licorice, blackberry, leather,
Tannins make my taste buds pucker tightly and there is some iron on the long finish.
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Charity wine pairings to benefit Whatcom Hospice House. (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): This was the best bottle of Pegau I’ve ever opened. There have been a lot, although it’s been a while. Incredibly fresh and clean, especially for this producer. Rich, but not overly so. Intoxicating aromas of dark berries, espresso, and a hint of garrigue and leather. This vintage is likely at its apogee; we caught it at a perfect time. It might be time to open some of the the CdP in the cellar. I’d pass them up in recent years after some jammy and excessively rustic or bretty bottles.
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An amazing bottle of this wine. PnP, dark beautiful and powerful all at once. Grenache dominates the nose and palate. Just the right amount of garrigue and tapenade.
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PNP from the coravin. Strong tobacco notes on the nose. Fruit is very much alive and well! Strawberries and raspberries. Tanins have resolved to the point where it may be a hint out of balance. That might be nit-picking. This is an awesome wine in a very good place. I’m sad this is my last 98 but it’s definitely time to drink up. Great, great wine and imo an exemplar of what great, aged CdP can be. Pegau is awesome with age. Upgraded after last glass.
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Elegant, mature. Magnum still was mostly full expression. This may have been a little brighter a few years ago. Raspberry and grass nose. Fruitless strawberry opener with dry but structured and velvety midlength. Prettt long finish.
Decant 2 hours
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This is a mature CDP that packs a punch with loads of fruit and prominent Grenache flavor profile. A great way to end the night after a fantastic line up of Burgundy.
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My last bottle of this, I fear, but what an exit!. Needs air, initially even a bit petillant, but it awakwens with all the fixers of a true blooed neuf. Sweet Genache, chocolate, smoke, garrigue and darker spice as well; drinkng so well, I see no upside here, just get the lamb cooking and drink this. #Bagnols-en-Fôret
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Drinking extremely well. Nice overall. Perfect time to drink here in California with cold and wet Spring. Spectacular vintage. One of the top bottles of Chateau Pegau I have opened. Glad I acquired this bottle. Just opened, first night. A vintage and bottle to take notice. Can only get better. Excellent. Meaty charcuterie, autumnal spices, somewhat warm, some toast, vibrant fruit. Definitely good pedigree for a great bottle. *2nd night scored higher. Opened up and bottle even better. Probably best bottle of Pegau I’ve opened. Seems to be drinking like a nice aged Saint Emilion. *6th night still a stellar bottle, Rhone CDP signature has reappeared. Drinking like a vibrant aged CDP.
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Outstanding. In a perfect place for drinking now. Big bodied with chewy tannins and decent acidity. Mature but not old. Notes of mushroomy damp soil, bacon, lavender, thyme, and dried figs. Velvety and sweet on the palate, but I love the assertiveness of the tannins. This is no wimpy California wine.
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A recently acquired btl from retailer private cellar offer. Stood up over-night. Opened 75 minutes before dinner & poured a couple small pours in 2 Reidel Burgs to breath / slow ox while we drank sparkling w/ a vegie tray. Semi translucent ruby-garnet center & fading edges. Big aromas of leather, meat, scrub & trace berries. This moved in out from interesting to profound. Best near end of the btl & enhanced with a bite of food too. Exceedingly elegant from start to finish. Still plenty of lift but not acidic. Still some lovely tarter red fruit complimented by mineral, pepper, licorice & underbrush. This offered head turning waves of utter complexity but never disappointed before or after a wave broke shore, either. A modest 13.5% alc in a ripe "vintage of century" year:). 92-96 depending on the moment. Happy to own one more from the same source. Lots of chunky sediment near the end. Looked like late fall leaves in the glass. Helped to pour from one direction in the btl. Served in high 50s to mid 60s. Burg shape for our family guest too.
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This was singing tonight. Blind and others were in Burgundy or Northern Rhône. Beautifully silky fruit. Tannins resolved and all elements in harmony. Gorgeous
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Decided to open my last bottle, and really enjoyed it. Dusty cherry fruit, a little roadside dust and saddle leather - the quintessential Chateauneuf experience. Very easy to drink, as the tannins have mellowed to near invisibility. A compelling wine from first sip to last.
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Stood up for a week. Bottom neck. A slightly dry cork that broke upon opening. Three hour slow oxidation followed by a two hour decant. A medium ruby core fading to a pale garnet outer edge. Elegant in style with subtle aromas on the first pour of red cherry, damp herbs, red liquorice, and a feint touch of ground black pepper. Following the decant the wine became more floral with notes of lavender and a touch of barnyard. Intense and concentrated - the palate is where this wine steps it up a gear - with cherry kirsch liqueur washing over lightly charred red meat rolled in chopped thyme and rosemary.
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A little brett on the first nose, but it blew off fast. Wet or damp herbs, red liquorice, lavender, dried basil, and quite a bit of heat on the nose, really singeing the nostrils. Zero heat on the palette. Cooked red berries or maybe preserve on the palette. On the second glass, dark flowers on the nose, and still mega heat. Plenty of kirsch developing too. Still cooked strawberries and raspberries on the pallets. Massive grippy tannin. While it was good, I expected more.
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Saturday get-together: Pours a tawny color, fooling you into thinking this is going to be all funk and no flash. On the palate, this is surprisingly sound and correct, with obviously advanced notes of muddled strawberry, plums, leather, toffee, red currant, and earth. Despite its age, the freshness here is still on point. I don’t know that I’d lay these down for another half-century or anything, but if I was into chewing cigars and watching old Clint Eastwood westerns, I’d be all about this wine. Acid and scaffolding were also all in place. I guess when you evaluate a wine like this, you kinda treat it like an old man, pointing out the things you are thankful are still in proper order. “Well, at least my hip ain’t broke yet.”
This bottle is a good reference point for aged CdP. Though I like a little more meat on the bones when I look to CdP generally, this was a fantastic representation of how a little age can make a wine a whole lot more interesting in terms of tertiary flavoring complexity.
New friends, new wines in Novato: This was fun to try. This had more funk than I tend to like but that earthy, farm nose, interwoven with red fruits was interesting. I will need to try more CDP and get my palate acclimated to this style wine and this varietal. Great acid and great with food.
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An evening with good food, great people and amazing wine (Where the silence is longed for): Aromas of a great funk that is very interesting, and lots of it, used leather and muddled fruit underneath (in a good way). Flavors of ripe red and blue fruits like some fresh and also aged plums, with the same funk from the nose that keeps it interesting. This is probably one of those bottles where you need to pick how you like your poison and plan accordingly on when to consume.
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A lovely lunch at Fien and Gert Jan (The home of Fien and Gert Jan): A ripe colour, but lively, ripe and spicy (garrigue) in the bouquet and after a small half hour the wine developed more power and more complexity, leather, plums. We have kissed the princess after 24 years. Till so far 95 points, but in the aftertaste the alcohol was a bit obvious.
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This was just stunning and reminds me again that (at least for me) when it comes to CdP, I shouldn't bother with anyone but Pegau. Rick dark fruit with garrigue and an underlying spiciness that really made this standout. Full bodied, still with good tannins, acidity, tar, leather. Wow! A huge hit at dinner.
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Quick pour after opening was not corked, and also shockingly youthful. Still showing a lot of freshness, and if not so much in the way of primary fruit, at least not full on tertiary. Dinner two hours later brought a fully integrated, savory melange of earth, herb and leather, with a subtle berry fruit compote in the background. Still a bit of back end tannin, but overall a gentle mouthfeel that has just the right amount of structure to hold everything in place. Drinking very well now with a bit of air, and no worries about further cellar time. It’s not going anywhere.
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La Tablée (Pier Sixty, New York, NY): 1998 was such a great vintage for CdP. This bottle is still as lovely as nine years ago. The nose is meaty, spicy, with hints garrigue. Silk on the palate, full bodied, great attack and high, balancing acidity. Dark fruited, cigar box, wet leather jacket. Fresh and spicy finish. Great winter red.
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Dezent Funk, Leder Unterholz, Garrigue, alles sehr harmonisch. Immer noch sehr gute Säure- und Tanninstruktur. Jetzt top entwickelt, aber keine Eile zu trinken. Der Alkohol ist sehr gut eingebunden, sehr langer Abgang. CdP at its best!
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Acquired new. WINEGUYX nailed his review: "This is fully mature and entering old age. Drink now. 93" Had prior bottles at younger age and they were significantly better. Drink up.
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Showing its age but still holding together pretty well. PNP at dinner maybe not ideal but tough to recant at crowded restaurant. Barnyard blew Off after a while and the wine came together after initially showing some VA. Fruit still hanging in there and not overly candied or prunish. Would have preferred 30-60 minutes decant and contemplation at home
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Beautifully aromatic! Just loaded with exotic scents of herbs de Provence Asian spice box, sandalwood incense and copious quantities of roasted black cherries. Medium-full bodied but still rich. This is lost a little size and sweetness with age and is showing good acidity and drying tannin in addition to licorice, herbs de Provence and black cherry. This is fully mature and entering old age. Drink now. 93
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Upon plop: faceless and thin. After a couple of hours of air, a beauty steps forward.
Some VA on the nose together with the extremely attractive herbal aspects of maturing Grenache. In the mouth, this is still young. Elegant expression with pronounced acidity, pure fruit, a beautiful herbal presence and M tannin. Long, complex and immensely satisfying.
Only had one btl, always looking for more Pegau.
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A beautiful wine right out of bottle. Pegau so rarely disappoints. Funky red and black fruit, some black tea and forest floor, all balanced by solid acid. It gets even better in the glass with some air. Delicious!
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Round, smooth, rich. Massive sediment, decanted 2 hours in advance. In a beautiful place. A ripe vintage but is still fairly balanced. Bottle #7 of a case - looking over past notes this looks to be in the peak plateau and has been delightful for the past 10 years. Still some tannins and acidity to hold this together for a couple more years - during which I'll try to get to the last 4 bottles.
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Wine was delicious. Nice smell. Leathery. Earthy. Wet clay. Darker aged fruit. Good clarity. Brownish. Nice smooth taste. Cherry with some floral and spice to it. Would enjoy drinking again.
Should I buy some new bottles?
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Ripe red fruit, black currant, cassis, ripe peaches, blood orange, smoke, camphor, tobacco, pine needles, thyme, hint of black pepper. Medium tannins, and rather tamed by time. Needs decanting and there is significant sediment. At a great spot now, and can probably last a few more years.
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Has to be one of the better bottles I’ve had this year. This must have been a bruiser when it was young. Stood up for about a week. Drank over two days. Nice brick red color. Significant Brett poopy nose that blew off the second day. A lot of power still left in this wine. Fruit and acidity nicely woven together. Bing cherry flavors with a hint of black raspberry. Very long persistent finish with just a touch of hotness. I have another bottle somewhere in the basement.
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From the recent large private purchase purchase (hard to value individual bottles, but about $85). Small taste, then about 90 minutes of air, with relatively consistent tasting notes thereafter. On the nose and palate, black and red raspberries (with other berries and cherries coming in later), olives, earth, garrigue, funk, smoked meats, tar, tobacco, figs and a hard to describe note I'm calling as wet dog. Medium garnet, medium to full-bodied, medium to thick legs. Racy acidity, medium+ tannins, no heat. Great complexity, persistence and intensity. There's no such thing as a boring Pegau, but compared to the '09, which I'm most familiar with, this is less feral, for better or worse, gentler (dare I say, more feminine?), more subtle (only 13.5% abv), almost Burgundian and lighter. Fully intact acidity gives this a raciness and food-friendliness which belies its years and makes it seem a lot more contemporary than many things which post-dated it, like Y2K hysteria and internet pet food company sock puppets. Great drinking window which will go on for only God knows how long. I'll tell you what, if the Tuscan winemakers don't watch their p's and q's, these CdPs may replace the BdMs as the primary object of my Euro affections, but that's a good problem, right? Nosed out by the recent '01 Clos Des Papes which had incrementally greater sophistication, but still pretty great. 95-96
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What a good bottle! Best yet. Opened and decanted 30 minutes. Colour still medium red with some bricking. Nose a rich heady mix of spice leather wild herbs and slightly overripe fruit. Lovely balance of game and fruit then gathers to a powerful finish. After a couple of hours the last glass showed a bit less fruit and the structure and acidity poked through but this is a lovely bottle.
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Strong nose of plum, heather and meat. This is my first Pegau. A great CdP. Its a really big CdP. This is drinking well now, but is at the end of its drinking window. Big mouthfeel. More plum, earth and a bourbon hit. Long finish. Now looking forward to trying some younger vintages.
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Medium red with hints of orange on the edges. Leather, tobacco, horse hair, and then fruit on the palate. Decanted for 1 hour before serving with boar and venison. Blew us away. Tannins have totally mellowed. It could still be held for another 5+ years. Perfect pairing with those meats.
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- Crimsom color - Amazing wine, decant for 2 hours, very smooth, full, juicy but mellow with wood floor barn funk smell. Simply delicious. Drink now. Cheers.
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It's been many, many years since I've last had this wine. Red and dark fruit reduction, raspberry coulis on a tapered palate, with light garrigue and a hit of brett. Tannins are completely smoothed out. It's okay, correct, true to its place, but it doesn't excite me. Seems to be on a long plateau, but my take-away is that this was a more impressive wine in its youth. Rosh Hashana at Suzanne and Kenny's.
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Oh, yes, this is the real deal, vraiment Pegau with beef blood galore, and Grenache speaking loudly. Smooth sailing here – and what length. Still very much alive. #BistroDinnerChezMoi
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For sure this is a serious wine. Real savoury bite here and felt like a vinious well done beef joint in a bottle. Spent several hours sipping away and still not 100% sure of what I feel about it. Others seem to like it more than me. Oh well, have another 5 bottles to make my mind up!
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Brick red ruby with lot of sediment. Expressive aromas of red berries, roasted herbs, hung meat, tobacco and earthy notes. Superb palate shows good depth to the sweet red crushed berries, medium (+) acidity, savory brown spices, and a long floral and earthy finish. Wow! This is a great bottle.
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Popped and poured. Medium garnet. Wide open nose of plum, garrigue, pepper, earth, lavender. Robust layers of ringing strawberry and black plum fruit plum cut with char, tobacco, and garrigue, and black pepper. Lots of presence and concentration. Still refreshingly acidic with filed off tannin. Long finish of earth, strawberry, and market herbs lined with grip. Fantastic.
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Maybe the best showing yet - softening pure cherry with strawberry flecks, some slightly rustic leather, lovely notes of garrigue and floral elements. Nice combination of weight and delicacy ****+
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Decanted one hour consumed over two hours. This bottle rusty red colour. Mature garrigue rustic nose. Plenty of interest . Slightly angular on palate damson fruit mineral . Lean finish . Good
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Well within its drinking window the 1998 Pegau Cuvée Réservée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge shows just a touch of bricking in the glass. It unfurls revealing the sort of olfactive charm one might expect from this producer—raspberry coulis, garrigue, loamy soil, leather, and multiflorous layers of dried rose petal and lavender. It’s medium bodied, with an intensity that builds with each sip. Both the tannins and the acidity are fully and nicely integrated at this point.
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Rhones and More at Jimmy's (Jimmy's Place, Mpls): Medium bricked dark red color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 90 minutes. Well, well, well, this was singing tonight. Paired up with an excellent '00 CR, this was even better. A great Pegau nose with plenty of funky goodness, earthy, saddle leather, lavendar, with a perfume of red fruit. This is in a wonderful place, resolved and medium bodied, very long with a beautiful texture and a picture of where CDP should be for me. 94+pts.
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Lightening, cloudy, ruby red with bricking. Perfuse aromas of just the right amount of brett balanced with meat and fruit. This had remarkably elegant and resolved mouthfeel while still having plenty of lift. The beast that be Pegau hsa left the room. The palate has layers of; red fruit, mushroom, spice meat, mineral and provincial herbs. My red of night and one of the few CDPs I still enjoy drinking. Pagua along with Beacastel, Vieux Telegraphe and Vieux Don Jon are the ones to buy and drink for me. I really like Clos des Pape too but the price has gone nuts since 2003.
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Coravin 1/15/18: Light ruby with age-appropriate medium bricking; nose is highly aromatic with perfume, sweet musk, leather, red berries; palate is light bodied, light tannins with a bit of grit and just slight tartness, ripe red fruit, excess heat and seems alcoholic, less complexity on the palate than the nose; medium finish with some remaining heat on the palate. CnDP isn't generally my favorite type of wine because of the alcohol and ripeness, but when it's showing well the aromas can be elegant, complex, and superb. That is certainly true here. An enjoyable experience, at peak but will likely last a few years. 94 for the experience of the nose, but the palate holds it back. 2/3: Opened the remaining half bottle. Highly aromatic with floral perfume, red berries, some musk, leather; palate is light bodied, shows its heat, slightly unbalanced, ripe red fruit; medium finish. Same as when first opened, stunning nose but held back by the palate. Ready now, no reason to wait for my last bottle. 93-94 Update: With 30 minutes of air, the palate integrates much better, no longer showing the disjointed alcohol. Still, the nose is far more intoxicating than the palate. Solid 94 now, and a very good wine.
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Dark red color, slightly cloudy. Some pleasant funk and citrus in the bouquet. On the palate, some remaining fruit, wonderful complexity and moderate acidity. More elegance than power. The wine faded a bit after an hour and it seemed slightly past its peak, but it was still a strong showing.
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Barnyard nose, with mushroom and very slight game. Palate still has lots of fruit, mostly cherries, and relatively bright acidity. Drink now or give slightly more time for tertiary development.
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Dec-17, 1 hr decant, Blackberry and strawberry, smoke, leather, beef notes, Quite concentrated, crunchy on the palate, Crystaline structure, fruit slightly drying, good acid for CNDP Decent Grippy Finish On this showing I would drink up, fruit is drying and I don't this has the structure to hold in the long term
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Vinetasters: Pégaü (1989-2007) (Skokie, IL): Served blind in a Pégaü lineup. The nose shows a surprising amount of tart crunchy fruit on the nose, as well as a bit of herbaceousness and tobacco. The palate is cooler, with a really nice light freshness and some stemmy tones. Light touch and not heavy at all. My #4, group's #9.
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Mature colour rustic nose with some Brett and farmyard. Picked up on palate vigorous long high acidity fresh finish.v good but shaded by the 2000 tonight
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Not much change from my 2015 note; I did feel that this showed a slightly bolder and touch less nuanced profile than another bottle drunk in 2015 (no CT note) - but it's a very good and quite pure CNDP, drinking beautifully now and for the next 10 years. ****
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Pretty darn close to my last bottle in 2010, came across a bit more fruit forward than the last time, but still had a fair amount of traditional aromas, coming across almost savage, especially with the gamey and barnyard elements. This stuff is great and easily has ten more years to go.
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As always a great joy. The wine is a mixture of animal and earthy aromas with a subtle red fruit below. No heavyweight, but with huge drinking flow. I am convinced by the taste of spice, partly with delicate sweet hints, perfectly integrated acidity and super fine-grained tannins. The wine may be rural, indeed peasant, in all its aromas, but there is also beauty in the country. Perfectly balanced and with a nice length.
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Brown in the glass, stewed nose of overripe plums with some mint thrown in. Round and viscous in the mouth with some grippy tannins. Beginning to think that Pegau ages like CA Zinfandel? Not my cup of tea...
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Medium ruby with bricking. Expressive herbs de Provence, lavender, cigar humidor, light red berries and soil tone aromas makes up a very perfumed and expressive nose. Medium bodied and silky palate shows sweet spicy crushed berry liqueur, superb inner mouth perfume and a long ripe tobacco filled finish. Perfect!
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upon opening: classic note of beef blood and garrigue, some camphor; very Pegau here with sweet Grenache up front. Tasted again on day 2, this is locale feel galore and sends me to the place of origin. I love it, it is broad, generous, welcoming – and has lots of life left.
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Our last bottle of a 1/2 case purchase at release. Provanance is everything. The cork was not only in pristinr condition but also looked just a few years old. The smell of cherries overwhelmed me as it was opened. None of the barnyard that I sometimes get with a CNP. Blackberries, dark cherries like jam and brambles. The wine was extremly dark and the leggs coated the glass. In the mouth it was just great. We drank this with beef and mashed that was just the perfect accompaniment to the wine. Our experience with this over the years is that it came and went from drinking windowa and this was just in the perfect spot. My only complaint is that I've come to the realization that to my palate likes there types of wine better, but that being said this was one of the bet CNP's that we have ever had, including my Janasee VV's. 93-94
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Pegau Reservee Vertical (Frederiksberg): Sexy and creamy blackberry fruit with lots of depth. Beautiful and long aftertaste. Great balance and structure. Stunning wine.
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Medium (+) ruby fading to garnet on the rim. The nose is clean, developed, and complex, with secondary and tertiary aromas framing ripe red cherries, black cherries, black plums, boysenberries and dried herbs. That palate is dry, consistent with the nose, with medium acidity, medium (+) alcohol and medium to medium (+), resolved tannins. The palate is rich, with medium (+) intensity and a long lingering finish. It is drinking quite well, considering it is 18 years old, and is probably not going to improve with further aging.
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Popped and poured. This is a medium red wine getting lighter at the rim. On the nose, I get some ripe cherry, garrigue, and funk. The mouth is reasonably smooth and tangy, but the finish is scratchy and harsh. This bottle had a TCA defect, which got materially worse with time -- I didn't want to drink the last 1/5 of the bottle. This was clearly weaker than the last bottle I tried. A bummer because the quality of the wine was still evident despite the TCA, at least early on. No score given flaw.
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A Pegau vertical (and a Foreau) (My Home): Despite showing older than anything but the 89, this still showed quite well. At age 18, it seems to be about at peak. Ruby in color. The nose has some stink to it. Also some cherries with spice. On the palate, this has a lush texture. Juicy fruit still. Layers of fruit, earth and spice. Long finish. Maybe not the WOTN, but the wine that was closest to peak IMO.
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Q2 - 2016 Tasting - The Rhone! - Another taster's perspective ((The Apt)): #12 of 16 wines tasted (double-blind) at Rhone tasting. I brought this one so I knew it was either 11 or 12. Decanted for 1 hour, double decanted back to bottle and served at Rhone wine tasting from bottle. Color is more muted compared to 2010 - with a bit of brownish around the edges. The nose has red fruit, leather and earth - not nearly as bretty smelling as the 2010. Tastes very mature, with resolved tannins and the tertiary characteristics more on display than the fruit. Really enjoyable! For me this was my 3rd favorite but the group overall preferred the 2003 Pegau.
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Q2 Tasting - The Rhone! (The Apt): Wine #12: Part of a double-blind tasting of Rhones. This was muted red fruits and relatively strong tannins (surprising given age), and leather. The age on the Pegaus definitely seems to help although hard to compete with the '03 that is in just such a nice place right now. (5 pennies)
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HdR Farewll BBQ (Hospice du Rhone): My friend Jeff King brought this. really showed well. Ruby/purple in color. Just a hint of brett on the nose. Really a lot less than expected based on a lot of other bottles. Also some hay, some lavender, and a lot of black raspberries. Soft. Some tannins left, but mostly integrated. Complex and layered. Lots of fruit left. Some dried but some fresh as well. For bottles in as good of shape as this, years left. Thanks!
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Bottle #4 of 4. Wish I'd waited. There seems to be some bit of bottle variation, as this bottle was very, very young, with easily a decade ahead. Others have seemed like they were tipping down the slippery slope. Perfectly delicious with Mario Batali's Leg of Lamb with green olive, shallots and prunes. 93+ pts.
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Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1998 (Chez moi): Grenache, garrigue, locale - and small hints of alcohol. Still young and powerful, sweet and with a sense of place. This will go a long way...
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Still generous fruit, at quite a good place now. No need to wait further. To me it is fully ready to drink, but no rush. Quite balanced for a 98. Pegau is truly a consistently fine maker.
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Initially a bit funky upon opening, but this dissipated to leave a nose redolent of blueberries and blackberries with a strong leather element. Seems like there is a bit of brett in the background. Full, rich, and sweet on the palate with noticeable acidity. Still young.
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Second note of this wine today because it came from another bottle and it was also better. The notes are about the same but overall the wine was in a better condition. Good future of a least another 3+ years. 93 - 94
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In the bouquet a lot of garrigue and horse stable. On the palate dark and red forest fruits, a lot of herbs and spices, good and fresh acidity and round and soft tannin with still a good bite. A beautiful and elegant wine with still a good future. A special remark; the 1997 we tasted beside it, performed just a tad better, although it was much more mature. Later in the tasting we had the 1998 again from another bottle (and beside cuvee Laurence and Da Capo of the same vintage) and the second bottle showed better. 92+
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A wonderfully classic CDP for '98, which is to say that it was a strong year but without extended staying power. This wine was showing very well considering the vintage with plenty of layered red fruits and spices, but it is time to drink up.
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Lazer's LI Blind (Pine Hollow Country Club): A difficult wine to assess or like. It has Considerable brett, notable tannins and a hardness. No charm but there are some quality elements.
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Still going strong, this is a very typical Pegau – and well handled as that in the warm vintage; here is garrigue galore, loads of sweet Grenache and overall neuf-feel, that is sine qua non – you want to by a plane ticket right now. It has been like this for some time, and it is likely to stay there, but I do not see this wine improving dramatically with further ageing. (with PB après Enomania).
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Stor doft av röda vinbär, röda vinbär, rosmarin, ljus choklad. Integrerad ek, perfekt balans, rödfruktig i kombination med mörk choklad, örter, siljig texter. Gommen tapetserad i en lång angenäm eftersmak. Ljuvlig!
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Outstanding bottle (unfortunately the last). White pepper on the nose, very dark hints...like "balsamic-dark" intensity. On the palate - almost tingling on the tongue - it had a lot of Burgundian references. Still some grenache fruit sweetness left, although secondary notes dominating the palate. I cannot recall a better bottle of CdP. Had this together with a 1998 Vieux Telegraphe, which was great as well, although not quite as good as the Pegau. Accompanied woodpigeons very well.
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My previous tasting notes stand, but this bottle was much better prepared with 6hr slow ox, double decant and cool-down. Really opened up in the glass over an evening. Love the savoury meatiness of this wine.
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I enjoy and respect the depth and classic CDP flavors & aromas. I just find the tannins always a bit difficult with this producer. At age 17 this should have a more pliant texture.
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WTDS at The Kenwood With Some Older Gems (The Kenwood, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color with a hint of bricking. Drank 1 glass over 90 minutes. There's the requisite Pegau funk on the nose with garrigue, kirsch, some blue fruit and plenty of spice. The palate has plum, blackberry, funk, oak, spice, alcohol - mild, and lots of anise into the finish. This started a little slow, got a bit of steam, and then seemed to fall off. Not the best bottle, but still good.
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This bottle was tired. Brick red and promising nose of dark berries spice and earth. The fruit is in decline, but nice notes of tobacco and earth still present.
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I continue to be underwhelmed by Pegau's wines. Funky when opened last night, the funk is gone now but the wine is merely very good. Extremely dark with a brick rim. Good legs. Some fairly large unidentifiable elements floating around, a bit disturbing. Garrigue in the nose is well apparent but a tad muted. Subtle. Better in the mouth. Fine flavor showing dusty fruit, mouth filling and fairly rich, dry. Not really fading too badly, it could go for years even though it is already 17 years of age, which is impressive in and of itself. Finishes smooth and graceful. This is good, but not of the quality I was led to expect from the wine pros. 4-11-16-8: 89/100.
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Epic. Long, haunting, red fruit still in play but dominated by blood, game and black truffles. Not for the brett averse or the shy at heart. I think this is arch-typical CdP and exactly what I want in it. I would hit these now as I don't think it can get better or more complex than this.
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This wine keeps singing of the homeland, and if you can't afford or have time for a trip to the Rhone, just open a bottle of this, here is garrigue, locale, sweet grenache, a roundness and fullness that is pure joy. Will keep, surely, 5+ years, but why wait? (with Pacalet at CP)
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Very well stored bottle. Double decanted for half an hour and drunk across 60 mins. Lovely and powerful nose of dark cherry and blackcurrant fruit, with prominent leather and hints of garrigue / herbs. Certainly no brett. Much of the same on the palate although with touches of liquorice emerging over time. Very enjoyable and no issue with another 5 years plus given how the fruit remains at the forefront. Not a wine to intellectualise over, but one to enjoy greatly with food (a porterhouse steak was perfect). ****
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Medium-deep reddish-violet garnet in color with some clearing at the edges. Full, forward, fragrant & attractive nose of complex, developed & mature ripe fruits aromas of dark cherries, boysenberries & plums with lovely floral overtones of roses & lavender, classic garrigue, earthy, anise, dried herb notes of sage & thyme, dusty, tar, some cedar & minerals. Medium-full to full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced, smooth textured, complex, mature & developed, well integrated, ripe brambly fruit flavors of dark cherries, mulberries & plums with spices, herbs, anise, tar, mint, earthy & minerals. Long lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present and is fully matured & at it peak of development, so best to drink it up!
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Hmm, much better than expected. I actually sold off half a case of this because I felt it lacked fruit, but that was 4 years ago. One of my last bottles, this one was fabulous. Not the typical CnDP though, this has a wonderful and utter stupendous nose which leaps from the bottle (!) as soon as you open it. Very dark nose, full of horse sweat, salmiak, figs, leather, balsamic notes. It has an intense attack full of sweetness buried underneath gripping tannins. On the palate it is medium bodied, very refined with an almost burgundian touch to it. Very grippy and the most wonderful sweet/sour sensation which lingers for quite some time. Astonishing wine at its absolute peak for me. If this gets much older it might loose its sweetness and the tannins and acidity might overwhelm the wine. Right now it is one if the best mature CnDP (save for Rayas) I have had, and I have been drinking mature CnDP since vintage 1983. Much better and more persistence on the finish than e.g. Janasse Vielle Vigne 1998 which I had a couple of weeks ago. Paul Ferreau is a genius with Grenache...
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More refined compared to the 2000 Cuvee de Felix, more complex and elegant but equally fully mature (not overmature though). Silky-textured, balanced and long. Excellent.
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Garnet colour and intensely aromatic nose - glass smelled grom one meter away. Not for everyone though! Barnyard, animal, leather and meaty. But it also had fruit, like prune and dried figs, sour cherry. Also sweet spices, old precious wood and coffee. Seems fully mature and is great despite/because of its funkiness. Has nice texture in the palate, full body and tannins are ripe but still evident and chewey. Mouthfeel is round. Exceptional CDP!
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All fun & games right out if the glass with the Grenache singing in the front – and it keeps going; this is Provence in a glass, a wonderful reminder of warmer and sunnier times to come. I will keep, but this is troublefree drinking at the moment, no reason to wait. (Christmas Eve)
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VVW Tasting of 1998 CdP. The nose shows more earthy and leathery than the VT, but there are also lots to black fruit and boysenberry aromas, and maybe some kirsch. Sweet, ripe and very lovely fruit with a good tannic bite at the back end and a long finish. Great complexity around a brambly fruit core. Slightly better than the VT.
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Thanksgiving Wines (Chapel Hill, NC): Right out of the bottle, this had the classic Pegau funk, with notes of barnyard, saddle leather and herbs; the palate had lots of rich red fruits complemented by pepper, meat and cedar. A really classic expression of CDP that I truly enjoyed
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Really enjoyed this. 1hr double decant and cool-down was perfect. Still bret, but very well balanced with the savory meatiness, beef blood, herbs and white pepper. Very fine long finish lingers wonderfully, and there's a sweetness of fruit that perfectly compliments the savory notes. Never tiring or alcoholic. Would have scored higher but finish became drier with 40mins in the glass. Drink in next 3-5yrs.
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Taking my own advice from previous notes and drinking these down rapidly. This time, served it straight out of the wine fridge at 14 degrees C. This bottle was not bad, somewhere between the last two
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Hmm, this bottle wasn't so good. More browning around the edges than I remember, even from bottles opened earlier this year. Had the looks and smells of something from the 1970s. On the nose, soy and mushroom predominate, with much the same on the palate notwithstanding the hints of dried currants. Old, tired and thinning out is how I would sum it up. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to keep these for so long...!
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Decanted 45mins. Initially tonnes of barnyard. After a cool-down some of that dissipated and the density increased. Lots more ripe plum. Very sweet and intense, bordering on raspberry jam. Should age another decade easily, but for now use 60min double decant and cool-down. Enjoyable in the end, but not sure if representative bottle (perfect condition and cork, but that initial barnyard....)
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Decanted for an hour before drink. This wine has such an alluring nose with the classic garrique swirling out of the glass. Very clean bottle. Lovely on the palate with warm roasted notes, long finish. Classic CDP and I should pick up some more of this...
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Another rockin' bottle! Powerful, rustic, savory. Lots of wild berry fruit,garrigue, anise & other herbs. Powerful tannins.The aromatics fill up the glass and then some. Not quite as good as the bottle drunk on 7/6/2013.
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Decanted 45 minutes. This was great. Dark, concentrated fruit with just the right amount of tar, leather, barnyard elements and a long, ripe finish. In a great spot, great with food, and based on my previous notes I think the 45 minutes of air is key. A-/A
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Another lovely bottle, clean and much smoother than a few years ago, but still some tannin present. No real signs of high alcohol typical of the vintage, nor any real signs of brett that some other tasters note. This should continue to hold for another 3-5 years, if not longer.
I hope most tasters are aware that brett can blossom in the bottle when stored at temps above 60 degrees or so, which can explain some of the variable notes on this wine. No question that brett is in the 1998 Pegau (and historically in MANY CdP's) but at cool cellar temps is generally contained pretty well. So the really bretty bottles are partly Pegau's fault, and partly how your bottle was stored over its lifetime.
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Clear amber round the edges, and what was once a dark inky ruby wine 10 years ago is now noticeably lighter, with some clear browning. Definitely some aging going on here... The nose is still lively with strong floral, dried-herb notes, plus some deliciously woody aromas that bring to mind freshly hewn logs. On the palate, a delightfully old patina of old leather, dried berries that almost remind me of aged early 80s Bordeaux. The nice balanced, soft rounded fruit and melted tannins point to a wine of advanced maturity. Drink up drink up is what I say, drink up not tomorrow but today, not for much longer can age be kept at bay, drink up drink I say! [And I've had 5 glasses before writing this note... hic]
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Pop and pour from the cellar. Initially pronounced licorice and doctor’s office, but after a while beef reduction, Provencal herbs and blackberries, some smoke; powerful and warm wine, more licorice and herbs in the mouth. Tannic finish with some complexity. In its drinking window, but will deliver good drinking experience the next 5-8 years.
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WineBerserkers Rhone Tasting; 2/26/2014-2/27/2014 (The Palace, Mission, SF): Color is medium ruby with some age-appropriate bricking; nose with moderate intensity, initially a tad reticent but more intense with swirling and time, very well put together with black fruits, spice, slight peppercorn, smoky meaty aromas, surprisingly elegant nose; palate is light-medium bodied, still has substantial tannins throughout that are just barely approachable, big flavor with juicy blackberry fruit, persistent flavor throughout midpalate, some cherry towards the midpalate, no substantial brett; finish is medium-long and just a bit rustic. A superb CnDP, drinking still quite young with excellent balance. 93-94+ Update: After 2 hours of air, this receded a bit only to re-emerge after another 1-2 hours of air. Then it had a great funky nose, dense, a bit more filled out than it was when it was first opened. Overall drinking really well now and needs more time, 5-10 more years.
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Popped and poured. This is a medium, cherry red wine, with virtually no sediment. On the nose, there is cherry, dust, and some scrubland. In the mouth, this is sweet, smooth, and juicy, with a lingering finish. Overall, this is classic and wonderful CdP that is in a great space now. Drink and enjoy! 93 points.
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This is a huge classic CHndP. Still has smooth solid tannins under dark cherry and berry fruit. It is balanced with a silky mouth feel and a long finish. A classic. Stored at 55 degrees since purchase in 2000.
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4th Saturday Annual Champagne Event (Sue & Mike's): H brought this for dinner and had decanted it ahead of time though I do not know for how long. Garnet color with a lovely bouquet featuring dark fruit and berry with overtones of meat and salami and a wild, feral edge. Red currants and berry for on the palate, with meat and spice notes on the finish.
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Wow! The fuzzy tannins of yore have now been civilized and the mouthfeel is downright silky. Tarry (like an Amador Zin) and mineral-inflected dark cherry fruit with a nicely acidic spine. Unlike some previous encounters, this bottle was not Bretty in the least and bore few signs of the hot year that produced it.
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CdP tasting dinner. This was by far the most advanced and open of the four wines this night. Big, spicy, sweetish, super complex bright open nose - sexy and flashy. A bit hot and especially acidic, on the palate, but I loved the structural acidity that the others didn't display. Pretty bretty bottle, but not too much so for me, and I loved the nuances it brought. Super long, very bright, I love this wine! 94pts, easily.
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Medium red-garnet, bricked edge. Aromatically controversial, with wet dog fur and a fecal element that proved too much for some tasters and others not. I found it interfering with, but not overwhelming, the fruit and spice underneath. On arrival, medium-low tannin and balanced acidity; with two hours air, tannin and acidity grow a couple clicks each. A mouthful of earthy, peppery, leather-y grenache-based wine, with impressively stiff primary fruit. Bottle #2 of two.
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Well, this bottle was very clean, no brett, but also tight as a drum and not giving much. Had the usual Pegau kirsch, garrigue, herbs & berry characteristics and quite tannic. The bottle variation for this wine is amazing. 91+
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Hello Mr. Ed! You need a bath because you stink like a barn. This wine, or at least this bottle was very horsey. There was good quality to the fruit and texture, but the barnyard aromas bordered on the edge of too much.
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Rust and strawberry hue. Nose of pepper, garrigue, blackberry, lavender. Quiet but harmonious on the palate, with earth, briars, sweet grip, peppercorns. Moderate acidity and smoothed tannins. Moderately long finish. Excellent, but (this bottle anyway) on the downward slope.
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This bottle did not show as well as previous bottles, not standing up well to the Telegraphe and Rein de Bois. May have just needed some air, but also not as concentrated and complete as the other wines tonight. Still very good, but not as good as previous bottles. A-
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Unbelievable stuff. Had this next to the 2003. This had the complexity, layering and nuances that only time brings. Couldn't tell much from the color, there was almost no rimming and the differences between '98 and '03, at least in color, were minimal. On the nose it was meaty, spicy, herbal, savory. On the palate, it was lush, expansive, coating and penetrating with loads of dark fruit, not overly ripe either which is strange for the vintage, tobacco, wet leather and garrigue. Mouthwatering, spicy finish of great length.
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A wonderful CdP. Deep, complex, earthy, long pleasant finish... all the right stuff true French CdP lovers will enjoy. Even a touch of umami. Absolutely delicious.
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The initial note of iodine is maybe less than pleasant, but give this wine an hour of air, and it is truly singing; complete neuf with garrigue, loads of sweet fruit, broad shoulders and not a trace of heat. Though it does need some air, i think it is peaking now, and will stay on top for five years or so.
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Casual dinner gathering with Rhone wines (小杬公菜館 Siu Lam Kung Restaurant): Interesting bouquet with red cherry, herbs, mint, soy, wet leaves, a slight floral soap scent. Powerful palate with pepper spice, sweet fruits, damp earth and wet wood. Smooth texture, slightly more acidic than desired but not overly done. Pair nicely with short ribs and pork dishes.
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Keith's 50th Birthday Celebration (Bin 75): Light orange crimson; horsey, radish, red tart fruit; sweet and sweaty, nice Grenache tannin, full and rich; thick burly and syrupy after the Tres Vieilles Vignes (context) but this was classic Pegau and so true to what it is; this bottle still had some youthfulness to it capable of another 8-10 years.
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With 30 minutes of air this showed really well. Dark, concentrated fruit, plenty of earth, leather, funk, and a rich and long finish. Drinking very well right now and should hold if not improve. A-/A?
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Decanted for over an hour. A tiny hint of iodine kept this from high nineties. Dark, rich and earthy, this still seems youthful. Plenty of tannin and acid to go with the dark fruit, meat, blood and mushrooms Mouth-coating finish typical of Pegau.
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Dinner at Rob's. Much more open and complex than the 1999 we had next to this. Great nose of smoked meats, loads of spice and bright strawberries. Extremely open and forward. Nice grippy texture. Great balance and smooth finish.
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Much more complex, concentrated and powerful than the '08 tasted the same evening. Still some of the same aromas of canned bamboo and garrique right from the bottle, but it blows away after an hour and you are left with secondary aromas of sweetness and balance. The years have made this into a gentle and smooth wine. Fantastic! 50+5+13+17+8 (93p)
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This is interesting and quite mature tasting. There was not too much Brett after the initial blow-off. The wine had plenty of secondary and tertiary qualities: old forest and decayed leaves, sweet red fruit, mellow wet cigar leaf, etc. The only problem I had was that the the sweetness and the decadence were nearly overwhelming. I mean, the wine tasted like old wine in a cup with sugar added.
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Very clean bottle. No brett but tons of garrigue and fruit. Big, tannic, spicy wine. Sweet & spicy finish that goes on forever! Good bottles of the '98 can go a long time. This was excellent! Interesting, a bottle from the same lot, drunk in 2/2012, had lots of brett, but not this bottle.
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Herbaceous, vegetal, and animalistic as the fruit has taken a role in the background. Less fruit than previous bottles. Still some nice balance and classic Pegau style.
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Purple with garnet edeges. Feral nose of garrigue, black pepper, tampenade, lilac. Peppery sweet on the palate with layers of strawberry, plum, leather, and garrigue uncoiling beautifully with each sip. Tannins smoothed off with no hard edges, acidity moderate and still playing a role. Waves of grippy strawberry fruit on the finish. Another bottle of this was fizzy and wierd, but this bottle was very much alive. Terrific with lamb provencale.
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No detailed notes. More evolved than a bottle 2 years ago. Good acidity and balance. Typical leather and spices on the nose, medium weight on the palate, somewhat shorter finish than I remember from previous bottles. Tannins completely resolved, drink up.
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Barnyard upon decanting. Acceptable to me, but not Ellen, David, or Jackie. Sweet fruit, moderate tannins, significant residue. I loved it.hyper tasters like Ellen and Jancis Robinson wouldn't.
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Starting to show just a bit of age around the rim. Needs an hour to open up, but then plenty of leather, game and dark fruit. Continues to drink well, but still showing some tannin on the finish. A-
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Very intense and expressive bouquet with ripe dark fruits, garrigue, asphalt, tar and good bell pepper. On the palate a mouth full of beautiful fruits juice (dark forest fruits and cherries) and spice box. Some pleasant sweetness, beautifully balanced by good acidity and soft tannin. Overall an almost explosive wine which is complex, extremely harmonious, soft and round and has a great length. Completely ready now and the next 4+ years, but no reason to wait any longer.
Decanted for 30 minutes before drinking and enjoyed over the course of a 2.5 hour meal. Similar to other bottles I've opened, this one had a great nose of garrigue, earth, blackberry, prune, herbs, and a subtle but prominent touch of barnyard. The palate was a bit hot with dried tannins. Surprisingly light-ish mid-palate and short-ish finish. Interesting and enjoyable but not remarkable.
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I have had disappointing experiences in the past with this wine, but this bottle was okay. I've never enjoyed the nose much as it is a bit sour and lingering too long. After an hour of decanting the wine opened up and became quite pleasant. Heavy fruit on palate and quite pleasant long lasting taste. Have a sense it would have continued to improve with some more time in the decanter, but it was drunk pretty quickly over a meal of stuffed pepper and asparugus.
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Drank with the Adlers during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Harrison, NY. I double decanted before drinking, and then it bounced around in my car for an hour or so. Medium to dark ruby red, very little if any browning at the edges which was surprising given the age of this CdP. Great nose of tar, leather, black pepper and some earthiness. The wine's fruit is still very much present, lots of dark fruit, maybe some sour cherries. Great minerality and earthiness, very smoky, rustic and spicy, with black (or maybe) white pepper. Still some tannins there, but soft and in no way interfering with the elegance of this wine. Very well balanced. This CdP is in a wonderful place right now
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Yes! This is good wine, indeed. Almost Burgundian to the eye, the nose and the palate as well. Mainly mature notes on the nose and palate. Moist leather and tree leaves. Earth, mushrooms, and a bit of fruit too. Medium bodied. Quite good tannins intact and semi-long finish. I really liked it. Only one bottle left......
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Mostly Châteauneuf-du-Pape at Dinosaur BBQ (Dinosaur BBQ NYC.): Nicely meaty with briar berries that show a bit of a roasted edge to them, spice and licorice. Smooth and harmonious and drinking at peak, this bottle shows a bit of a drying note on the finish, which is the first time I've encountered it in this wine. To me it's not as complete as the '00, or as fresh as the '99, but for fruit fun it's just a little more pleasurable than the '99. That said, I have had slightly better bottles than this one. A-.
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Garnet with tawny rim. As with a magnum earlier this year, a strong sense of Mourvedre at first with bark, tar and brown spices. Medium weight, crisp redder fruit and marvelous rising scents of Provence-sage and lavender. While it is tempting to lay out all of the detailed descriptors, the broader picture here was one of incredible clarity and balance-no soupiness, gobs of fruit, or overextraction, just complex, savory Chateauneuf, remarkable for a vintage that was considered ripe at that time. I haven't found these traits in many of the younger vintages recently and really miss this expression of Chateauneuf. Fantastic bottle, completely free of brettanomyces.
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Decanted for Sediment then poured back to slow-o for an hour or so. Served with seared filet mignon au poivre....Really bretty nose at first but it tamed with air to a lovely horse blanket and wet leather nose. Super food friendly wine that complemented the meal. Great example of 1+1=3 where the peppery steak brought out spicy syrah notes and the lavender in the roasted potatoes brought out the floral notes. Plenty of juicy red fruit (still very fresh) to make the wine easy to enjoy and portends plenty of life ahead. Outstanding (90-95)
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Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, fairly clear looking. Nose of ash, white pepper, plums and a hint of barnyard. Flavors of berries, raspberries and a bit of minerals. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium bodied. Drink now.
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Decanted for 4 hours. Fabulous nose of meat, horse sweat, sur maturite notes, leather. Full of tertiary aromas but still fresh. Best showing so far! Medium body, almost elegant with some astringency, still good mature and sweet fruit. Long finish.
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Wow! Meaty, kirsch-redolent fruit with a mineral edge and bracing acidity. Still quite youthful, but mature enough to enjoy and a great treat with lamb.
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Beautiful light transparent color clearly showing some age. Almost Burgundian. The nose was very delicate with tertiary notes. Also some strawberry or cherry freshness combined with a more "dense" animalistic hint in the background. Is it the sweet smell of horse that it resembles most? Outstanding and elegant wine.
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Epic Boys Trip; 6/13/2012-6/17/2012 (Napa and San Francisco): This wine is the same aromatically every time I’ve had it, explodes out of the glass with tons of exotically spiced dark and red fruits… moderate amount of funk… nice background garrigue aromas. On the palate moderate acidity, a moderately lush and inviting midpalate, moderate amount of ripe tannins that are fully integrated, felt about 14.5%. Great balance, fantastic length, great intensity and complexity. Wine has loads of finesse, has a flawless texture, classic expression of place. Consistently the best 98 cdp I’ve had and showing no signs of fading… has been drinking at its peak for several years now. Beat up on the 98 VT, 98 Beaucastel, and 98 Clos Papes side by side tonight.
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I had read somewhere that the 1998 vintage of Chateauneuf du Pape was not aging well. I was skeptical until I opened this wine. The wine was very disappointing with little underlying fruit and little to recommend drinking it. If you have a bottle use it as a decoration. The label is gorgeous!
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Awesome stuff, making an impression with a gorgeous fragrance the second the cork's pulled, with that unique Pegau scent of meatiness, iodine, red fruits and leathery, earthy funk. It's drinking beautifully right now with the fruit still fresh and vibrant, but framed by an array of developed savoury and meaty flavours and the tannins surprisingly gentle. Delicious.
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Light red to red. Wine seemed still to be youngish with decent fruit nots on the nose and in the mouth. It is drinking well and held up over several hours. Tannins are present and firm but starting to soften. I would say this is in a good drinking window but not certain if it has ten years left?
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Strawberry jam, kirsch, earth, Provencal herbs and pepper scents open to a medium/full bodied, round, ripe, sweet, mature Chateauneuf du Pape that is drinking great today. Full bodied, luscious and lusty, there is a lot to like in the wine and the best part is, there is no reason to delay popping a cork as it's drinking great today.
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The nose leapt from the glass showing black pepper up front with ripe black fruits and mixed herbs. On the palate, it was expansive and palate-coating with ripe fruits, pepper and structure showing through. The fruit wrapped around the palate and filled the senses. The finish continued to show its structure, yet it couldn’t stop the palate-soaking fruits from marching on.
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The nose leapt from the glass showing black pepper up front with ripe black fruits and mixed herbs. On the palate, it was expansive and palate-coating with ripe fruits, pepper and structure showing through. The fruit wrapped around the palate and filled the senses. The finish continued to show its structure, yet it couldn’t stop the palate-soaking fruits from marching on.
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Screaming red fruit. Not as animal as I expected. Still very good fruit to balance all of the other non-fruit descriptors. High toned, red, and very mineral driven. Red radish- classic Pegau descriptor. Got it just from the cork. Drank at game dinner, but went before the gamey dishes were served. Still WOTN. Very balanced.
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Drinking beautifully. Rich dark fruit, tobacco, and spice framed by olive-y oak and held in check by still vibrant acidity. If there was any complaint it was that the wood was not fully integrated with the rest of the wine.
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Unlike the last bottle, this one took a while to open up - but was great when it got there. I should have decanted for an hour, as the first 30 minutes it was a little lean on the palate, but then after that it started to open up and show botn the fruit and the secondaries. Nice finish with plenty of structure. This should hold and even improve. A-/A
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Consistently excellent. This had lots of black and red fruits, as well as plenty of secondary aromas and flavors of tar, garrigue, leather, and roasted meats. Very enjoyable.
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Advanced color. Had an oxidized element at first in the nose that largely blew off fairly quickly. After that, true garrigue, ripe olives and Provençal herbs. Nicely perfumed. Sweet, ripe fruit initially, but quickly showed an off-putting dried fruit component that really hurt the wine's appeal. Weird, weird finish. Not good. 4-11-8-6: 79/100.
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I don't mind a little brett/horsey notes in my CdP and I almost expect it with Pegau, though I've had plenty of bottles that were clean & without a trace of brett. I think a little bit adds a certain character to the wine. This bottle had just a little too much though, which is a shame because this was such a great wine, a little less horse would have me give it like 98 points or so. This wine was rich, savory and powerful, but the horsey brett was there right away and took over some of the other aspects of the wine--the deep, sappy red fruit and beautiful acidity, herbs and garrigue, good length and lively, tangy finish. Maturity is definitely showing with this bottle. Despite the brett, both my wife & I loved and enjoyed the bottle. Always fun to drink Pegau!
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Magnum. Medium center, slight lightening and browning. After the slightest bit of funk, a marvelously complex array of subtle toffee, red fruit, anise and graphite. You feel the structure of the Mourvedre in the blend. Perfect weight (middleweight, that is) and silky texture with solid acidity but tannins that have melted away. A sense of ripeness without untoward sweetness. Unbelievably complex, fantastic bottle that should last for a while in this format. A great '98 and a great Pegau.
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Quick TN: Taken to a restaurant and decanted for an hour. Initially the nose was leather and savory herbs but over time was taken over by the smell of vinyl. On the palate, darker red fruits and tobacco at first and then later the acidity came more to the fore and the wine took on a medicinal quality, but not in an overpowering way. Some earthiness was also present. A nice match for both the ossu bucco with safron rissoto and cassoulet.
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Had side-by-side with the '03 and this clearly had more depth and complexity. Was also more full-bodied. I think this will still be drinking well when the '03 is well past its prime. This is the kind of wine that makes you pause after a sip and think about it. A very good thing.
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The bouquet is gorgeous and so very C9duP with beautiful garrigue, red fruits and medicine in a positive sense. Enormously juicy fruits on the palate with good spiciness, some pleasant sweetness and a touch of chocolate. Beautiful and round tannin. A mouth full of complex and extraordinary wine. The finish was extremely long. You could still taste the wine minutes later. Impressive!
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Superb. 90 minute decant. Plummy, Provencal herbs and garrigue nose - restrained at first. Then strutting its stuff with great class and style. Tannins fully resolved, yet the wine's still crystaline and vibrant. Plums, kirsch, leather, sandalwood type spices, excellent precise integrated structure, and a long etheric finish. With Mario Batalli's Sicilian green olive, prune and scalliion roast leg of lamb, which was a phenomenal match. This bottle would last 10 more years, but would be slowly fading IMHO, and is at a perfect peak and pitch right now with the right decant.
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Thanksgiving dinner (Eric's home): powerful structure, but somewhat restrained on the nose with only hints of leather, spice and strangely a touch of mint. is it shut down?
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Showing some age with some light rust at the rim. Still has legs though. Well-developed nose screams C-d-P. Very deep, lots of garrigue. Lovely sweet aroma. Hauntingly good. Palate also very fine. This is one of the better '98 Chateauneufs. Long, rich finish. 4-13-17-8: 92/100
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This is just getting better and better. 3d bottle over past 3 years. Pure, still intense kirsch but gaining more and more leather, mushrooms, earth and game. Classic ChNdP at its best. Vibrant. Still lots of life left.
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I presented this blind to our Wednesday liver tolerance testing group. Unmistakable CdP nose with just enough barnyard to give it character. Kirsch, a hint of leather and spice on the palate. Most guesses put it as a 2004. This is still very young and vibrant tasting. Wonderful finish.
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Still a bit tannic and initially strong barnyard notes that blew over after about an hour. But terrific aromas of cedar, leather, and earth, along with subtle blackberry notes. I'm going to wait a few more years to open my other bottles of this vintage.
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The wine opens with sweet kirsch, cherry, pepper, underbrush and black raspberry jam. This fresh, full bodied Chateauneuf seems to have matured quickly for Pegau. The wine finishes with a soft, jammy, pepper and cherry filled finish.
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Garnet colored. Initially mostly ripe dark fruit but after a couple of hours of decanting, also game, tobacco, leather and earth. Still quite tannic but not harsh. The impression on the palate is very ripe but not hot. Very Chateauneuf, very good.
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Horizontale 1998 Couleur sombre, un joli nez de confitures de fraises, un brin animal, plusieurs évoquaient les bretts (je ne partage pas). La bouche est glycérinée, riche, épicée, dans un style très traditionnel. Très beau vin authentique, ample et charnu, savoureux. Je l’ai rapidement reconnu comme Pegau. 93 pts
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It’s like fire wood drying out on the side of your house during the summer. As you approach, you can feel the heat of the sun radiating off them, and that warm, dried wood smell fills your lungs. It’s not overpowering in any way and it’s oddly comforting. If you close your eyes as you’re drinking it, you can imagine it’s 90 degrees and you’re in an oak grove, with crunchy dried leaves beneath your feet and the smell of dried earth all around you. The ’98 vintage is one of those rare beauties that puts the rest to shame… none of the brininess a lot of Chateauneaufs get as they age. The Pagau is clean. That first mouthful is full of tart, ripe fruit… like a mouthful of blueberries that still burst in your mouth or dried cranberries and . Beautiful acidity. It still has a lot of tannin and could age for at least 10 more years, but I think it is at the height of flavor and intensity… just enough age to soften out some of the harsh angles and give it the comforting warmth, yet still bright and young and full of life. While it would pare well with meats (pork tenderloin with a dried cherry and apple chutney, maybe?) I wouldn’t want to. It’s so fabulous on it’s own. No need to bring anything else to the table.
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Maybe a touch of TCA, definitely some VA. Musty with particularly vile finish, stripped of fruit. We couldn't talk ourselves into trying any more than the first few sips.
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Nice nose of dark fruit and earth but the wine was a bit thin with the alcohol prevalent and the wine lacking a bit of structure. Overall a disappointment.
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Damn... the last bottle of my Pegau 1998s and it was badly corked :( previous bottles have all been spectacular, but this one was completely undrinkable
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From memory with dinner a few nights ago. This was the first bottle of the case, and was great with about a 30 minute decant and out of poor glassware. Still plenty of life left to it, with dark, ripe fruit, plenty of game and spice. Really enjoyed it and felt it was better than recent RP rating. Looking forward to next bottle with proper glassware. A
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Still deep and primary looking. Licorice, black fruit, a deft touch of brett and tobacco-very old fashioned Chateauneuf profile. Medium weight, quite tannic and crisply acidic for a '98. Red fruit comes forth, but not in an overly sweet manner. Even if it is a bit young, this is pretty much a flawless expression of ripe vintage Chateauneuf. Savory, full of flavor, and not at all too heavy.
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This is a very special wine. Still bright ruby in color, it is drinking brilliantly but still very youthful. Sweet cherry,pine,cedar flavors, with horsey funk that bothered some in our group even though it was the overwhelming wotn. Loved this.
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Garnet colour and intensely aromatic nose - glass smelled grom one meter away. Not for everyone though! Barnyard, animal, leather and meaty. But it also had fruit, like prune and dried figs, sour cherry. Also sweet spices, old precious wood and coffee. The evolution of the wine is perfect, despite the funkiness the wine is 100% acceptable. Has nice texture in the palate, full body and tannins are ripe but still evident and chewey. Mouthfeel is round. Exceptional CDP ready to drink and at its best, can keep but won't get better than this.
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Pegeau in a classic mature vintage is pretty hard to beat. A little restrained when popped, but after an hour in the decanter a wonderful bouquet of leather, spice (classic garrique) and dark fruit (black berry and plum). Full-bodied yet elegant. Fantastic wine with many years potential ahead of it.
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Nice deep red color. Lots of sediment in the bottle. Initial funk and mustiness blew off after ~30 mins of decanting, to reveal a haunting nose of lavender, baking spices, garrigue, leather and candied cherries. The palate is big, broad, very full-bodied, with nice kirsch liquer, herbs, pepper with a beautiful and persistent lavender perfume. Got better and better in the glass. Superb!
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Monthly Tasting Group LTB 2010-10; Châteauneuf-du-Pape (By VD): Beautiful C9duP! Still a very fresh and youthful bouquet with a lot of herbs and spices and a bit perfume. Firm amount of sweetness balanced by good acidity, firm tannin and bitterness. Still youthful. Great and complex wine with at least 5 beautiful years ahead.
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Harry Karris and co at Againn (Againn, Washington DC): This wine tasted 2 years ago smoked this particular bottle which was a bit off balance and not quite integrated. It showed primary but still classic Pegau with the trademark blood, iron, saddle and grenache pitch. If this bottle is indicative, it tells one to hold. Beware of some heat on the finish though.
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Chateauneuf-du-Pape Dinner with Harry Karis (Againn, Washington DC): I enjoyed the nose on this wine, with the classic Pegau funkiness - olives, blood, iodine, and provencal herbs. The palate never really opened up for me here. I found the wine very young and a bit shut down. At times, I could tell the classic Pegau character was poking it's head around the marble column...but unfortunately, it never revealed itself completely. The back end of this wine is so firm and masculine that a couple of us thought this was a couple years away from really showing its potential. Give this a SERIOUS decant if you're planning on opening one in the near term.
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Opened for three hours before consumption. Drank after the '97 Bonneau Marie Beurrier and the '98 Rayas. Darker in color, smells more gamey and wild. Big and powerful where the two previous wines were more elegant. Bigger garrigue, earth leather, sous bois, minerals, etc. Wow!
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Stand-out bottle at wine group dinner at Bistro Bisou. Double-decanted 3 hrs earlier. Wonderfrul leathery scents in the nose. Powerful, rich, long aftertaste. A big hit at the table
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CH9 1998 Horisontal (MG work): Synthetic nose with a little sewer and it seems a bit closed but are showing a little cherry fruit. The palate is powerful and filled with intense cherry flavors. A very good balance but a very powerful style. Plenty of black pepper. Lovely freshness and starting to show secondary notes. Great wine!!
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This is some lovely Jesus Juice. Super inky, leathery and wild on the palate. Shoulders like Brock Lesnar with a waist and tits like Scarlet Johannsen. Fantastic tannins mellowed to reveal a very well integrated and seamless silky fruit profile. The finish was a mile long, gamey, rare braised beef and lots of herbs de Provence. This wine has at least 5-7 years to hit it's peak. Tannins might outlast the fruit. Amazing wine now. Enjoyed with a spicy rare hangar steak.
Nez un peu animal, viande, poivre. Belle gourmandise en bouche, d'une vivacité étonnante, jeune, ample et épicée, un brin rustique. Un vin encore jeune par son fruit mais abouti dans sa structure. Très beau et jeune vin....de Provence!
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A perfect Pegau - leather, meat, a bit of tar and wood, but these odours were well integrated and not overpowering (as a couple of years ago). Did not decant, but opened 30-45 minutes, and let settle in the glass. Rich cherry, blackberry and few residual tannins. Will probably last a while, but is extremely good now.
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A couple of cases on a Saturday afternoon: I seem to be drinking a lot of Pegau lately. This was mature and for some, past prime. I don't think so, but it depends on how you like 'em. Great nose of barnyard (Trent said sheep barnyard), wet earth and raspberries. Complex and mature. This has layers of cherries, raspberries and earthy barnyard. Long finish. Certainly, at this point, you need to pay attention to these. Personal tastes matter as this is twelve years from vintage and definitely in a mature stage.
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Starts out with a overly kirschy profile, but everything seems to become more balanced with 45 minutes of air. Medium bodied. The nose was somewhat simple and thus disappointing...not bad, it is just that my expectations were a bit higher given the buzz surrounding this wine.
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Drank over 2 days, and was more open and enjoyable the second day. Ripe dark fruits with herbs. A touch dry and restrained. I don't feel this will improve.
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at its peak. while it is no danger of declining, i doubt it will get better. typical [in a good year] pegau roasted fruit. a wine even an inexperienced rookie would enjoy. Three bottles consumed in a week with consistent notes.
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A great bottle with wonderful depth and complexity. Decanted it for 4 hours and went well with our meal, but, the only reason we didn't rate it higher was a continued aroma of a nasty bardyardy nature and an initial similar taste that was very unusual. We will see if our other bottles have this flaw.
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Cherry girotte, wild strawberry jam, fresh market herbs, underbrush, fennel and cracked black pepper start off the perfume. Full bodied, and filled with ripe, spicy, black cherry preserves, this sauvage style of Chateauneuf drinks well today and might improve a bit, but it's so much funto taste now, why wait?
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Earthy, horsey, jammy, plummy. Very nice - my bottle was just a little heat damaged though, so has hit its peak - but I am definitely pro-brettt, at least in moderation.
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Needs more time to evolve and open up. Has so much potential still. A powerful pegau. Drank next to the flamboyantly open 99 (first release), which really highlighted the structure and power of the 98 in comparison.
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Some definite funk (brett?) when first opened, that mostly blew off over several hours, but was still always in the background, but not overpowering. Beautiful core of red fruit, spice and meat. Well balanced wine. Still a bit tannic. My first Pegau. Need to acquire more!
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I surely do love this wine. Big, bretty, beasty, licorice, pepper and spice. Definitely on the very ripe end of the spectrum, some soy notes, raspberry jam, but so much in the way of pepper, spice and herbal notes that it has more than enough intrigue to carry the day. Just fantastic IF you can handle the brett.
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Stinky, funky banyardy nose with roasted meat and herbs, underlying blackberry acid in the core complex with dried fig paste and hint of American bubble gum. Palate is young and didn't show much yet. Very sweet and juicy long finish. Need times. Er.... this is not old enough to fit the theme! haha... Buy - No.
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Simple Series IV: Dave's Birthday (Victoria Peak, Orchard Central): Very good. A very different animal from the 1995 Chapoutier Barbe Rac - the feminine yin to the Chappoutier's masculine yang. Nose had some funky animale tones and meaty notes, but was also marked by sweet dark cherries and a touch of flowers. Palate had typical Pegau purity in its sweet cherry expression, rather ripe and sappy, along with some incense and garrigue, a layer of earth and a veil of powdery tannins. Finish was longish and very well structured, with fine tannins providing quite a grip and lots of smoky spice and mineral at the back-end. Still very young, but very good. Another 5 years on this would be adivsed as well.
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Very nice bottle of wine but I don't really get the "wow" factor that most have with this. Maybe there is a lot of bottle variation?...
Anyway, warm brick color in the glass, nose of bright red cherries and strawberries with a hint of tar and leather. In the mouth still pretty tannic with a wonderful stony/mineral finish which I thought was the best thing about this wine. I'm sure my other '98 could go for another ten years so I'll let it sit. Aaaand... if any of the uber fans of this wine want to trade me for a killer bottle of Barolo or Burgundy, I'm game!
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This was one of the better bottles I have had this year. Soaring nose of funky violets, dried roses, cranberry, condocrd grape underbrush and black pepper on the nose. Every time I stuck my nose in the glass it seemed a different aroma was dominant. Black tea, licorice, underbrush and black fruit on the palate - lots of black cherry and blackberry fruit. Enough tannins to give a nice structure to the wine, but tannins really pretty fully resolved. As good with food as it was on its own and still evolving as we drank the last of it. Outstanding!
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DoktaP Makes a House Call (La La vs. SQN) (Nonna Maria's - North Palm Beach, FL): Has the earth and slight barnyard I expect with Pegau, but not in an overbearing way. Medium body and acidity, that starts with mostly red fruit (strawberry, cherry) and finishes with some darker ones (currant). The tannins are mostly resolved, but some additional aging will likely improve this a bit, though I find it drinking well right now. As it got more air, it had a somewhat sweetish edge come out.
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Nice, clean, grenache-y nose. Pepper, almost a little tar and roses. More tar than roses. Still has a fairly firm, tannic grip on the palate, drinkable now if you must, but well stored, it is years from peaking.
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Now we are talking. A traditional CdP with oodles of personality. Saddle leather, barnyard, smoked meat, red fruit and herbs filled the fantastic nose. Excellent raspberry juice on the medium palate, with pepper and blood hints. At a remarkable stage.
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Decanted one hour. Deep, almost opaque blood red. Brooding nose of roasted meat, red clay, herbs, tobacco, and non-descript ripe fuit. Soft and full on the palate with no obvious tannins and good acidity. Tremendous finish of cocoa and coffee. A magnificent accompaniment to coq au vin.
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Dark garnet color; A very clean (no/low brett) bottle. Vibrant fruit and black pepper. With strongly flavored food it was very good. It's unfortunate that Pegau has such bottle variation with brett and TCA. Rhone roulette.
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This was my first Pegau and it was definitely a wow experience. Medium garnet color with very sligh bricking at the rim. The nose has some animal qualities at first that blew off to reveal, red fruit, smoky meat, and herbs. There is denfinely ferrous blood thing on the palate with some tannins still left unintegrated. This seemed to add weight as it sat and a wonderful finish. This really came across as a tradtional CDP with modern sensabilities.
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Garnet colored with nose of cherries and spice. Way better than the last bottle; even has some residual dusty tannins. Still has some decent fruit and a low barnyard factor, but drink up.
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Barnyard funk and musilage glue on the nose that never blew off. Marked acidity on the palate, and while well integrated, the funkiness remained off-putting until the last drop. Heavy on the bret; will open the last one I have to make sure. Amazingly got an email from a friend the same day to whom I'd gifted a bottle, and he was all praise. Bottle variation? Anyway, this was underwhelming, and unfortunately brought to a friend's for dinner.
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Not an ideal bottle. I think it saw some heat. Somewhat muddled, hinting at what 1998 Pegau can be but never really strutting. Probably 88-89 point juice but a mere shadow of its normal glory.
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Wow. Took a couple of hours to show it's best. Garnet color with very slight bricking. The nose is loaded with fig, plum, and gamey aromas, while the silky textured palate is filled with blackberry, fig, tobacco and garrigue. The finish won't quit. Just so delicious. If you have a few bottles, definitely give one a try.
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Clear and bright red colour with almost no signs of aging on the brim. Very clean nose composed of cherries, meat stew, faint herbs and smoked meat. Attack is quite light and not very sweet. On the palate it seems light but well balanced. It is a few years since I last had the 98 but I don't recall it being this lightweight. Hopefully it is my memory and not the wine which has lost its presence. This should by every token be a great wine, and it surely will have many years to go, but I have never seen an old wine take on weight again (at least not s simple Grenach...). I hope though since I have 8 bottles left...
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red color. wonderful nose. tannins integrated and soft. overall mouth feel was soft and round. developing secondary notes but fruit still present. not as concentrated as I would have expected from this vintage. finish was better than the mid-palate. curious if this bottle is reflective or not.
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this was good with the Turkey smokey / burnt wood / ground and all .....the real treat was the next night the last 1.5 glasses was so much better , smoother slightly more stewed fruit 93 type rating
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pretty much a pop and pour. Tasted at the tail end of a braised short ribs meal. Clearly open and expressive on the nose with lovely high toned herb, spice, and meaty notes- touch of iodine and blood. Still a bit closed on the palate, but clearly wants to come out- some red fruit, touch of licorice, and lots of pepper on the finish. really pleasant and interesting wine.
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Off bottle? I've got bottles from two sources, and the wines from one are consistently showing as spectacular, while hte wines from the other are simply "good" CdP. this was the latter and disappointing...
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Paul K in SF (San Francisco): Leonard bourhg this, it had been opened an hour or so before. I had a great nose of rasspberries, black cherries, spice and just the slightest hint of sweat. This really showed elegance and a feminine nature to it. Nicely complex and by no means fully resolved, it gained in complexity all night long while never losing its deft touch. This wine continues to improve and evolve and while drinking great now, I am sure holds much more in store. 04
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Pure grenache nose of strawberries. Initially the palate was out of balance with the wood a bit too prominent. Over time became better integrated. By the end of dinner had evolved into a delicate, well-balanced wine. Slightly bretty, which I find pleasurable.
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This rocks. Big, burly, brambly, iodine, band-aid, Provencale herbs, meaty, spicy, intense. Pure pleasure in a glass. So spicy and herbal and vibrant. Absolutely wonderful.
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Performed even better than I had hoped. Over the course of a 2 hour dinner (at Midred's Temple Kitchen thanks to BYO), the nose soared of everything that is great about CNdP. Provençal herbs & spices, bright red fruits and just a hint of earth and gaminess placed this firmly in CNdP. Initially, on the palate, the wine seemed younger than it should have been with grenache fruit as the dominant fixture. Over time, it continued to put on weight with darker fruits and spices joining the mix.
One of my favourite measures of a great wine is that once again, the last sip was by far the best. By that test, this was a truly outstanding wine that still has several years of improvement ahead of it.
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Cindy's 30th Birthday Party (Chicago IL): Red plum/berry with some cranberry. Powerful notes of grilled game sausages and some earthy underbrush. Sweet cherry and berry on the palate, but I felt the mineral notes were overpowering the fruit a bit. Good acidity on the finish, but again I feel there was a bit too much minerality showing. A good wine, but not a good as I was expecting. The 2000 served alongside blew it away.
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I've had the pleasure of tasting this wine many times from 750 and last night got to taste from a 6L... reddish rim showing low extraction and light to medium color intensity. On the nose very expressive with a slight whiff of Brett that is overwhelmed by lovely red fruits, none of which are sour, and tons of dried herbs...no obvious new oak influence. On the palate high acidity, a very round, moderate + wide midpalate that seamlessly transitions into a very long and elegant, tapered finish with moderate at best tannins that are perfectly integrated... moderate alcohol that fits the palate structure superbly. Great balance, length (60+ seconds), intensity, and complexity... finesse to spare, an absolutely brilliant texture and pure expression of place... An aromatically "excellent" wine that on the palate is nothing short of "extraordinary." All of the 750s of this wine I have had would have to be considered "excellent" to "outstanding" wines... I thought the wine is such a large format would be less evolved and tight, however it was simply more "pure" at its core and just as expressive/balanced/seamless. An unquestionably great Pegau that manages to be blockbuster and texturally super fine and elegant at the same time. Large formats really do amazing things for great wines...
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Fairly dark purple. Nose of garrigue, white pepper, red fruits, earth. Plump and bretty on the palate with strawberry, pepper, leather, and spicey notes. Long, flavorful finish. Early in its drinking window but quite a nice drink if decanted.
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Dark cranberry with a garnet edge...showing some red berry tartness and a smokey edge with some meaty notes underneath that faded with time. A lot of substance on a firm palate that even with time had a sense of being disjointed...almost monolithic.
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Popped and poured and consumed over 3 hours. Mature burgundy color that faded slightly at the rim. The nose, which evolved stunningly over the evening, was a melange of barnyard, Provencal herbs, dried fruit, cured meat, autumn leaves, and cocoa. Very fruity and rich on the palate, more like good Pomerol than a CdP, with perfect acidity and tannic bite to balance the fruit. Very long, slightly tanninc, fruity finish. I wrote 'stunningly elegant' at one point in my notes. I can't remember the last time I had a CdP good.
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From winebid. Perfect cork. Popper and poured and consumed over 2-3hrs. Very expressive clean nose of cherries and plums, without any bret or barnyard. Also showing some garrigue, tons of herbal spices, and a touch of that wet earth character on a summer day after rain. Palate is quite acidic, with little tannin and a flash of heat that quickly dissipates. Plenty of cherries with dark fruit and dried fruit highlights, but the spices is what shines in this wine; tons of thyme and Asian spices and a little sandalwood. Finish is quite long, 60+ seconds, showing off spices, herbs, a little leather and a definite wet rock minerality. Fantastic CdP that is open for business now, but seems to have plenty of acidity to last several more years.
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1998 CdP tasting at Il Corso, NY. Ferociously tannic and closed down right now. But to me a better wine than the Laurence. This is a big scaled wine in the typical Pegau style - lots of garrigue, provencal herbs, red meat, beef blood. Dark red cherry fruit. By no means over the top, everything is well contained. Needs time to come around and integrate. Solid.
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Opened and poured about an hour before serving. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose was slightly off but did have some muted aromas of black berries. Tasted anyway and once again muted flavors of black berries. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Drink or hold, presuming you have a good bottle. Not rated for obvious reasons.
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Seems to be in a dumb period, having shed most of its fruit and not quite developed secondary flavors. ...it was still awesome....but put it away for a few more years and you will be rewarded. Nose of cedar, sandalwood, leather and spice. Dry and a little hot on the palate. It took about three hours for the fruit to arrive, but you could tell it was really trying to come out. Really good stuff. Wish I had another.
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Light, almost mature Pinot color with light, tawny edges. This did deepen a bit. Just dreadful nose of pure, stinky brett for the first hour and a half which pushed me right to the brink of dumping this down the drain. The wine struggled mightily to show some dark cherry and menthol, but it could not overcome the brett, which gave a tarry, muddy, drying finish and stripped away the fruit. I am not in the "any brett is bad" camp (see my last note on this wine), but this exceeded my tolerance by a mile. Modern, squeaky clean style? Um, not exactly.
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Pegau Reserve Vertical Tasting: Medium red core color with a maturing hue. Juicy fruit on the nose, boiled sweets, raspberry and dried fruit like raisin and prune. Similar fruit on the taste with strawberry and raspberry first, before the midpalate kicks in with more rustic notes of herbs, tobacco, dirt and barnyard. Absurdly long taste with great intensity and balance, really beautiful.
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Opened and decanted in for 1.5 hours - the wine initially showed a very complex aromatic profile of dark red berries, grilled meats, herbs and worn leather. The barnyard component of the wine is there, but is mild and compliments the other flavors nicely and is unobtrusive. The flavors are all together nice and juicy, but the finish is a little short and displays more mature, woodsy notes, drying out a bit at the end. I think this particular bottle is on a faster aging curve than some of these other TNs here.
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French Bakery 2nd Chateauneuf de Papes BYO Dinner (The French Bakery, 1023 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor Islands, FL): Mark's wine(Me). Received 7 of 9 1sts, average 91.8. David E - 92 High"ROH"(Bronx Science- e.g. alcohol), great finish; Richard G-94 luscious, some brett(Later commented WOTN); Deidre-95 luscious, ripe; Charlie-93 ripe,delicious, long fine tannins; Ellen-92 ELEGANT;Mark(me)-92 fine,meaty, classic CdP; Jerry-92 spice&pepper nose, black cherry cola, slight medicinal finish. Bob said it showed better than his did at Pacific Time last Friday. I had decanted given it about 2+ hours of air in the am. Surpisingly, when it was first poured the initial funk was back. Also, I think it didn't show as well Friday, because it was poured against the 03, a decidely richer wine. In the morning it seemed to me to reflect forest floor pine needles, beef, and garrique.
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A Last Minute Bash for 8 (Pacific Time, 40 th St(Design District), Miami): The 98 & 03 Reservee's folllowed the 01 Ca' Macarana Promis, and the 03 Ernie Els. This was Bob's wine which he had decanted at home, for how long, I don't know. This preceded the 03, and then I tasted them both side by side. The 98 is leaner, drier, and more austere, perhaps w more structure, and may outlive the glorious 03. It was very good, but last night it fell behind its younger sibling, and the 03 Ernie Els. It will be interesting to see how it compares with my bottle at Wednesday's French Bakery, Bay Harbor Islands, BYO CdP dinner. ps There are a few spots available for any CTer interested.(Wines to include the rare 90 Henri Bonneaux Special, and the 98 Pegau Laurence).
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What a difference 18 months have made. Now medium ruby with some browning. Not perfectly clear (probably imperfectly decanted). Oh my, an immediately engaging nose that really draws you in with a whiff of funk rapidly giving way to plum and strawberry fruit and toffee. This then shows some lavender and secondary perfume that were not present in the last bottle. Clean and round in the mouth with perfect weight and ripeness of fruit without the excesses of the vintage. Tannins have faded, but a late note of tarry licorice provides an anchor. Outstanding and has the material and balance to hang on and become even more complex.
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The aroma is typical for a CDP, like a barnyard, but more subtle. It is a massive wine that is good by itself or with heavy meat, as I had it with barbequed ribs. Dark berries, herbs and pepper. Will no doubt even improve.
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Rhones at Catal (Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar, Anaheim, CA): Initially tight showing a note of brett and a bit of heat the nose opens with funky rustic complexity and integrated spices. Very nice balance on the palate with nice acidity and light feel along with a still strong tannic grip. Easily the WOTF for me and candidate for WOTN. A Pegau that performs to its rep. Excellent.
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Explosive nose of ripe fruits. Dark blueberries dipped in chocolate on the attack. Great acidity and well integrated tannins that are still pretty big. I would have guessed much younger. Delicious
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At its apogee and truly outstanding. Loads of red fruit and with enormous secondaries of blood & iron with black truffles and a long balanced finish. Awesome.
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Mmm, thick, sweet, herbal and meaty. This wine may as well be a food group. It is so thick you could cut it with a fork and knife. A fantastic and explosive nose of dried herbs quickly gives way to a ripe, thick and powerful palate. It clearly wants more time to shed some weight and get a bit more secondary, but wow is this hedonistic at this stage.
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This wine is really in it's stride now. The nose screams Chateauneuf, with aromas of dark red berries, leather, garrigue, licorice, and just a hint of the horse stables. The wine is much more open than the last time I drank it, two years ago. Kirsch, spicy dark red fruits, marzipan, and pepper on the palate. Brawny, evoking a wildness to it. Long, mouthwatering and spicy finish. The fruit really started to come out with the last glass, so I wish I had decanted it. This should last for a long time and possibly even improve.
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Very strong tannins, with a slightly grainy feel. A hint of brett and some woody herbs and cherry. The tannins a little unbalanced, should have decanted maybe.
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Sensational, with rich, ripe fruit, silky tannin, a huge, juicy finish and terrific complexity. No brett. In addition to the impressiveness of the wine, there is nothing here that detracts from its immense drinkability (i.e. the palate doesn't fatigue with continued consumption, it's not heavy, etc.).
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Pegau Vertical (Morton's Steakhouse, Washington DC): My WOTN and perhaps the consensus for the group. A heavy nose of feral barnyard coupled with deep aromas of cassis, garrigue and kirsch liqeur. The palate was the most polished of the night (with 04 nipping at its heels). Simply brilliant, round kirsch liqueur with a seamless and long finish. I couldn’t help but hold onto as much of it as I could throughout the night. Fantastic stuff.
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Chateuaneuf in ATL 9/28/08: Nose has some brett, but just enough if you dig it. I did. Palate is precise. Mouth coating cherry fruit, some meaty essence and youthful, expansive acidty. Long, peppered finish.Really quite nice. I wrote young-ish. Top 3 of the night for me.
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Decanted for about an hour. Slightly bretty with dark fruit and leather/horse saddle on the nose and palate. Corked and refrigerated 1/2 of bottle. On day 2 the brettiness was gone. Drinking beautifully. Incredible balance and depth of fruit.
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Dense nose with dried thyme, liquorice (sweet Pontefract cakes) and the smell of 200 year old books when opened, quite lingering and with plenty of garrigue. This is just passing out of a youthful phase into early maturity. Still a little young, peppery fruit but plenty of game, herbs and liquorice in the flavour too - big and powerful with a black fruit profile here rather than red fruits. Deep and lingering and still with many years aheard of it. Old-style power and extract rather than elegance and still a fair bit of tannin. Drink or hold - this should still get better over the next decade.
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Dinner at Dino's with the DC/Balt Crowd (Dinos): YUM. Iron and cassis, rush of acidity, rustic and chewy and at the same time full of vigor, still on the young side but sooo good. my red WOTN.
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Well, the 1998 Pegau Cuvée Laurence may have been shown up last time, but this time the 1998 Pegau Cuvée Reservée held its own, especially if you take into account its younger age. This was the best 1998 Pegau I have had, and the wine really seems to be hitting its stride now—I can only shake my head with regret over the previous bottles I drank too early. One whiff of the wine and I cracked a smile as a profusion of red currant berry, garrigue, and licorice cascaded out of the glass. On the complex palate it presents an interesting contrast with the Beaucastel, with the higher proportion of Grenache providing licorice notes in place of cherry. The flavors were classic Chateauneuf, but the wine is beginning to take on an almost Burgundian character in the way that multiple themes seem to set up and play out on the palate. Wow, two great wines in one night…
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This was smoking! Better than the last bottle at a CC tasting (I think Mike or Mark brought that bottle). Beautiful, deep color. Loads of herbs (lavender, thyme) on the nose. Palate was complete, with everything in balance; supple, with tannins initially evident but then integrating with the other components. But frankly it was hard to keep my nose out of the glass. Flat out terrific wine. Lovely with the grilled porterhouse!
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Saturday Group Kicks Off with Haut Brion: Stewed fruit -- prunes on the nose, actually. There's a good bit of funk and that distinctive and slightly reduced 'Pegau' signature. With air, a slight floral note appears. Modest finish. Served blind (and identified to be Pegau -- but guessed to be the 1999 initially) this bottle reinforced my already strong opinion that this wine isn't what it once was. As I have a good bit of this, I'm hopeful that this is simply in an odd place right now. Craig and I discussed this very topic with Dan Kravitz (Pegau Importer) during his visit to St. Louis and he suggested it needed more time. I'm not so sure, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
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Limpid ruby; initially wet dishcloth and rhubarb crumble on the nose, develops a bit more sherbetty red fruit; full glycerine body (smooth, slightly viscous); decent medium length finish but fruit somewhat pinched in the end. Balance v good. I think this is just a stinky bottle rather as the fruit intensity doesn't compare to the others (87). On the 2nd night the fruit showed much more and the dirty smells much less so - fruit also less pinched on the finish.
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Fair amount of stable aromas on the nose; also kirsch, sweet red fruit, white pepper and leather. The palate is dominated by sweet grenache fruit, lots of kirsch, pepper, red berries; tannins almost but not completely resolved. Nearing its peak, I like it as it is, why wait and risk loosing (some of) the beautiful fruit?
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So, the last time I had this wine, it was after some '99 Burgundy. Was looking for another bottle to open and I hit this. To me, at the time, it smelled and tasted like it had been used, before bottling, to give an enema to a donkey. Really barnyard/horsey smell and taste. This time, it was the first bottle opened. I guess you can't drink this stuff after Burgundy! Now much better. Still bretty, but nowhere near what I perceived, last time. Still tannin to resolve, but a classic CDP, though on the horsey side...
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Wines of 1998 - Naked Offline "B-Team" (Alex's Office): Medium ruby; light style but with high toned red fruits; fuller glycerine body, good acidity and length; still no distinctive personality from the 98 to my palate.
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Sweet is the dominant perception here. Really sweet like a BBQ sauce layered with lovely funky earth, spicey kick and fleshy notes. Some tannins kicking around, but really a non-pla yer in the face of concentrated fruit, heading into kirsch territory. Normally I'd give this wine a pasting, but I wanted something brassy and outre both to go with Waygu burgers and with a strenuous day.
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Light burgundy red. Nose of very barnyard, earth and flower. Palate is wow...nice balance with plenty of fruits with melting tannin, follow by a nice moderate finish.
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Super-high tone with VA, cider-like notes. Port like on the nose- ripe fruit, prune and fumy. Porty in the mouth, very ripe, with cooked fruit. Huge and ripe with raisin flavors. Some sweet n' sour character with the VA. Very big wine with kirsch and sweet fruit flavors. Mouth better mouth than nose.
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Grand vin, trame tannique encore imposante malgré le fruit gourmand. Nécessite plus d'une heure de carafe mais ma dernière devrait attendre idéalement 5 ans. 94 pts
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Curious to try this after sampling the 1998 Cuvee Laurence several times. The cork had one rivulet of wine stain reaching the top edge. On opening, there was a healthy amount of barnyard, provencal herbs, dark plum, leather, and holiday spice cake on the nose. This would gain in complexity and volume throughout the night. The color was a somewhat translucent garnet. On the palate there was a striking combination of earthy garrigue, tarry red fruits, pepper, and surprising sweetness to the grippy, pliant tannins which interplayed from the initial attack to the long, wonderful finish. Equal to the Cuvee Laurence, just a bit more earthy. Absolutely delicious at this early stage.
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The best showing yet for this wine. It was the concensus WOTN in very distinguished company. Nose of sweet red and black fruit, leather, bacon, a little tar, and a perfect amount (for me) of sweaty horse/barnyard. Exceptionally smooth on the palate, mouthcoating, balanced with sufficient acidity to be mouthwatering, and a medium long aftertaste. The killer part of this wine is the nose - against all the others (Clos des Papes, Pegau 95 and 2000, boisrenard 2001, and a couple I'm forgetting, and Musar 1991) this was just exceptional both in quantity and quality. This has been stored at a constant 60 degrees since first release, and was opened 5 hours ahead, so may be a bit advanced of colder storage, but is certainly at the beginning of plateau now. I usually don't do points, but to put it in context of others who have done so here, I did this time. As one of the tasters said, this is a rock star.
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This has become the "go to" or "house wine" around here. Tonight, Dad came over for an autumnal dinner and nothing else seemed right to pairwith the food. A quick decant prior to service and we were off. Rich, brambly aromas mixed with flavors of herbs, kirsch and scorched earth. A wine that continues to excel and demand a prominant position in the collection. Beautiful now with years of life ahead.
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Traditionally styled with ripe, red fruit, herbs, licorice and pepper. Concentrated with rich textures, this ripe wine packs a lot of ripe kirsch in the finish.
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Seattle Tasting Group does Châteauneuf-du-Pape (mostly Pegau) (Seattle, WA): Mmm, a brett bomb! Big notes of tapenade. Every time I come back to this wine it is leaping out of the glass and is head and shoulders above the rest of the flight. As it turned out once unveiled, this was decanted quite a bit more than the 2000 and 2001 and clearly benefited. The palate rocks, ahhhh, gorgeous, waves of stunning garrigue, dry, powerful, long, dense, dark, spice cake, blood, I LOOOOVE this! Sweet and sour, dynamic, loaded with olives, a powerful and gorgeous wine that is drinking impeccably!
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pop-and-poured this one, young, deep core of dark cherry fruit, youthful red fruit nose with only hints of ageing; palate balance impeccable. A friend with much more knowledge than I regarding wine, remarks that in 5 years this wine will be 20% better. WoW, can’t wait till 2012.
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At Michael's Genuine Food, Design District, Miami w Margot & Richie Tedaro. Decanted for 4 hours. Excellent now, still young. One of my favorite CdP producers. Very good, but not the = of the extraordinay 03.
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nez plus classique sur la garrigue, le poivre, partage la même structure et richesse que la cuvée Laurence avec un brin de rusticité qui le démarque et que je trouve plus classique. Long, ample, généreux et savoureux. Fruits rouges des champs, kirsch. Un magnifique exemple du millésime et mon vin de la soirée avec sa sœur. 95 pts
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Not rated. From a recent auction purchase. Medium, limpid ruby; youthful red fruit nose with only hints of ageing; palate balance impeccable. Finish medium. No detail because I found this bottle fairly anonymous and it compared unfavourably to a 2004 I had earlier in the summer. Will keep the others for a while.
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I took this magnum to my cousin's plot warming party. This wine showed better than ever, unfortunately I have already consumed the 4 magnums I owned. The color is less than stellar for those of us spoiled from ripe-year Bordeaux and Cali Cabs. For me, Chateauneuf du Pape is all about the nose. This was the most expressive this wine has shown for me. Complex, spicy and earthy, this is a complex nose! The palate follows through with more spice and red fruits as well as a surprising tannic edge and a long, minerally finish. A definitive winner, even when Chateauneuf du Pape rarely hits on all cilinders for me.
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It's been more than a year since I last had this. This bottle seemed very mature with few tannins and loads of round red fruit in addition to classic notes of barnyard, provence spices and some leathery tobacco. The maturity combined with some strange prickling acid (very little) and my memory of the previous bottle a year ago leads me to believe that this bottle may be just slightly off. Still great and drinkable though.
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Just a middling score this time; it's O.K. but not as classical as I had hoped. A bit out of balance due to a slight excess of acidity and a lack of intensity in the middle. There's just a hint of the garrigue in the nose although more evident on the palate. Still, a nice match with mustard grilled chicken. Maybe just an off bottle.
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Deep ruby with no hint of maturity. Impressively young, deep core of dark cherry fruit, simple at first and only slowly developing some spice and herbs, but blossomed nicely over a couple of hours. Sappy without being overripe, fully ripe but very noticeable tannins and significant acidity. This is very well balanced for a '98 Chateauneuf. Excellent, but I'd be inclined to wait another 5 years before trying another bottle. Serious, with great potential.
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VinoCellar.com 4th Anniversary Celebration (Willi's Wine Bar, Santa Rosa, CA): Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. This was one of the bretty Pegaus. The horsey smell was the first aroma out of the decanter. Those adverse to horsey aromas stopped at that point while the others pressed on. While it had some complexity this was an off showing for this wine. [Decanted at the table; not much improvement in the decanter]
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Domaine du Pegau Tasting at Wild Ginger with Laurence Féraud (Seattle, WA): This bottle was more closed and less impressive than two I had last summer (pop-and-pour might be better to grab this one right now versus decanting for a few hours which seems to have shut it down). Still, a really nice wine. Mmm, melted licorice, soy and spice. This wine is just flexing and stretching as it burns off the last of the primary elements and is starting to get a little bit secondary. I love the tooth-coating tannin and the emergence of some iodine. Gorgeous.
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CFTG Dinner at Mark Pecken's (Mark Pecken's): Full red color. Medium 'plastic' nose of red fruit with licorice hints. Very bretty. Big black purple fruit with stinky earh notes. A bit off-putting to me.
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A very nicely balanced wine - probably at or near it's peak. A very forward bouquet, with secondary characteristics creeping in, just as I like them! The palate delivers balance, warmth and intensity. Lovely - can't see it improving much, but who knows.
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From Magnum. This is the best showing of this wine for me. Medium ruby color and an attractive nose of spice box and red fruits. Medium to full bodied, with completely resolved tannin and a very pleasant finish. I like Chateauneuf du Papes but I am rarely wowed by them. This is one of the best I've had, but the nose fell short on the complexity side when compared with an incredible 1998 Bonneau Reserve de Celestines that remains shoulders above any other CNP I have ever tasted including this one.
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(at Corks – Baltimore) Very cool to drink this next to the Cuvee Laurence. Initially the noses were quite different – this was more tea, violet and plum, but with air they became more similar than dissimilar. This wine was a bit bigger, with a bit more depth, but not the elegance (maybe balance is a better word as these really weren’t elegant) that the Laurence has. This wine needs a few more years. (18+)
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Consumed over 3 days, and again, I found this wine to have lots of potential but fall just a bit short of my expectations. Ripe red fruits with hints of earth and garrigue. Didn't get any horse/barnyard, but my sense is that some of the complexities are still asleep in this wine. Rich, smooth palate with a touch of heat on the finish which seems to come and go. I really need to save my remaining bottles for another 5 years or so to get that extra notch or two that this wine is capable of delivering.
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Brought to Chez Shea for Karen's birthday--yowza this was a fun bottle! The waitstaff decanted and when they poured, couldn't contain their enthusiasm; I said they should have it on their list!
Sweet fruits, some earth, but more smooth and rounded IMO. Could drink this regularly--a rich and beautiful wine that paired well with duck breast. Not as tangy as some recent vintages, but a full bodied wine that has years to go.
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Another (Mostly) Pegau Tasting and Dinner (Skokie IL): Tasted blind. Fat fruit that seems very upfront and forward, but a little shallow. Black fruit, lush, coming across more modern than most other wines tonight. Again, no surprise to me this was unveiled as a 1998, not my favorite vintage, and that others in the group enjoyed this far more than I did tonight.
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Pegau Vertical (Larsa's Mediterranean Restaurant - Skokie, IL): Ruby in color with an enchanting nose of tar, smoke, garrigue and dark fruits. The palate has a bright fruits and firmness on entry (from tannin and acid). The midpalate is intense with leather dark fruits that carry forward to a long, smoky finish. Outstanding.
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Exuberant and lively nose of provencal herbs, spice, some pepper. Still extraordinarily youthful, thick, and primary on the mouth. Garrigue, lively tannic presence. Powerful finish. Extremely pure tasting Chateauneuf. Needs 5+ years. This is a large scaled wine on the palate by my standards. My only quibble is that it's large enough to lack the precision I seek in S. Rhone wines with a bit more leaness. I had this with a fairly large scaled duck dish at Zoe's and the wine was too large for the food. This is a style, not a quality question.
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Earlier today I was dropping off a whole load of wine at my offsite storage facility and happened upon the tail end of a small, private tasting where Steve Tanzer was reviewing Washington wines in preparation for an upcoming issue. Once I got my wine down to my locker and came up and chatted and sampled some of the highlight wines. As they finished up, they wanted a little something to cleanse the palate and magically bottles of 1990 Beaucastel (sadly somewhat oxidized) and 1998 Pegau appeared on the table (plus a corked 1999 Raveneau Les Clos and a very ripe 1999 Comte Lafon Puligny-Montrachet). I had never actually had the 1998 Pegau and have avoided mine for fear of them being closed. Anyway, mmm, that 1998 Pegau was just stunning, very approachable, and mind blowing! A complex melange of herbs, cherry, horse greeted you on the nose. The palate was rustic, powerful and beautiful. Man oh man was I fired up by that wine!
So I ran home to the market and then home to cook Shabbat dinner and, appetite somewhat whetted by the taste of 1998 Pegau, I grabbed a bottle of my own 1998 Pegau for dinner with my in-laws. Dinner was chickens roasted with Provencale herbs, black olives and caramelized onions; roasted green beans; and a quick pasta with sauteed mushrooms, herbs and a bit of veal stock.
My bottle of 1998 Pegau was just what I was looking for. Inky, a bit cloudy, and loaded with blood and garrigue. This is utterly fabulous wine. Very powerful and traditional, ripe, but not over the top. It's less spicy than the 2001 and less intense than the 2003 (what isn't), and this is probably still a bit closed. That said, it is already wonderfully rewarding. It makes me realize that I NEED to drink more Pegau, maturity be damned. 94 points for now but with upward potential.
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Tasted at a vertical along with '85, '94, '95, '01, '03. Initially, the '98 was less impressive than the other vintages, with a slight VA nose. As it sat in the glass for a couple of hours, it really came in to balance and developed some great secondary nuances that I loved. Brighter red fruits and a smoky spicy nose.
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Decanted for app. 1½ h. Deep red with no real sign of age. The bouquet is intense with kirsch liqueur, spices and meat. The taste is balanced with deep, intense primary fruit, still some mature tannins. Very good.
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double decanted in am(1 1/2 yrs ago decanted for 4 hours). At Pastis, Coral Gables(best bistro outside Paris) had with crackling hot bubbling Escargot, and a wonderful thick Pork Chop Provencal. Opulent woodsy gamey smokey CdP both in the bouquet and extended finish. Will wait a few yrs for next one. P.S. I visited Pegau's retail cave in CdP during the broiling summer of 2003, fortunately got a bottle of of the 2000 CAPO @ 100 Euros.
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Just about oustanding, this dark brooding behemoth started out disjointed, alcoholic and tannic. But with the magic of just 15 minutes or so or aeration, it melted together beautifully. Very extracted but not bitter. Real CdP character; K even peceived some "barnyard" character at first which I did not. This will improve over the next few years at least. Nice match with grilled tenderloin of veal and red wine reduction sauce at home.
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The nose is heavenly. Beautiful dark fruit wrapped in herbs and earth. The palate is a little tight and finshes with a rush of tannin. It is however wonderful. Big meaty dark fruit with interlaced garrique. Beautiful.
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Domaine du Pegau Luncheon at Aureole in NYC (Aureole, NYC): No formal note. Tasted side by side with the '98 Capo (see TN), the two wines offered very different expressions of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The '98 Reservee showed quite well, though it is certainly a few years away from really starting to crack open. Due to its youth, texturally it is a bit rustic and rough around the edges, but that element will come together given more time in the bottle. Gutsy, honest wine. Actually, it was not as closed as I was expecting. Well structured, with more secondary components entering the picture than I recall from my last bottle about a year ago (see TN). The fruit leans more to red than black, and there is certainly some of the typical '98 heat. A very impressive wine with a bright future ahead of it.
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Deep, vibrant, ruby red. First tasted about a half hour after decanting. Loads of meat and spice on the nose, with a touch of herbs/mint. Nice impact on entry, with grenache at the forefront; meaty finish. Tannins evident, but quite fine. After a couple of hours in the decanter, it seems to close down. Now somewhat primary, but very deep and concentrated. After three hours, quite perfumed, with a wonderful exotic spiciness and that meatiness still lurking in the background; tannins seem to become a bit firmer. Terrific wine! Twenty-four hours later, the nose is simply beautiful -- mocha and spices; palate has herbs, dark fruit, and a silky finish with fine tannins. Lovely.
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Very nice Pegau with plenty of upside. Tasted over 3 days with the last day showing the most complexity. Lots of ripe grenache fruit with earthy herbs and spice. Couldn't find and barnyard (which I like), but I think this wine will gain much complexity with age. Great balance and long finish.
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Incredible luncheon and tasting at Al G's. with Saturday Group. This was the lineup of reds (after 7 great whites to start);
1993 Vincent Girardin Santeney La Maladiere 1974 Beaulieu Private Reserve cab 1966 Haut Brion 1981 Beaucastel CdP 1985 Gruard Larose 1982 Gruard Larose 1990 La Dame de Montrose 1994 Muga Riserva rioja 1994 Tignanello 1994 Penfolds Bin 707 cab 1994 Vieux Telegraphe CdP 1998 Domaine Pegau CdP 1995 Ridge York Creek Petite Sirah 1996 Poggio Antico brunello
And by unofficial hand count, the Pegau was the WOTD against some pretty tough competition. I decanted it in a carafe for about 2 hours before going to Al's. Then it sat in the bottle, open top for another 2 hours or so before we got around to drinking it.
The Pegau was seemless. Rich, powerful, full bodied. Still has moderate tannins but very approachable (which surprised me a little). Super-ripe flavors of roasted meats and sweet fruits. Velvety finish. Delicious!!!! Gosh I'm glad I bought a lot of this.Try another in maybe a year.
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S.F. - Rubicon High End Rhone Wines (Rubicon, S.F.): Rich and fine, I couldn't determine which I liked more the Pegau or Beaucastel. With density and muscle, this was a bruiser. Black fruit, and scorched earth along with a lovely long finish this was delicious.
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Beautiful shining red wine with marked pepper on the nose. Medium-full body with lush tastes of ripe Grenache fruit and an undercurrent of black olives for complexity. Long smooth finish. Drinking well now.
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I really, really like this wine, but it still needs a good five years to come into it's own. Decanted over 3 hours it was still improving (but the one glass leftover did not last overnight). Powerful nose of pepper, herbs, berries, and a wee bit of funk (although certainly not as much as the bottle I had upon release- THAT was a sweaty bottle). Palate still quite tannic with a myriad of fruit flavors and a nice long powerful finish. Good golly I should get more of these.
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$33 retail on release. Obviously, the '98 Pegau is a solid, traditional Chateauneuf. Tonight it showed typical '98 fruit (and heat), leaning towards the red side. It really benefitted from an hour+ of air. Well-structured; showing a textbook young Chateauneuf profile, with great detail - layers of spice/fruit aromas and flavors. This was very enjoyable tonight, though a little hard-edged. It will certainly benefit from more time in the cellar (3-5+ years), and will no doubt enjoy quite a long life. FWIW, compared to the '98, the '99 is giving more up at the moment, and I know I'm not alone in suggesting popping the '99 (or even the more lush '00) while waiting on the '98 Pegau to realize its potential...
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It's a beauty. Somewhat reticent on the nose but has a great concentration and power in the palate. Nose of roasted meat, a bit of barnyard, and raspberry - exactly what I like in CDNP. I seem to prefer the 1998 to 2000 every time I drink the 1998.
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Pégaü vertical tasting (Graz, Austria): Light ruby, brilliant, fat tears. Soft fat fruit in the nose, bit yoghurt, cool. Medium body, dark fruit, slightly chemical tongue coating. Medium finish. Damaged bottle?
Score: 50 + 3 for optic + 12 for bouquet + 14 for taste + 4 for overall = total score of 83. This seems unfair, so no score.
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Wow - had with Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk triple cream cheese. The cheese brought out honey and almond flavors from the wine - almost buttery. And with the Cowgirl Creamery Pierce Point - the coffee flavors in the wine were accentuated. This is a tasty and versatile wine.
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I had poured this into a decanter and then straight back into bottle about an hour prior to arriving at the restaurant. By the time we got to it, it was really starting to open up. I really don't have a lot of descriptors, but there was definitely earth, pepper, and lots of fruit and spice to explore. This went very well with my lamb and DukeRiley's rib-eye. It did seem to close down by the end of the night and become somewhat hard and tannic. I think that it can really use some more time, but is developing splendidly. Tasty Tasty juice.
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93 WS; 94 WA; 92 IWC; We decided to get the New Year off to a good start by opening our first bottle of this wine.
It was decanted for 45 minutes prior to serving. Directly from the bottle it was super tight and revealed only black pepper and spices on the nose. The first taste was black pepper with the fruit in the background. As it opened up from the decanter the nose exploded with licorice, earth and dark, ripe fruit. The flavors were raspberry and kirsch liqueurs along with exotic spices, meaty and herbal notes. It was superbly balanced, velvety in the mouth and had a lengthy, spicy finish. The presence of strong tannins caused us to believe we opened this one at least a year too soon. As with many European wines it was better with food. At 1.5 hours post-decant it was flying.
The good news is that everyone who is holding this wine is in for a treat. The bad news is that I’m not opening another one for at least 1.5 years.
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Dense and concentrated. Tannins all over the place but the wine is still moderately sweet. Concentrated, somewhat monolithic and closed. Not showing well now, but with great potential in a couple years.
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3/26/2024 - Roentgen Ray wrote: 91 Points
First bottle I bought for cellaring. I was in my internship. I kept it in my closet and transferred it to my ‘rich’ friend's cellar a couple years later.
Cost: $35 at the time, which was affordable.
The cork is short compared to current bottles.
It leaked half the length of the cork, not to the surface.
Color is medium garnet.
Aromas were medium at open and fading to light after 1-2 hours.
In the mouth, licorice, blackberry, leather,
Tannins make my taste buds pucker tightly and there is some iron on the long finish.
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3/2/2024 - WST Likes this wine:
Charity wine pairings to benefit Whatcom Hospice House. (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): This was the best bottle of Pegau I’ve ever opened. There have been a lot, although it’s been a while.
Incredibly fresh and clean, especially for this producer.
Rich, but not overly so. Intoxicating aromas of dark berries, espresso, and a hint of garrigue and leather. This vintage is likely at its apogee; we caught it at a perfect time. It might be time to open some of the the CdP in the cellar. I’d pass them up in recent years after some jammy and excessively rustic or bretty bottles.
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2/10/2024 - Eric wrote:
ESTG does Pegau-Palooza (Seattle, WA, USA): Mmmm, this is Pegau unleashed. Really ripe, spicy and powerful. Drinking wonderfully.
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1/26/2024 - KingSlacker999 wrote: 95 Points
An amazing bottle of this wine. PnP, dark beautiful and powerful all at once. Grenache dominates the nose and palate. Just the right amount of garrigue and tapenade.
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1/26/2024 - MuddyBear wrote: 96 Points
PNP from the coravin. Strong tobacco notes on the nose. Fruit is very much alive and well! Strawberries and raspberries. Tanins have resolved to the point where it may be a hint out of balance. That might be nit-picking. This is an awesome wine in a very good place. I’m sad this is my last 98 but it’s definitely time to drink up. Great, great wine and imo an exemplar of what great, aged CdP can be. Pegau is awesome with age. Upgraded after last glass.
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12/25/2023 - SnobNouveau Likes this wine: 92 Points
Elegant, mature. Magnum still was mostly full expression. This may have been a little brighter a few years ago.
Raspberry and grass nose. Fruitless strawberry opener with dry but structured and velvety midlength. Prettt long finish.
Decant 2 hours
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12/22/2023 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Not as beastie as you might think. But still pretty beastie and tobacco still.
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11/21/2023 - soyhead wrote:
sexy and fleshy, very much alive. drink soon.
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11/2/2023 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 93 Points
Mature, complex, beautiful. It still has some range. Great bottle.
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11/1/2023 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is a mature CDP that packs a punch with loads of fruit and prominent Grenache flavor profile. A great way to end the night after a fantastic line up of Burgundy.
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10/26/2023 - beatles wrote: 96 Points
My last bottle of this, I fear, but what an exit!. Needs air, initially even a bit petillant, but it awakwens with all the fixers of a true blooed neuf. Sweet Genache, chocolate, smoke, garrigue and darker spice as well; drinkng so well, I see no upside here, just get the lamb cooking and drink this.
#Bagnols-en-Fôret
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8/6/2023 - johnh1001 wrote: 92 Points
Great bottle. Context is everything when compared to the Henri Boneau
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8/5/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 89 Points
Weekend in Michigan with Wine; 8/5/2023-8/6/2023 (Asian Spice House - Buchanan MI): I haven't tasted this wine since shortly after release, and I like it more now vs then. Medium with , fun fruit, nicely bright for its age from a ripe vintage. Drinking very well right now.
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4/30/2023 - jmoon Likes this wine: 93 Points
Poured and a bit funky, waited an hour. Clean. Beautiful . Burgundian almost. Earthy. Then faded at the three hour mark. Great, but no upside.
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4/20/2023 - merlotsmile Likes this wine: 94 Points
Frank Cph
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3/28/2023 - 559Cheers Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking extremely well. Nice overall. Perfect time to drink here in California with cold and wet Spring. Spectacular vintage. One of the top bottles of Chateau Pegau I have opened. Glad I acquired this bottle. Just opened, first night. A vintage and bottle to take notice. Can only get better. Excellent.
Meaty charcuterie, autumnal spices, somewhat warm, some toast, vibrant fruit. Definitely good pedigree for a great bottle.
*2nd night scored higher. Opened up and bottle even better.
Probably best bottle of Pegau I’ve opened. Seems to be drinking like a nice aged Saint Emilion.
*6th night still a stellar bottle, Rhone CDP signature has reappeared. Drinking like a vibrant aged CDP.
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2/11/2023 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Outstanding. In a perfect place for drinking now. Big bodied with chewy tannins and decent acidity. Mature but not old. Notes of mushroomy damp soil, bacon, lavender, thyme, and dried figs. Velvety and sweet on the palate, but I love the assertiveness of the tannins. This is no wimpy California wine.
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1/8/2023 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium garnet with no orange rim. Nose of raspberries and some garrigue. Taste as the nose. Can easily age 5-1 years. Very good.
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12/8/2022 - Ash in Hermosa wrote: 94 Points
Garnet, inky. Parsley stems, herby and blackberries. No decant, opened in bottle for 60 mins. Lovely wine with a huge steak.
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12/4/2022 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine: 94 Points
Seriously, this half case at ~$100/bottle was a steal these kick ass, and they’re right in their drinking window!
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12/3/2022 - Gunakadeit Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pretty funky at first (brett and VA), but blew off after being open for a few hours. Really nice.
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11/24/2022 - chablis28 wrote: 94 Points
A recently acquired btl from retailer private cellar offer. Stood up over-night. Opened 75 minutes before dinner & poured a couple small pours in 2 Reidel Burgs to breath / slow ox while we drank sparkling w/ a vegie tray. Semi translucent ruby-garnet center & fading edges. Big aromas of leather, meat, scrub & trace berries. This moved in out from interesting to profound. Best near end of the btl & enhanced with a bite of food too. Exceedingly elegant from start to finish. Still plenty of lift but not acidic. Still some lovely tarter red fruit complimented by mineral, pepper, licorice & underbrush. This offered head turning waves of utter complexity but never disappointed before or after a wave broke shore, either. A modest 13.5% alc in a ripe "vintage of century" year:). 92-96 depending on the moment. Happy to own one more from the same source. Lots of chunky sediment near the end. Looked like late fall leaves in the glass. Helped to pour from one direction in the btl. Served in high 50s to mid 60s. Burg shape for our family guest too.
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9/23/2022 - redders wrote: 93 Points
This was singing tonight. Blind and others were in Burgundy or Northern Rhône. Beautifully silky fruit. Tannins resolved and all elements in harmony. Gorgeous
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9/23/2022 - wineamateur Likes this wine:
Hooligans: Classic CNP with a quiet elegance and restraint that now seems from another age. And perhaps it was.
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9/10/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Decided to open my last bottle, and really enjoyed it. Dusty cherry fruit, a little roadside dust and saddle leather - the quintessential Chateauneuf experience. Very easy to drink, as the tannins have mellowed to near invisibility. A compelling wine from first sip to last.
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7/30/2022 - paintinginacave Likes this wine: 90 Points
Stood up for a week. Bottom neck. A slightly dry cork that broke upon opening. Three hour slow oxidation followed by a two hour decant. A medium ruby core fading to a pale garnet outer edge. Elegant in style with subtle aromas on the first pour of red cherry, damp herbs, red liquorice, and a feint touch of ground black pepper. Following the decant the wine became more floral with notes of lavender and a touch of barnyard. Intense and concentrated - the palate is where this wine steps it up a gear - with cherry kirsch liqueur washing over lightly charred red meat rolled in chopped thyme and rosemary.
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7/30/2022 - Amberissey Likes this wine: 87 Points
A little brett on the first nose, but it blew off fast. Wet or damp herbs, red liquorice, lavender, dried basil, and quite a bit of heat on the nose, really singeing the nostrils. Zero heat on the palette. Cooked red berries or maybe preserve on the palette.
On the second glass, dark flowers on the nose, and still mega heat. Plenty of kirsch developing too. Still cooked strawberries and raspberries on the pallets. Massive grippy tannin. While it was good, I expected more.
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7/14/2022 - AaronMaxwell wrote: flawed
Both of these were overly oxidized :(
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6/27/2022 - csimm wrote: 92 Points
Saturday get-together: Pours a tawny color, fooling you into thinking this is going to be all funk and no flash. On the palate, this is surprisingly sound and correct, with obviously advanced notes of muddled strawberry, plums, leather, toffee, red currant, and earth. Despite its age, the freshness here is still on point. I don’t know that I’d lay these down for another half-century or anything, but if I was into chewing cigars and watching old Clint Eastwood westerns, I’d be all about this wine. Acid and scaffolding were also all in place. I guess when you evaluate a wine like this, you kinda treat it like an old man, pointing out the things you are thankful are still in proper order. “Well, at least my hip ain’t broke yet.”
This bottle is a good reference point for aged CdP. Though I like a little more meat on the bones when I look to CdP generally, this was a fantastic representation of how a little age can make a wine a whole lot more interesting in terms of tertiary flavoring complexity.
Thanks to AaronMaxwell on this one!
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6/27/2022 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine: 95 Points
This was a perfectly fresh bottle. Such an exciting and youthful CdP!
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6/25/2022 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 92 Points
New friends, new wines in Novato: This was fun to try. This had more funk than I tend to like but that earthy, farm nose, interwoven with red fruits was interesting. I will need to try more CDP and get my palate acclimated to this style wine and this varietal. Great acid and great with food.
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6/25/2022 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 92 Points
An evening with good food, great people and amazing wine (Where the silence is longed for): Aromas of a great funk that is very interesting, and lots of it, used leather and muddled fruit underneath (in a good way). Flavors of ripe red and blue fruits like some fresh and also aged plums, with the same funk from the nose that keeps it interesting. This is probably one of those bottles where you need to pick how you like your poison and plan accordingly on when to consume.
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5/18/2022 - FransS wrote: 94 Points
A lovely lunch at Fien and Gert Jan (The home of Fien and Gert Jan): A ripe colour, but lively, ripe and spicy (garrigue) in the bouquet and after a small half hour the wine developed more power and more complexity, leather, plums. We have kissed the princess after 24 years. Till so far 95 points, but in the aftertaste the alcohol was a bit obvious.
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4/21/2022 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine: 95 Points
A youthful body still powered by robust acid. Drinking perfectly!
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4/16/2022 - LT98 wrote: 96 Points
This was just stunning and reminds me again that (at least for me) when it comes to CdP, I shouldn't bother with anyone but Pegau. Rick dark fruit with garrigue and an underlying spiciness that really made this standout. Full bodied, still with good tannins, acidity, tar, leather. Wow! A huge hit at dinner.
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3/18/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Quick pour after opening was not corked, and also shockingly youthful. Still showing a lot of freshness, and if not so much in the way of primary fruit, at least not full on tertiary. Dinner two hours later brought a fully integrated, savory melange of earth, herb and leather, with a subtle berry fruit compote in the background. Still a bit of back end tannin, but overall a gentle mouthfeel that has just the right amount of structure to hold everything in place. Drinking very well now with a bit of air, and no worries about further cellar time. It’s not going anywhere.
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1/29/2022 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 94 Points
La Tablée (Pier Sixty, New York, NY): 1998 was such a great vintage for CdP. This bottle is still as lovely as nine years ago. The nose is meaty, spicy, with hints garrigue. Silk on the palate, full bodied, great attack and high, balancing acidity. Dark fruited, cigar box, wet leather jacket. Fresh and spicy finish. Great winter red.
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1/8/2022 - tomasio-1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dezent Funk, Leder Unterholz, Garrigue, alles sehr harmonisch. Immer noch sehr gute Säure- und Tanninstruktur. Jetzt top entwickelt, aber keine Eile zu trinken. Der Alkohol ist sehr gut eingebunden, sehr langer Abgang. CdP at its best!
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1/1/2022 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Perhaps my favorite CDP right now. Wonderful spice and grilled meats with sweet red fruit.
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12/24/2021 - viking92067 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Acquired new. WINEGUYX nailed his review: "This is fully mature and entering old age. Drink now. 93"
Had prior bottles at younger age and they were significantly better.
Drink up.
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12/21/2021 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cette bouteille était la plus aboutie. Du fruit, de l'équilibre, de la souplesse, de la force... Ce vin est un oxymore !
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12/9/2021 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 92 Points
92,9 .... il ne lui manque presque rien pour 93 :-D
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11/14/2021 - Mr T wrote:
Showing its age but still holding together pretty well. PNP at dinner maybe not ideal but tough to recant at crowded restaurant. Barnyard blew
Off after a while and the wine came together after initially showing some VA. Fruit still hanging in there and not overly candied or prunish. Would have preferred 30-60 minutes decant and contemplation at home
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10/30/2021 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautifully aromatic! Just loaded with exotic scents of herbs de Provence Asian spice box, sandalwood incense and copious quantities of roasted black cherries. Medium-full bodied but still rich. This is lost a little size and sweetness with age and is showing good acidity and drying tannin in addition to licorice, herbs de Provence and black cherry. This is fully mature and entering old age. Drink now. 93
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10/15/2021 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 92 Points
92,5
Il vieillit superbement. Il lui manque un petit truc magique que je ne sais pas définir pour que je lui attribue 93.
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9/30/2021 - StefanAkiko Likes this wine: 94 Points
Upon plop: faceless and thin.
After a couple of hours of air, a beauty steps forward.
Some VA on the nose together with the extremely attractive herbal aspects of maturing Grenache.
In the mouth, this is still young. Elegant expression with pronounced acidity, pure fruit, a beautiful herbal presence and M tannin. Long, complex and immensely satisfying.
Only had one btl, always looking for more Pegau.
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9/4/2021 - k H i L o Likes this wine: 92 Points
Super. Il faut le boire.
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8/14/2021 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
Quiet in the nose but opened over 2 hours. Lovely spice, strawberry, meat and charcuterie. Great balance and length. Loved it
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7/27/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote: 94 Points
A beautiful wine right out of bottle. Pegau so rarely disappoints. Funky red and black fruit, some black tea and forest floor, all balanced by solid acid. It gets even better in the glass with some air. Delicious!
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6/30/2021 - rinnocenzi Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking great. Drink up!
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6/26/2021 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 93 Points
A friend shared this bottle. Just a great example of Chateauneuf. Leather and mushrooms with a nice touch of herbs. A real treat to drink this again.
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5/11/2021 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:
Round, smooth, rich. Massive sediment, decanted 2 hours in advance. In a beautiful place. A ripe vintage but is still fairly balanced. Bottle #7 of a case - looking over past notes this looks to be in the peak plateau and has been delightful for the past 10 years. Still some tannins and acidity to hold this together for a couple more years - during which I'll try to get to the last 4 bottles.
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5/6/2021 - ErikNorway Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wine was delicious. Nice smell. Leathery. Earthy. Wet clay. Darker aged fruit. Good clarity. Brownish. Nice smooth taste. Cherry with some floral and spice to it. Would enjoy drinking again.
Should I buy some new bottles?
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1/17/2021 - Aris1a Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ripe red fruit, black currant, cassis, ripe peaches, blood orange, smoke, camphor, tobacco, pine needles, thyme, hint of black pepper. Medium tannins, and rather tamed by time. Needs decanting and there is significant sediment. At a great spot now, and can probably last a few more years.
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12/4/2020 - Barsacpinci Likes this wine: 95 Points
Has to be one of the better bottles I’ve had this year. This must have been a bruiser when it was young. Stood up for about a week. Drank over two days. Nice brick red color. Significant Brett poopy nose that blew off the second day. A lot of power still left in this wine. Fruit and acidity nicely woven together. Bing cherry flavors with a hint of black raspberry. Very long persistent finish with just a touch of hotness. I have another bottle somewhere in the basement.
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11/29/2020 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
From the recent large private purchase purchase (hard to value individual bottles, but about $85). Small taste, then about 90 minutes of air, with relatively consistent tasting notes thereafter. On the nose and palate, black and red raspberries (with other berries and cherries coming in later), olives, earth, garrigue, funk, smoked meats, tar, tobacco, figs and a hard to describe note I'm calling as wet dog. Medium garnet, medium to full-bodied, medium to thick legs. Racy acidity, medium+ tannins, no heat. Great complexity, persistence and intensity. There's no such thing as a boring Pegau, but compared to the '09, which I'm most familiar with, this is less feral, for better or worse, gentler (dare I say, more feminine?), more subtle (only 13.5% abv), almost Burgundian and lighter. Fully intact acidity gives this a raciness and food-friendliness which belies its years and makes it seem a lot more contemporary than many things which post-dated it, like Y2K hysteria and internet pet food company sock puppets. Great drinking window which will go on for only God knows how long. I'll tell you what, if the Tuscan winemakers don't watch their p's and q's, these CdPs may replace the BdMs as the primary object of my Euro affections, but that's a good problem, right? Nosed out by the recent '01 Clos Des Papes which had incrementally greater sophistication, but still pretty great. 95-96
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10/17/2020 - RD59 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Grand Pégau, absolument prêt et nez généreux d’épices et d’olives. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!
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10/2/2020 - Kim Gerner wrote: flawed
CH9 semi blind vertical tasting of Pegau, Beaucastel and Salon 1990-2009 (Nordsjaelland): Corked
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8/23/2020 - MAOC wrote:
Similar to last bottle - good mix of fruit and development. V good but not distinguished. Keep remaining bottles another 2-3
5 years. ****+
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8/22/2020 - redders Likes this wine: 93 Points
What a good bottle! Best yet. Opened and decanted 30 minutes. Colour still medium red with some bricking. Nose a rich heady mix of spice leather wild herbs and slightly overripe fruit. Lovely balance of game and fruit then gathers to a powerful finish. After a couple of hours the last glass showed a bit less fruit and the structure and acidity poked through but this is a lovely bottle.
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7/31/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 92 Points
1st Post-CB Crab@Bay!: This is in a sweet spot now and drinking really well. Open up! 92/93
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7/26/2020 - DBenke wrote: 94 Points
Huge nose of black olive. Fantastic fruit. Spectacular CDP.
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4/26/2020 - Whisky&Wine wrote: flawed
Corked.
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3/28/2020 - Winevestor Likes this wine: 94 Points
Strong nose of plum, heather and meat. This is my first Pegau. A great CdP. Its a really big CdP. This is drinking well now, but is at the end of its drinking window. Big mouthfeel. More plum, earth and a bourbon hit. Long finish. Now looking forward to trying some younger vintages.
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2/21/2020 - Vstalam wrote: 93 Points
Musar-like, wonderful texture, rich fruit and great secondary notes of earthiness and garrigue.
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1/6/2020 - DBenke wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic
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12/27/2019 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 93 Points
delicious stuff
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11/15/2019 - jreynolds3 wrote: 94 Points
Really drinking nicely.
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11/13/2019 - lolo66 wrote:
CDP with Age (Nice Matin): plums, dense fruit, garrigue. showed well, but compared to others held less intrigue.
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10/21/2019 - IanAltman Likes this wine: 96 Points
Medium red with hints of orange on the edges. Leather, tobacco, horse hair, and then fruit on the palate. Decanted for 1 hour before serving with boar and venison. Blew us away. Tannins have totally mellowed. It could still be held for another 5+ years. Perfect pairing with those meats.
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10/13/2019 - Escher Cellars wrote: 94 Points
- Crimsom color - Amazing wine, decant for 2 hours, very smooth, full, juicy but mellow with wood floor barn funk smell. Simply delicious. Drink now. Cheers.
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9/29/2019 - Pknut wrote:
It's been many, many years since I've last had this wine. Red and dark fruit reduction, raspberry coulis on a tapered palate, with light garrigue and a hit of brett. Tannins are completely smoothed out. It's okay, correct, true to its place, but it doesn't excite me. Seems to be on a long plateau, but my take-away is that this was a more impressive wine in its youth. Rosh Hashana at Suzanne and Kenny's.
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8/9/2019 - nywine68 wrote: 92 Points
Bright and alive. Red licorice and cola. Prunes and complex nuances. Fine grained tannins give this plenty of grip.
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8/9/2019 - bobvictor Likes this wine: 93 Points
Smooth with enough structure to last two days. A lot of sediment. Drink up!
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8/8/2019 - beatles wrote: 95 Points
Oh, yes, this is the real deal, vraiment Pegau with beef blood galore, and Grenache speaking loudly. Smooth sailing here – and what length. Still very much alive.
#BistroDinnerChezMoi
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3/17/2019 - gwilliams68 wrote: 90 Points
For sure this is a serious wine. Real savoury bite here and felt like a vinious well done beef joint in a bottle.
Spent several hours sipping away and still not 100% sure of what I feel about it. Others seem to like it more than me.
Oh well, have another 5 bottles to make my mind up!
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3/17/2019 - dstraub wrote: 88 Points
The amount of brett in this wine is overwhelming.
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3/11/2019 - winemaker Likes this wine: 95 Points
Terrific wine. Big, rich, complex, vibrant, a bit of Brett, but subtle. Very long finish.
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12/20/2018 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 94 Points
consistent with notes of 6/12/2014 - holding strong.
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10/26/2018 - devraj Likes this wine: 95 Points
Brick red ruby with lot of sediment. Expressive aromas of red berries, roasted herbs, hung meat, tobacco and earthy notes. Superb palate shows good depth to the sweet red crushed berries, medium (+) acidity, savory brown spices, and a long floral and earthy finish. Wow! This is a great bottle.
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10/15/2018 - DougLee wrote: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Medium garnet. Wide open nose of plum, garrigue, pepper, earth, lavender. Robust layers of ringing strawberry and black plum fruit plum cut with char, tobacco, and garrigue, and black pepper. Lots of presence and concentration. Still refreshingly acidic with filed off tannin. Long finish of earth, strawberry, and market herbs lined with grip. Fantastic.
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10/14/2018 - MrMoose wrote: flawed
slightly corked, but consumable albeit unable to rate
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10/11/2018 - europat55 wrote: 95 Points
Nose: A Palate: A-/A
My #1, Group's #2 (60 pts). Tasted Blind.
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10/6/2018 - MAOC wrote:
Maybe the best showing yet - softening pure cherry with strawberry flecks, some slightly rustic leather, lovely notes of garrigue and floral elements. Nice combination of weight and delicacy ****+
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9/23/2018 - redders Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted one hour consumed over two hours. This bottle rusty red colour. Mature garrigue rustic nose. Plenty of interest . Slightly angular on palate damson fruit mineral . Lean finish . Good
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8/27/2018 - Christine Havens Likes this wine: 96 Points
Well within its drinking window the 1998 Pegau Cuvée Réservée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge shows just a touch of bricking in the glass. It unfurls revealing the sort of olfactive charm one might expect from this producer—raspberry coulis, garrigue, loamy soil, leather, and multiflorous layers of dried rose petal and lavender. It’s medium bodied, with an intensity that builds with each sip. Both the tannins and the acidity are fully and nicely integrated at this point.
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8/18/2018 - MrMoose Likes this wine: 97 Points
the best Pegau I've tasted- rich, dense & complex w/dark fruits, herbs &
spice....balanced, lush w/elegant 60 sec finish....a savory salute to a fabulously crafted bottle
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5/20/2018 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 92 Points
Savage nose. Animale. Spice. Med-full bodied rich and round. Savage and animale but quite delicious! 92
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4/16/2018 - beatles wrote: 96 Points
Iron, beef blod galore, masculine stuff. Grand Vin here, strict style, medicine cabinet strict style, firm, still very much alive. Needs air.
#FormelB
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3/27/2018 - MrMoose Likes this wine: 92 Points
animalistic reminiscent of smoked meats , pain grille and spice nicely balanced with black fruit compote highlights
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3/18/2018 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
Rhones and More at Jimmy's (Jimmy's Place, Mpls): Medium bricked dark red color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 90 minutes. Well, well, well, this was singing tonight. Paired up with an excellent '00 CR, this was even better. A great Pegau nose with plenty of funky goodness, earthy, saddle leather, lavendar, with a perfume of red fruit. This is in a wonderful place, resolved and medium bodied, very long with a beautiful texture and a picture of where CDP should be for me. 94+pts.
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3/18/2018 - chablis28 wrote: 94 Points
Lightening, cloudy, ruby red with bricking. Perfuse aromas of just the right amount of brett balanced with meat and fruit. This had remarkably elegant and resolved mouthfeel while still having plenty of lift. The beast that be Pegau hsa left the room. The palate has layers of; red fruit, mushroom, spice meat, mineral and provincial herbs. My red of night and one of the few CDPs I still enjoy drinking. Pagua along with Beacastel, Vieux Telegraphe and Vieux Don Jon are the ones to buy and drink for me. I really like Clos des Pape too but the price has gone nuts since 2003.
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1/15/2018 - aagrawal wrote: 94 Points
Coravin 1/15/18: Light ruby with age-appropriate medium bricking; nose is highly aromatic with perfume, sweet musk, leather, red berries; palate is light bodied, light tannins with a bit of grit and just slight tartness, ripe red fruit, excess heat and seems alcoholic, less complexity on the palate than the nose; medium finish with some remaining heat on the palate. CnDP isn't generally my favorite type of wine because of the alcohol and ripeness, but when it's showing well the aromas can be elegant, complex, and superb. That is certainly true here. An enjoyable experience, at peak but will likely last a few years. 94 for the experience of the nose, but the palate holds it back.
2/3: Opened the remaining half bottle. Highly aromatic with floral perfume, red berries, some musk, leather; palate is light bodied, shows its heat, slightly unbalanced, ripe red fruit; medium finish. Same as when first opened, stunning nose but held back by the palate. Ready now, no reason to wait for my last bottle. 93-94
Update: With 30 minutes of air, the palate integrates much better, no longer showing the disjointed alcohol. Still, the nose is far more intoxicating than the palate. Solid 94 now, and a very good wine.
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1/12/2018 - CHINACAT wrote: 93 Points
Dark red color, slightly cloudy. Some pleasant funk and citrus in the bouquet. On the palate, some remaining fruit, wonderful complexity and moderate acidity. More elegance than power. The wine faded a bit after an hour and it seemed slightly past its peak, but it was still a strong showing.
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1/8/2018 - MaxSiegel Likes this wine: 90 Points
Barnyard nose, with mushroom and very slight game. Palate still has lots of fruit, mostly cherries, and relatively bright acidity. Drink now or give slightly more time for tertiary development.
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12/30/2017 - bsycheng80hk wrote: 91 Points
Dec-17, 1 hr decant,
Blackberry and strawberry, smoke, leather, beef notes,
Quite concentrated, crunchy on the palate, Crystaline structure, fruit slightly drying, good acid for CNDP
Decent Grippy Finish
On this showing I would drink up, fruit is drying and I don't this has the structure to hold in the long term
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12/5/2017 - Lockareff Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank very nicely. Decanted for an hour. A little barnyard, pepper. Tannins are gone. Overall, very enjoyable.
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11/5/2017 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Vinetasters: Pégaü (1989-2007) (Skokie, IL): Served blind in a Pégaü lineup. The nose shows a surprising amount of tart crunchy fruit on the nose, as well as a bit of herbaceousness and tobacco. The palate is cooler, with a really nice light freshness and some stemmy tones. Light touch and not heavy at all. My #4, group's #9.
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9/16/2017 - MrMoose Likes this wine: 95 Points
always a CDP star! big earth, spice, herbs and black fruits; chewy and lush
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9/7/2017 - redders Likes this wine: 91 Points
Mature colour rustic nose with some Brett and farmyard. Picked up on palate vigorous long high acidity fresh finish.v good but shaded by the 2000 tonight
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8/30/2017 - AV2012 wrote: 90 Points
Nose was sweet and syrupy. Soft, sweet and plush aroma of vanilla and clove. Lighter on the palate, develops some barnyard with time. Nice overall.
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7/29/2017 - MrMoose Likes this wine: 94 Points
barnyard funk, wet umami earth, rich black fruit and a lot of brett
This is what all CdPs should emulate!
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7/22/2017 - SteelerFan wrote: 97 Points
Just a great wine. You need to love CDP with all the funk and sweetness. But if so very special.
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7/10/2017 - MAOC wrote:
Not much change from my 2015 note; I did feel that this showed a slightly bolder and touch less nuanced profile than another bottle drunk in 2015 (no CT note) - but it's a very good and quite pure CNDP, drinking beautifully now and for the next 10 years. ****
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7/5/2017 - cadamson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pretty darn close to my last bottle in 2010, came across a bit more fruit forward than the last time, but still had a fair amount of traditional aromas, coming across almost savage, especially with the gamey and barnyard elements. This stuff is great and easily has ten more years to go.
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6/14/2017 - MrMoose Likes this wine: 96 Points
lush , rich black fruits w/mild spice and earthy chewy texture....hated to finish this one....keeps getting better with age!
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5/29/2017 - awitz78 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Enjoyed this more than the last one. I think it's almost past it's peak. Very earthy and dark fruit.
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5/22/2017 - MQuentel@web.de Likes this wine: 96 Points
As always a great joy. The wine is a mixture of animal and earthy aromas with a subtle red fruit below. No heavyweight, but with huge drinking flow. I am convinced by the taste of spice, partly with delicate sweet hints, perfectly integrated acidity and super fine-grained tannins. The wine may be rural, indeed peasant, in all its aromas, but there is also beauty in the country. Perfectly balanced and with a nice length.
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3/7/2017 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 94 Points
consistent with notes of 6/12/2014
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2/17/2017 - locovino wrote: 85 Points
Brown in the glass, stewed nose of overripe plums with some mint thrown in. Round and viscous in the mouth with some grippy tannins. Beginning to think that Pegau ages like CA Zinfandel? Not my cup of tea...
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1/3/2017 - davergny Likes this wine: 96 Points
Another excellent bottle! Satin texture, red fruit, herbs and garrigue. Tannins have receded. This is in maturity phase. Lovely, expressive CdP.
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1/1/2017 - MrMoose Likes this wine: 93 Points
earth, gravel, lush black fruit and spice, still an adolescent
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12/23/2016 - devraj wrote: 94 Points
Medium ruby with bricking. Expressive herbs de Provence, lavender, cigar humidor, light red berries and soil tone aromas makes up a very perfumed and expressive nose. Medium bodied and silky palate shows sweet spicy crushed berry liqueur, superb inner mouth perfume and a long ripe tobacco filled finish. Perfect!
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11/29/2016 - beatles wrote: 96 Points
upon opening: classic note of beef blood and garrigue, some camphor; very Pegau here with sweet Grenache up front. Tasted again on day 2, this is locale feel galore and sends me to the place of origin. I love it, it is broad, generous, welcoming – and has lots of life left.
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11/18/2016 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
Similar to the bottle almost a year ago, more about structure than charm. I liked this one better but it sure doesn't make it easy.
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11/13/2016 - repoper wrote: 93 Points
Our last bottle of a 1/2 case purchase at release. Provanance is everything. The cork was not only in pristinr condition but also looked just a few years old. The smell of cherries overwhelmed me as it was opened. None of the barnyard that I sometimes get with a CNP. Blackberries, dark cherries like jam and brambles. The wine was extremly dark and the leggs coated the glass. In the mouth it was just great. We drank this with beef and mashed that was just the perfect accompaniment to the wine. Our experience with this over the years is that it came and went from drinking windowa and this was just in the perfect spot. My only complaint is that I've come to the realization that to my palate likes there types of wine better, but that being said this was one of the bet CNP's that we have ever had, including my Janasee VV's. 93-94
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11/8/2016 - Ary wrote: 93 Points
Tasting of Condrieus by Andre Perret followed by Pape 1998 during dinner (Goodman in Mayfair): Fairly light color. Typical Pégaü barnyard and garrigue in the nose with thick ripe dark fruits. Fully mature and well balanced on the palate, won't decline soon. Asian spices, dark fruits and earth notes on the smooth and concentrated palate.
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9/24/2016 - canan wrote: 96 Points
Pegau Reservee Vertical (Frederiksberg): Sexy and creamy blackberry fruit with lots of depth. Beautiful and long aftertaste. Great balance and structure. Stunning wine.
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7/27/2016 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium (+) ruby fading to garnet on the rim. The nose is clean, developed, and complex, with secondary and tertiary aromas framing ripe red cherries, black cherries, black plums, boysenberries and dried herbs. That palate is dry, consistent with the nose, with medium acidity, medium (+) alcohol and medium to medium (+), resolved tannins. The palate is rich, with medium (+) intensity and a long lingering finish. It is drinking quite well, considering it is 18 years old, and is probably not going to improve with further aging.
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7/24/2016 - SteelerFan wrote: 96 Points
I love this wine, very smooth with terrific sweet cherry and a bit of barnyard. Drinking very well.
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7/2/2016 - whitmanlholt wrote: flawed
Popped and poured. This is a medium red wine getting lighter at the rim. On the nose, I get some ripe cherry, garrigue, and funk. The mouth is reasonably smooth and tangy, but the finish is scratchy and harsh. This bottle had a TCA defect, which got materially worse with time -- I didn't want to drink the last 1/5 of the bottle. This was clearly weaker than the last bottle I tried. A bummer because the quality of the wine was still evident despite the TCA, at least early on. No score given flaw.
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6/23/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
A Pegau vertical (and a Foreau) (My Home): Despite showing older than anything but the 89, this still showed quite well. At age 18, it seems to be about at peak. Ruby in color. The nose has some stink to it. Also some cherries with spice. On the palate, this has a lush texture. Juicy fruit still. Layers of fruit, earth and spice. Long finish. Maybe not the WOTN, but the wine that was closest to peak IMO.
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5/22/2016 - MrMoose Likes this wine: 90 Points
rich, lush, earthy and round, black fruits and gravel, was evolving but sadly was consumed too soon
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5/21/2016 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine: 94 Points
Q2 - 2016 Tasting - The Rhone! - Another taster's perspective ((The Apt)): #12 of 16 wines tasted (double-blind) at Rhone tasting. I brought this one so I knew it was either 11 or 12. Decanted for 1 hour, double decanted back to bottle and served at Rhone wine tasting from bottle. Color is more muted compared to 2010 - with a bit of brownish around the edges. The nose has red fruit, leather and earth - not nearly as bretty smelling as the 2010. Tastes very mature, with resolved tannins and the tertiary characteristics more on display than the fruit. Really enjoyable! For me this was my 3rd favorite but the group overall preferred the 2003 Pegau.
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5/21/2016 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Q2 Tasting - The Rhone! (The Apt): Wine #12: Part of a double-blind tasting of Rhones. This was muted red fruits and relatively strong tannins (surprising given age), and leather. The age on the Pegaus definitely seems to help although hard to compete with the '03 that is in just such a nice place right now. (5 pennies)
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4/19/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
HdR Farewll BBQ (Hospice du Rhone): My friend Jeff King brought this. really showed well. Ruby/purple in color. Just a hint of brett on the nose. Really a lot less than expected based on a lot of other bottles. Also some hay, some lavender, and a lot of black raspberries. Soft. Some tannins left, but mostly integrated. Complex and layered. Lots of fruit left. Some dried but some fresh as well. For bottles in as good of shape as this, years left. Thanks!
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3/31/2016 - sawira wrote: 93 Points
Bottle #4 of 4. Wish I'd waited. There seems to be some bit of bottle variation, as this bottle was very, very young, with easily a decade ahead. Others have seemed like they were tipping down the slippery slope. Perfectly delicious with Mario Batali's Leg of Lamb with green olive, shallots and prunes. 93+ pts.
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3/8/2016 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1998 (Chez moi): Grenache, garrigue, locale - and small hints of alcohol. Still young and powerful, sweet and with a sense of place. This will go a long way...
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2/14/2016 - Luvwine1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still generous fruit, at quite a good place now. No need to wait further. To me it is fully ready to drink, but no rush. Quite balanced for a 98. Pegau is truly a consistently fine maker.
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1/31/2016 - wineordeath Likes this wine: 91 Points
Initially a bit funky upon opening, but this dissipated to leave a nose redolent of blueberries and blackberries with a strong leather element. Seems like there is a bit of brett in the background. Full, rich, and sweet on the palate with noticeable acidity. Still young.
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1/9/2016 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Second note of this wine today because it came from another bottle and it was also better. The notes are about the same but overall the wine was in a better condition. Good future of a least another 3+ years. 93 - 94
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1/9/2016 - Zweder wrote: 92 Points
In the bouquet a lot of garrigue and horse stable. On the palate dark and red forest fruits, a lot of herbs and spices, good and fresh acidity and round and soft tannin with still a good bite. A beautiful and elegant wine with still a good future. A special remark; the 1997 we tasted beside it, performed just a tad better, although it was much more mature. Later in the tasting we had the 1998 again from another bottle (and beside cuvee Laurence and Da Capo of the same vintage) and the second bottle showed better. 92+
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1/2/2016 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
A wonderfully classic CDP for '98, which is to say that it was a strong year but without extended staying power. This wine was showing very well considering the vintage with plenty of layered red fruits and spices, but it is time to drink up.
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12/4/2015 - VDLT Wine wrote:
Lazer's LI Blind (Pine Hollow Country Club): A difficult wine to assess or like. It has Considerable brett, notable tannins and a hardness. No charm but there are some quality elements.
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11/9/2015 - beatles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still going strong, this is a very typical Pegau – and well handled as that in the warm vintage; here is garrigue galore, loads of sweet Grenache and overall neuf-feel, that is sine qua non – you want to by a plane ticket right now. It has been like this for some time, and it is likely to stay there, but I do not see this wine improving dramatically with further ageing. (with PB après Enomania).
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10/11/2015 - esh44 wrote:
Hot, heavy, bretty. Pretty clear how much my palate has changed since I used to drink a fair bit of Chateauneuf du Pape many years ago.
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10/9/2015 - Dryckesupplevelser wrote: 95 Points
Stor doft av röda vinbär, röda vinbär, rosmarin, ljus choklad.
Integrerad ek, perfekt balans, rödfruktig i kombination med mörk choklad, örter, siljig texter. Gommen tapetserad i en lång angenäm eftersmak. Ljuvlig!
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9/21/2015 - madflyfisher Likes this wine:
Outstanding bottle (unfortunately the last). White pepper on the nose, very dark hints...like "balsamic-dark" intensity. On the palate - almost tingling on the tongue - it had a lot of Burgundian references. Still some grenache fruit sweetness left, although secondary notes dominating the palate. I cannot recall a better bottle of CdP. Had this together with a 1998 Vieux Telegraphe, which was great as well, although not quite as good as the Pegau. Accompanied woodpigeons very well.
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9/6/2015 - JulianSkeels Likes this wine: 94 Points
My previous tasting notes stand, but this bottle was much better prepared with 6hr slow ox, double decant and cool-down. Really opened up in the glass over an evening. Love the savoury meatiness of this wine.
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9/1/2015 - chablis28 wrote: 90 Points
I enjoy and respect the depth and classic CDP flavors & aromas. I just find the tannins always a bit difficult with this producer. At age 17 this should have a more pliant texture.
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9/1/2015 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
WTDS at The Kenwood With Some Older Gems (The Kenwood, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color with a hint of bricking. Drank 1 glass over 90 minutes. There's the requisite Pegau funk on the nose with garrigue, kirsch, some blue fruit and plenty of spice. The palate has plum, blackberry, funk, oak, spice, alcohol - mild, and lots of anise into the finish. This started a little slow, got a bit of steam, and then seemed to fall off. Not the best bottle, but still good.
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8/29/2015 - klausner1 wrote: 90 Points
This bottle was tired. Brick red and promising nose of dark berries spice and earth. The fruit is in decline, but nice notes of tobacco and earth still present.
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7/18/2015 - MicklethePickle wrote: 89 Points
I continue to be underwhelmed by Pegau's wines. Funky when opened last night, the funk is gone now but the wine is merely very good. Extremely dark with a brick rim. Good legs. Some fairly large unidentifiable elements floating around, a bit disturbing. Garrigue in the nose is well apparent but a tad muted. Subtle. Better in the mouth. Fine flavor showing dusty fruit, mouth filling and fairly rich, dry. Not really fading too badly, it could go for years even though it is already 17 years of age, which is impressive in and of itself. Finishes smooth and graceful. This is good, but not of the quality I was led to expect from the wine pros. 4-11-16-8: 89/100.
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7/11/2015 - Tree512 wrote: 96 Points
Epic. Long, haunting, red fruit still in play but dominated by blood, game and black truffles. Not for the brett averse or the shy at heart. I think this is arch-typical CdP and exactly what I want in it. I would hit these now as I don't think it can get better or more complex than this.
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6/26/2015 - Chip & Susanne Likes this wine: 96 Points
Incredible wine! Elegant with still supple tannins.
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5/9/2015 - beatles Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine keeps singing of the homeland, and if you can't afford or have time for a trip to the Rhone, just open a bottle of this, here is garrigue, locale, sweet grenache, a roundness and fullness that is pure joy. Will keep, surely, 5+ years, but why wait? (with Pacalet at CP)
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5/1/2015 - Longnose Gar wrote: 95 Points
Needed an hour of decanting and then drank beautifully. Resolved tannins, forest floor. Probably won't get any better.
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4/24/2015 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank from magnum. Really nice and mature with great mushroom and provincial herbs. Lovely
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4/21/2015 - MAOC wrote:
Very well stored bottle. Double decanted for half an hour and drunk across 60 mins. Lovely and powerful nose of dark cherry and blackcurrant fruit, with prominent leather and hints of garrigue / herbs. Certainly no brett. Much of the same on the palate although with touches of liquorice emerging over time. Very enjoyable and no issue with another 5 years plus given how the fruit remains at the forefront. Not a wine to intellectualise over, but one to enjoy greatly with food (a porterhouse steak was perfect). ****
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2/5/2015 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium-deep reddish-violet garnet in color with some clearing at the edges. Full, forward, fragrant & attractive nose of complex, developed & mature ripe fruits aromas of dark cherries, boysenberries & plums with lovely floral overtones of roses & lavender, classic garrigue, earthy, anise, dried herb notes of sage & thyme, dusty, tar, some cedar & minerals. Medium-full to full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced, smooth textured, complex, mature & developed, well integrated, ripe brambly fruit flavors of dark cherries, mulberries & plums with spices, herbs, anise, tar, mint, earthy & minerals. Long lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present and is fully matured & at it peak of development, so best to drink it up!
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1/30/2015 - UTPK wrote:
Hmm, much better than expected. I actually sold off half a case of this because I felt it lacked fruit, but that was 4 years ago. One of my last bottles, this one was fabulous. Not the typical CnDP though, this has a wonderful and utter stupendous nose which leaps from the bottle (!) as soon as you open it. Very dark nose, full of horse sweat, salmiak, figs, leather, balsamic notes. It has an intense attack full of sweetness buried underneath gripping tannins. On the palate it is medium bodied, very refined with an almost burgundian touch to it. Very grippy and the most wonderful sweet/sour sensation which lingers for quite some time. Astonishing wine at its absolute peak for me. If this gets much older it might loose its sweetness and the tannins and acidity might overwhelm the wine. Right now it is one if the best mature CnDP (save for Rayas) I have had, and I have been drinking mature CnDP since vintage 1983. Much better and more persistence on the finish than e.g. Janasse Vielle Vigne 1998 which I had a couple of weeks ago. Paul Ferreau is a genius with Grenache...
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1/17/2015 - short and confused wrote: flawed
Corked
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1/10/2015 - Yiannis Likes this wine: 94 Points
More refined compared to the 2000 Cuvee de Felix, more complex and elegant but equally fully mature (not overmature though). Silky-textured, balanced and long. Excellent.
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1/10/2015 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 96 Points
Garnet colour and intensely aromatic nose - glass smelled grom one meter away. Not for everyone though! Barnyard, animal, leather and meaty. But it also had fruit, like prune and dried figs, sour cherry. Also sweet spices, old precious wood and coffee. Seems fully mature and is great despite/because of its funkiness. Has nice texture in the palate, full body and tannins are ripe but still evident and chewey. Mouthfeel is round. Exceptional CDP!
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1/10/2015 - Peliot wrote: flawed
I bought this from 20/20 too. Also corked$&@!
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1/9/2015 - Longnose Gar wrote: flawed
Corked from 20/20 Wine Merchants
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12/24/2014 - beatles wrote: 95 Points
All fun & games right out if the glass with the Grenache singing in the front – and it keeps going; this is Provence in a glass, a wonderful reminder of warmer and sunnier times to come. I will keep, but this is troublefree drinking at the moment, no reason to wait. (Christmas Eve)
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12/22/2014 - llink wrote: 94 Points
VVW Tasting of 1998 CdP. The nose shows more earthy and leathery than the VT, but there are also lots to black fruit and boysenberry aromas, and maybe some kirsch. Sweet, ripe and very lovely fruit with a good tannic bite at the back end and a long finish. Great complexity around a brambly fruit core. Slightly better than the VT.
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11/27/2014 - eluebchow Likes this wine: 95 Points
Thanksgiving Wines (Chapel Hill, NC): Right out of the bottle, this had the classic Pegau funk, with notes of barnyard, saddle leather and herbs; the palate had lots of rich red fruits complemented by pepper, meat and cedar. A really classic expression of CDP that I truly enjoyed
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10/8/2014 - JulianSkeels Likes this wine: 94 Points
Really enjoyed this. 1hr double decant and cool-down was perfect. Still bret, but very well balanced with the savory meatiness, beef blood, herbs and white pepper. Very fine long finish lingers wonderfully, and there's a sweetness of fruit that perfectly compliments the savory notes. Never tiring or alcoholic. Would have scored higher but finish became drier with 40mins in the glass. Drink in next 3-5yrs.
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10/7/2014 - ilee wrote: 90 Points
Taking my own advice from previous notes and drinking these down rapidly. This time, served it straight out of the wine fridge at 14 degrees C. This bottle was not bad, somewhere between the last two
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9/28/2014 - MC wrote:
Similar to my last note, this just needs a bit of air and was great. In a perfect place right now. A-/A
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9/20/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
Siggy's BBQ Featuring a Trio of 2001 La La's and a Bevy of 2001 CDP's (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN): This was one of those classic bottles of Pegau with just the right mix of brett and funk to go along with the leather, lavendar, garrigue and berries. Yes, this is a winner!
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9/15/2014 - ilee wrote: 88 Points
Hmm, this bottle wasn't so good. More browning around the edges than I remember, even from bottles opened earlier this year. Had the looks and smells of something from the 1970s. On the nose, soy and mushroom predominate, with much the same on the palate notwithstanding the hints of dried currants. Old, tired and thinning out is how I would sum it up. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to keep these for so long...!
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9/7/2014 - theonlylittledog wrote: 93 Points
Another great Pegau. Nicely mature but no rush. Great structure. Tannins there but just holding the wine together.
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8/17/2014 - Sennma wrote: flawed
Bummer corked
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8/12/2014 - tooch wrote: flawed
Rhone Dinner (The Bristol - Chicago, IL): corked.
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7/12/2014 - JulianSkeels wrote: flawed
Decanted 45mins. Initially tonnes of barnyard. After a cool-down some of that dissipated and the density increased. Lots more ripe plum. Very sweet and intense, bordering on raspberry jam. Should age another decade easily, but for now use 60min double decant and cool-down. Enjoyable in the end, but not sure if representative bottle (perfect condition and cork, but that initial barnyard....)
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6/21/2014 - grapist Likes this wine: 95 Points
The whole thing cookie. Nose so good you didn't even need to drink. Taste so good, you didn't want the glass to empty. A real standard bearer for CdP.
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6/12/2014 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic wine. Fig, raspberry liquor, licorice, earth, and a touch of tobacco. Seems like it has plenty of life.
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5/18/2014 - Sennma wrote:
Decanted for an hour before drink. This wine has such an alluring nose with the classic garrique swirling out of the glass. Very clean bottle. Lovely on the palate with warm roasted notes, long finish. Classic CDP and I should pick up some more of this...
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4/14/2014 - davergny Likes this wine: 95 Points
Another rockin' bottle! Powerful, rustic, savory. Lots of wild berry fruit,garrigue, anise & other herbs. Powerful tannins.The aromatics fill up the glass and then some. Not quite as good as the bottle drunk on 7/6/2013.
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4/13/2014 - MC wrote:
Decanted 45 minutes. This was great. Dark, concentrated fruit with just the right amount of tar, leather, barnyard elements and a long, ripe finish. In a great spot, great with food, and based on my previous notes I think the 45 minutes of air is key. A-/A
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4/6/2014 - Chuck Miller wrote:
Another lovely bottle, clean and much smoother than a few years ago, but still some tannin present. No real signs of high alcohol typical of the vintage, nor any real signs of brett that some other tasters note. This should continue to hold for another 3-5 years, if not longer.
I hope most tasters are aware that brett can blossom in the bottle when stored at temps above 60 degrees or so, which can explain some of the variable notes on this wine. No question that brett is in the 1998 Pegau (and historically in MANY CdP's) but at cool cellar temps is generally contained pretty well. So the really bretty bottles are partly Pegau's fault, and partly how your bottle was stored over its lifetime.
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4/5/2014 - ilee Likes this wine: 94 Points
Clear amber round the edges, and what was once a dark inky ruby wine 10 years ago is now noticeably lighter, with some clear browning. Definitely some aging going on here... The nose is still lively with strong floral, dried-herb notes, plus some deliciously woody aromas that bring to mind freshly hewn logs. On the palate, a delightfully old patina of old leather, dried berries that almost remind me of aged early 80s Bordeaux. The nice balanced, soft rounded fruit and melted tannins point to a wine of advanced maturity. Drink up drink up is what I say, drink up not tomorrow but today, not for much longer can age be kept at bay, drink up drink I say! [And I've had 5 glasses before writing this note... hic]
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3/19/2014 - Taronti Likes this wine: 93 Points
Mature and balanced. Nose of black fruit, chocolate, tobacco. Lots of tobacco on palate. Chunky tannins.
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3/8/2014 - LWI wrote: 93 Points
Pop and pour from the cellar. Initially pronounced licorice and doctor’s office, but after a while beef reduction, Provencal herbs and blackberries, some smoke; powerful and warm wine, more licorice and herbs in the mouth. Tannic finish with some complexity. In its drinking window, but will deliver good drinking experience the next 5-8 years.
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2/26/2014 - aagrawal wrote: 94 Points
WineBerserkers Rhone Tasting; 2/26/2014-2/27/2014 (The Palace, Mission, SF): Color is medium ruby with some age-appropriate bricking; nose with moderate intensity, initially a tad reticent but more intense with swirling and time, very well put together with black fruits, spice, slight peppercorn, smoky meaty aromas, surprisingly elegant nose; palate is light-medium bodied, still has substantial tannins throughout that are just barely approachable, big flavor with juicy blackberry fruit, persistent flavor throughout midpalate, some cherry towards the midpalate, no substantial brett; finish is medium-long and just a bit rustic. A superb CnDP, drinking still quite young with excellent balance. 93-94+
Update: After 2 hours of air, this receded a bit only to re-emerge after another 1-2 hours of air. Then it had a great funky nose, dense, a bit more filled out than it was when it was first opened. Overall drinking really well now and needs more time, 5-10 more years.
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2/23/2014 - whitmanlholt Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured. This is a medium, cherry red wine, with virtually no sediment. On the nose, there is cherry, dust, and some scrubland. In the mouth, this is sweet, smooth, and juicy, with a lingering finish. Overall, this is classic and wonderful CdP that is in a great space now. Drink and enjoy! 93 points.
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2/18/2014 - spotaha wrote:
Had 6 bottles at dinner. While still very good, it's showing its age and doesn't have the fruit that it once did. Drink up!
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2/2/2014 - OCWino Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is a huge classic CHndP. Still has smooth solid tannins under dark cherry and berry fruit. It is balanced with a silky mouth feel and a long finish. A classic. Stored at 55 degrees since purchase in 2000.
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1/25/2014 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
4th Saturday Annual Champagne Event (Sue & Mike's): H brought this for dinner and had decanted it ahead of time though I do not know for how long. Garnet color with a lovely bouquet featuring dark fruit and berry with overtones of meat and salami and a wild, feral edge. Red currants and berry for on the palate, with meat and spice notes on the finish.
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1/13/2014 - MLipton wrote:
Wow! The fuzzy tannins of yore have now been civilized and the mouthfeel is downright silky. Tarry (like an Amador Zin) and mineral-inflected dark cherry fruit with a nicely acidic spine. Unlike some previous encounters, this bottle was not Bretty in the least and bore few signs of the hot year that produced it.
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1/12/2014 - sawira wrote: 94 Points
CdP tasting dinner. This was by far the most advanced and open of the four wines this night. Big, spicy, sweetish, super complex bright open nose - sexy and flashy. A bit hot and especially acidic, on the palate, but I loved the structural acidity that the others didn't display. Pretty bretty bottle, but not too much so for me, and I loved the nuances it brought. Super long, very bright, I love this wine! 94pts, easily.
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1/4/2014 - Hodby wrote: 80 Points
Medium red-garnet, bricked edge. Aromatically controversial, with wet dog fur and a fecal element that proved too much for some tasters and others not. I found it interfering with, but not overwhelming, the fruit and spice underneath. On arrival, medium-low tannin and balanced acidity; with two hours air, tannin and acidity grow a couple clicks each. A mouthful of earthy, peppery, leather-y grenache-based wine, with impressively stiff primary fruit. Bottle #2 of two.
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1/2/2014 - davergny wrote: 91 Points
Well, this bottle was very clean, no brett, but also tight as a drum and not giving much. Had the usual Pegau kirsch, garrigue, herbs & berry characteristics and quite tannic. The bottle variation for this wine is amazing. 91+
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1/1/2014 - awitz78 wrote: 90 Points
Classic CDP. Drinking very well. We enjoyed at Aziza on new year's eve.
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12/26/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 89 Points
Hello Mr. Ed! You need a bath because you stink like a barn. This wine, or at least this bottle was very horsey. There was good quality to the fruit and texture, but the barnyard aromas bordered on the edge of too much.
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12/1/2013 - DougLee wrote: 90 Points
Rust and strawberry hue. Nose of pepper, garrigue, blackberry, lavender. Quiet but harmonious on the palate, with earth, briars, sweet grip, peppercorns. Moderate acidity and smoothed tannins. Moderately long finish. Excellent, but (this bottle anyway) on the downward slope.
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11/26/2013 - dstraub wrote: 90 Points
Wonderful flavors, but hard to overcome the nose.
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11/25/2013 - EMichels wrote: 90 Points
Rich; Rich; Heat; Nice interest
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11/23/2013 - MC wrote:
This bottle did not show as well as previous bottles, not standing up well to the Telegraphe and Rein de Bois. May have just needed some air, but also not as concentrated and complete as the other wines tonight. Still very good, but not as good as previous bottles. A-
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11/19/2013 - JOsgood wrote:
Similar to my experience years ago, this vintage came across as a dirty beast.
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11/1/2013 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 94 Points
Unbelievable stuff. Had this next to the 2003. This had the complexity, layering and nuances that only time brings. Couldn't tell much from the color, there was almost no rimming and the differences between '98 and '03, at least in color, were minimal. On the nose it was meaty, spicy, herbal, savory. On the palate, it was lush, expansive, coating and penetrating with loads of dark fruit, not overly ripe either which is strange for the vintage, tobacco, wet leather and garrigue. Mouthwatering, spicy finish of great length.
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10/22/2013 - rcurlee Likes this wine: 94 Points
A wonderful CdP. Deep, complex, earthy, long pleasant finish... all the right stuff true French CdP lovers will enjoy. Even a touch of umami. Absolutely delicious.
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10/14/2013 - beatles wrote: 95 Points
The initial note of iodine is maybe less than pleasant, but give this wine an hour of air, and it is truly singing; complete neuf with garrigue, loads of sweet fruit, broad shoulders and not a trace of heat. Though it does need some air, i think it is peaking now, and will stay on top for five years or so.
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10/12/2013 - SteveHyde Does not like this wine: 93 Points
fabulous. will go for years, but this is stunning right now.
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10/10/2013 - Cheungtp wrote: 91 Points
Casual dinner gathering with Rhone wines (小杬公菜館 Siu Lam Kung Restaurant): Interesting bouquet with red cherry, herbs, mint, soy, wet leaves, a slight floral soap scent. Powerful palate with pepper spice, sweet fruits, damp earth and wet wood. Smooth texture, slightly more acidic than desired but not overly done. Pair nicely with short ribs and pork dishes.
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9/27/2013 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Keith's 50th Birthday Celebration (Bin 75): Light orange crimson; horsey, radish, red tart fruit; sweet and sweaty, nice Grenache tannin, full and rich; thick burly and syrupy after the Tres Vieilles Vignes (context) but this was classic Pegau and so true to what it is; this bottle still had some youthfulness to it capable of another 8-10 years.
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9/11/2013 - MC wrote:
With 30 minutes of air this showed really well. Dark, concentrated fruit, plenty of earth, leather, funk, and a rich and long finish. Drinking very well right now and should hold if not improve. A-/A?
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8/16/2013 - europat55 wrote: 94 Points
This was gorgeous tonight. A classic Pegau that is drinking very well right now! Perfect for a dinner at a Brazilian BBQ.
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8/6/2013 - grapist wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for over an hour. A tiny hint of iodine kept this from high nineties. Dark, rich and earthy, this still seems youthful. Plenty of tannin and acid to go with the dark fruit, meat, blood and mushrooms Mouth-coating finish typical of Pegau.
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7/29/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Rob's. Much more open and complex than the 1999 we had next to this. Great nose of smoked meats, loads of spice and bright strawberries. Extremely open and forward. Nice grippy texture. Great balance and smooth finish.
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7/18/2013 - Shiaxonna wrote: 93 Points
Much more complex, concentrated and powerful than the '08 tasted the same evening. Still some of the same aromas of canned bamboo and garrique right from the bottle, but it blows away after an hour and you are left with secondary aromas of sweetness and balance. The years have made this into a gentle and smooth wine. Fantastic!
50+5+13+17+8 (93p)
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7/13/2013 - Charlie Carnes wrote:
This is interesting and quite mature tasting. There was not too much Brett after the initial blow-off. The wine had plenty of secondary and tertiary qualities: old forest and decayed leaves, sweet red fruit, mellow wet cigar leaf, etc. The only problem I had was that the the sweetness and the decadence were nearly overwhelming. I mean, the wine tasted like old wine in a cup with sugar added.
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7/6/2013 - davergny Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very clean bottle. No brett but tons of garrigue and fruit. Big, tannic, spicy wine. Sweet & spicy finish that goes on forever! Good bottles of the '98 can go a long time. This was excellent! Interesting, a bottle from the same lot, drunk in 2/2012, had lots of brett, but not this bottle.
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5/4/2013 - Rezy13 wrote:
Herbaceous, vegetal, and animalistic as the fruit has taken a role in the background. Less fruit than previous bottles. Still some nice balance and classic Pegau style.
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4/20/2013 - DougLee wrote: 93 Points
Purple with garnet edeges. Feral nose of garrigue, black pepper, tampenade, lilac. Peppery sweet on the palate with layers of strawberry, plum, leather, and garrigue uncoiling beautifully with each sip. Tannins smoothed off with no hard edges, acidity moderate and still playing a role. Waves of grippy strawberry fruit on the finish. Another bottle of this was fizzy and wierd, but this bottle was very much alive. Terrific with lamb provencale.
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3/4/2013 - matro Likes this wine: 92 Points
No detailed notes. More evolved than a bottle 2 years ago. Good acidity and balance. Typical leather and spices on the nose, medium weight on the palate, somewhat shorter finish than I remember from previous bottles. Tannins completely resolved, drink up.
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2/17/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Barnyard upon decanting. Acceptable to me, but not Ellen, David, or Jackie. Sweet fruit, moderate tannins, significant residue. I loved it.hyper tasters like Ellen and Jancis Robinson wouldn't.
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12/28/2012 - MC wrote:
Starting to show just a bit of age around the rim. Needs an hour to open up, but then plenty of leather, game and dark fruit. Continues to drink well, but still showing some tannin on the finish. A-
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12/25/2012 - awitz78 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic, really enjoyed this with friends over coq au vin.
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12/20/2012 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Very intense and expressive bouquet with ripe dark fruits, garrigue, asphalt, tar and good bell pepper. On the palate a mouth full of beautiful fruits juice (dark forest fruits and cherries) and spice box. Some pleasant sweetness, beautifully balanced by good acidity and soft tannin. Overall an almost explosive wine which is complex, extremely harmonious, soft and round and has a great length. Completely ready now and the next 4+ years, but no reason to wait any longer.
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12/19/2012 - Bistrobro1 Likes this wine:
excellent
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12/17/2012 - esh44 wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes before drinking and enjoyed over the course of a 2.5 hour meal. Similar to other bottles I've opened, this one had a great nose of garrigue, earth, blackberry, prune, herbs, and a subtle but prominent touch of barnyard. The palate was a bit hot with dried tannins. Surprisingly light-ish mid-palate and short-ish finish. Interesting and enjoyable but not remarkable.
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11/25/2012 - norodin wrote: 89 Points
I have had disappointing experiences in the past with this wine, but this bottle was okay. I've never enjoyed the nose much as it is a bit sour and lingering too long. After an hour of decanting the wine opened up and became quite pleasant. Heavy fruit on palate and quite pleasant long lasting taste. Have a sense it would have continued to improve with some more time in the decanter, but it was drunk pretty quickly over a meal of stuffed pepper and asparugus.
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11/24/2012 - sawira Likes this wine: 91 Points
More lush, forward and red fruited than previous bottles. Very good, but lacking depth, verve and that little something extra.
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10/31/2012 - cephomer wrote: 94 Points
Drank with the Adlers during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Harrison, NY. I double decanted before drinking, and then it bounced around in my car for an hour or so. Medium to dark ruby red, very little if any browning at the edges which was surprising given the age of this CdP. Great nose of tar, leather, black pepper and some earthiness. The wine's fruit is still very much present, lots of dark fruit, maybe some sour cherries. Great minerality and earthiness, very smoky, rustic and spicy, with black (or maybe) white pepper. Still some tannins there, but soft and in no way interfering with the elegance of this wine. Very well balanced. This CdP is in a wonderful place right now
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10/23/2012 - madflyfisher wrote:
Yes! This is good wine, indeed. Almost Burgundian to the eye, the nose and the palate as well. Mainly mature notes on the nose and palate. Moist leather and tree leaves. Earth, mushrooms, and a bit of fruit too. Medium bodied. Quite good tannins intact and semi-long finish. I really liked it. Only one bottle left......
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10/5/2012 - BradKNYC wrote:
Mostly Châteauneuf-du-Pape at Dinosaur BBQ (Dinosaur BBQ NYC.): Nicely meaty with briar berries that show a bit of a roasted edge to them, spice and licorice. Smooth and harmonious and drinking at peak, this bottle shows a bit of a drying note on the finish, which is the first time I've encountered it in this wine. To me it's not as complete as the '00, or as fresh as the '99, but for fruit fun it's just a little more pleasurable than the '99. That said, I have had slightly better bottles than this one. A-.
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9/26/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
Garnet with tawny rim. As with a magnum earlier this year, a strong sense of Mourvedre at first with bark, tar and brown spices. Medium weight, crisp redder fruit and marvelous rising scents of Provence-sage and lavender. While it is tempting to lay out all of the detailed descriptors, the broader picture here was one of incredible clarity and balance-no soupiness, gobs of fruit, or overextraction, just complex, savory Chateauneuf, remarkable for a vintage that was considered ripe at that time. I haven't found these traits in many of the younger vintages recently and really miss this expression of Chateauneuf. Fantastic bottle, completely free of brettanomyces.
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9/24/2012 - Chrisinroch wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for Sediment then poured back to slow-o for an hour or so. Served with seared filet mignon au poivre....Really bretty nose at first but it tamed with air to a lovely horse blanket and wet leather nose. Super food friendly wine that complemented the meal. Great example of 1+1=3 where the peppery steak brought out spicy syrah notes and the lavender in the roasted potatoes brought out the floral notes. Plenty of juicy red fruit (still very fresh) to make the wine easy to enjoy and portends plenty of life ahead. Outstanding (90-95)
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9/19/2012 - wineismylife wrote: 90 Points
Dallas 2nd Wednesday Group - September 2012: WIML90
Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately.
Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, fairly clear looking. Nose of ash, white pepper, plums and a hint of barnyard. Flavors of berries, raspberries and a bit of minerals. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium bodied. Drink now.
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9/5/2012 - UTPK wrote:
Decanted for 4 hours. Fabulous nose of meat, horse sweat, sur maturite notes, leather. Full of tertiary aromas but still fresh. Best showing so far! Medium body, almost elegant with some astringency, still good mature and sweet fruit. Long finish.
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7/18/2012 - depdoc wrote: 93 Points
This is ready. Minimal Brett. Good from the first glass immediately after decanting. Dark fruit, spice, minimal tannin.
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6/29/2012 - MLipton wrote:
Wow! Meaty, kirsch-redolent fruit with a mineral edge and bracing acidity. Still quite youthful, but mature enough to enjoy and a great treat with lamb.
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6/18/2012 - madflyfisher wrote:
Beautiful light transparent color clearly showing some age. Almost Burgundian. The nose was very delicate with tertiary notes. Also some strawberry or cherry freshness combined with a more "dense" animalistic hint in the background. Is it the sweet smell of horse that it resembles most? Outstanding and elegant wine.
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6/13/2012 - markjanes wrote: 94 Points
Epic Boys Trip; 6/13/2012-6/17/2012 (Napa and San Francisco): This wine is the same aromatically every time I’ve had it, explodes out of the glass with tons of exotically spiced dark and red fruits… moderate amount of funk… nice background garrigue aromas. On the palate moderate acidity, a moderately lush and inviting midpalate, moderate amount of ripe tannins that are fully integrated, felt about 14.5%. Great balance, fantastic length, great intensity and complexity. Wine has loads of finesse, has a flawless texture, classic expression of place. Consistently the best 98 cdp I’ve had and showing no signs of fading… has been drinking at its peak for several years now. Beat up on the 98 VT, 98 Beaucastel, and 98 Clos Papes side by side tonight.
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6/2/2012 - TonyTiger Does not like this wine: 73 Points
I had read somewhere that the 1998 vintage of Chateauneuf du Pape was not aging well. I was skeptical until I opened this wine. The wine was very disappointing with little underlying fruit and little to recommend drinking it. If you have a bottle use it as a decoration. The label is gorgeous!
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5/27/2012 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Awesome stuff, making an impression with a gorgeous fragrance the second the cork's pulled, with that unique Pegau scent of meatiness, iodine, red fruits and leathery, earthy funk. It's drinking beautifully right now with the fruit still fresh and vibrant, but framed by an array of developed savoury and meaty flavours and the tannins surprisingly gentle. Delicious.
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5/22/2012 - Montecalvo wrote: 94 Points
Light red to red. Wine seemed still to be youngish with decent fruit nots on the nose and in the mouth. It is drinking well and held up over several hours. Tannins are present and firm but starting to soften. I would say this is in a good drinking window but not certain if it has ten years left?
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5/7/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Strawberry jam, kirsch, earth, Provencal herbs and pepper scents open to a medium/full bodied, round, ripe, sweet, mature Chateauneuf du Pape that is drinking great today. Full bodied, luscious and lusty, there is a lot to like in the wine and the best part is, there is no reason to delay popping a cork as it's drinking great today.
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5/6/2012 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 93 Points
The nose leapt from the glass showing black pepper up front with ripe black fruits and mixed herbs. On the palate, it was expansive and palate-coating with ripe fruits, pepper and structure showing through. The fruit wrapped around the palate and filled the senses. The finish continued to show its structure, yet it couldn’t stop the palate-soaking fruits from marching on.
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5/2/2012 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 91 Points
The nose leapt from the glass showing black pepper up front with ripe black fruits and mixed herbs. On the palate, it was expansive and palate-coating with ripe fruits, pepper and structure showing through. The fruit wrapped around the palate and filled the senses. The finish continued to show its structure, yet it couldn’t stop the palate-soaking fruits from marching on.
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4/28/2012 - lepetitchateau wrote: 91 Points
Really young... evolves well.
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4/18/2012 - Rezy13 wrote: 93 Points
Screaming red fruit. Not as animal as I expected. Still very good fruit to balance all of the other non-fruit descriptors. High toned, red, and very mineral driven. Red radish- classic Pegau descriptor. Got it just from the cork. Drank at game dinner, but went before the gamey dishes were served. Still WOTN. Very balanced.
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4/1/2012 - klausner1 wrote: 93 Points
Drinking beautifully. Rich dark fruit, tobacco, and spice framed by olive-y oak and held in check by still vibrant acidity. If there was any complaint it was that the wood was not fully integrated with the rest of the wine.
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4/1/2012 - MC wrote:
Unlike the last bottle, this one took a while to open up - but was great when it got there. I should have decanted for an hour, as the first 30 minutes it was a little lean on the palate, but then after that it started to open up and show botn the fruit and the secondaries. Nice finish with plenty of structure. This should hold and even improve. A-/A
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3/31/2012 - grapist wrote: 95 Points
Unanimous wine of the flight. Still youthful, but rich and full. Lush nose and deep color. A little pruny but strong in every area.
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3/25/2012 - AFulk wrote: 96 Points
Consistently excellent. This had lots of black and red fruits, as well as plenty of secondary aromas and flavors of tar, garrigue, leather, and roasted meats. Very enjoyable.
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3/3/2012 - JFish wrote: flawed
Total brett bomb. So glad I held on to this for 12 years.
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2/25/2012 - MicklethePickle wrote: 79 Points
Advanced color. Had an oxidized element at first in the nose that largely blew off fairly quickly. After that, true garrigue, ripe olives and Provençal herbs. Nicely perfumed. Sweet, ripe fruit initially, but quickly showed an off-putting dried fruit component that really hurt the wine's appeal. Weird, weird finish. Not good. 4-11-8-6: 79/100.
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2/23/2012 - BHull wrote: flawed
brett
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2/18/2012 - davergny wrote: 92 Points
I don't mind a little brett/horsey notes in my CdP and I almost expect it with Pegau, though I've had plenty of bottles that were clean & without a trace of brett. I think a little bit adds a certain character to the wine. This bottle had just a little too much though, which is a shame because this was such a great wine, a little less horse would have me give it like 98 points or so. This wine was rich, savory and powerful, but the horsey brett was there right away and took over some of the other aspects of the wine--the deep, sappy red fruit and beautiful acidity, herbs and garrigue, good length and lively, tangy finish. Maturity is definitely showing with this bottle. Despite the brett, both my wife & I loved and enjoyed the bottle. Always fun to drink Pegau!
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2/14/2012 - TheOtherPoster wrote: flawed
First bretty one for us. Seems to have been a run of these lately....
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2/7/2012 - xwine wrote: flawed
Horribly bretty! After stellar bottles in 2005 and 2008, this was really disappointing.
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2/7/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
Magnum. Medium center, slight lightening and browning. After the slightest bit of funk, a marvelously complex array of subtle toffee, red fruit, anise and graphite. You feel the structure of the Mourvedre in the blend. Perfect weight (middleweight, that is) and silky texture with solid acidity but tannins that have melted away. A sense of ripeness without untoward sweetness. Unbelievably complex, fantastic bottle that should last for a while in this format. A great '98 and a great Pegau.
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1/27/2012 - ianinvirginia wrote: flawed
This bottle was overwhelmed by brettanomyces that would not blow off.
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1/21/2012 - jsebiri wrote:
very good , this one didn't last to drink a day later......lots of secondary characteristics , well done......likey
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1/14/2012 - JFish wrote:
Quick TN: Taken to a restaurant and decanted for an hour. Initially the nose was leather and savory herbs but over time was taken over by the smell of vinyl. On the palate, darker red fruits and tobacco at first and then later the acidity came more to the fore and the wine took on a medicinal quality, but not in an overpowering way. Some earthiness was also present. A nice match for both the ossu bucco with safron rissoto and cassoulet.
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12/27/2011 - grapist wrote: 95 Points
Had side-by-side with the '03 and this clearly had more depth and complexity. Was also more full-bodied. I think this will still be drinking well when the '03 is well past its prime. This is the kind of wine that makes you pause after a sip and think about it. A very good thing.
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12/24/2011 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
The bouquet is gorgeous and so very C9duP with beautiful garrigue, red fruits and medicine in a positive sense. Enormously juicy fruits on the palate with good spiciness, some pleasant sweetness and a touch of chocolate. Beautiful and round tannin. A mouth full of complex and extraordinary wine. The finish was extremely long. You could still taste the wine minutes later. Impressive!
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12/23/2011 - sawira wrote: 95 Points
Superb. 90 minute decant. Plummy, Provencal herbs and garrigue nose - restrained at first. Then strutting its stuff with great class and style. Tannins fully resolved, yet the wine's still crystaline and vibrant. Plums, kirsch, leather, sandalwood type spices, excellent precise integrated structure, and a long etheric finish. With Mario Batalli's Sicilian green olive, prune and scalliion roast leg of lamb, which was a phenomenal match. This bottle would last 10 more years, but would be slowly fading IMHO, and is at a perfect peak and pitch right now with the right decant.
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11/25/2011 - Lord Rayas wrote: 89 Points
Thanksgiving dinner (Eric's home): powerful structure, but somewhat restrained on the nose with only hints of leather, spice and strangely a touch of mint. is it shut down?
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11/8/2011 - EMichels wrote: 90 Points
Very horsey nose; solid but less exciting than Clos des Papes or Le Vieux Donjon
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11/8/2011 - MicklethePickle wrote: 92 Points
Showing some age with some light rust at the rim. Still has legs though. Well-developed nose screams C-d-P. Very deep, lots of garrigue. Lovely sweet aroma. Hauntingly good. Palate also very fine. This is one of the better '98 Chateauneufs. Long, rich finish. 4-13-17-8: 92/100
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10/13/2011 - phenricsson wrote: 95 Points
This is just getting better and better. 3d bottle over past 3 years. Pure, still intense kirsch but gaining more and more leather, mushrooms, earth and game. Classic ChNdP at its best. Vibrant. Still lots of life left.
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10/5/2011 - kelpcowboy wrote: 93 Points
I presented this blind to our Wednesday liver tolerance testing group. Unmistakable CdP nose with just enough barnyard to give it character. Kirsch, a hint of leather and spice on the palate. Most guesses put it as a 2004. This is still very young and vibrant tasting. Wonderful finish.
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10/1/2011 - esh44 wrote: 93 Points
Still a bit tannic and initially strong barnyard notes that blew over after about an hour. But terrific aromas of cedar, leather, and earth, along with subtle blackberry notes. I'm going to wait a few more years to open my other bottles of this vintage.
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8/13/2011 - mariolanza wrote: 94 Points
This was awesome, lovely aromas of leather and cedar and tobacco. Recommneded if you can find it.
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8/6/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
The wine opens with sweet kirsch, cherry, pepper, underbrush and black raspberry jam. This fresh, full bodied Chateauneuf seems to have matured quickly for Pegau. The wine finishes with a soft, jammy, pepper and cherry filled finish.
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7/23/2011 - Mistress of Wine wrote:
Garnet colored. Initially mostly ripe dark fruit but after a couple of hours of decanting, also game, tobacco, leather and earth. Still quite tannic but not harsh. The impression on the palate is very ripe but not hot. Very Chateauneuf, very good.
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7/17/2011 - Winger wrote:
The kirschy elements noted in the previous bottle were thankfully absent this time. A wonderful; CdP that everyone enjoyed. Happy to have 4 more.
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6/23/2011 - d'Artagnan wrote: 93 Points
Horizontale 1998
Couleur sombre, un joli nez de confitures de fraises, un brin animal, plusieurs évoquaient les bretts (je ne partage pas). La bouche est glycérinée, riche, épicée, dans un style très traditionnel. Très beau vin authentique, ample et charnu, savoureux. Je l’ai rapidement reconnu comme Pegau. 93 pts
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6/19/2011 - cfe wrote:
Lovely. Fully open for business, and singing. Matched nicely with Provencal grilled lamb, ratatoullie, and bulgur risotto.
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6/4/2011 - Jndeans wrote:
It’s like fire wood drying out on the side of your house during the summer. As you approach, you can feel the heat of the sun radiating off them, and that warm, dried wood smell fills your lungs. It’s not overpowering in any way and it’s oddly comforting. If you close your eyes as you’re drinking it, you can imagine it’s 90 degrees and you’re in an oak grove, with crunchy dried leaves beneath your feet and the smell of dried earth all around you. The ’98 vintage is one of those rare beauties that puts the rest to shame… none of the brininess a lot of Chateauneaufs get as they age. The Pagau is clean. That first mouthful is full of tart, ripe fruit… like a mouthful of blueberries that still burst in your mouth or dried cranberries and . Beautiful acidity. It still has a lot of tannin and could age for at least 10 more years, but I think it is at the height of flavor and intensity… just enough age to soften out some of the harsh angles and give it the comforting warmth, yet still bright and young and full of life. While it would pare well with meats (pork tenderloin with a dried cherry and apple chutney, maybe?) I wouldn’t want to. It’s so fabulous on it’s own. No need to bring anything else to the table.
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6/3/2011 - globi wrote: flawed
corked
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5/27/2011 - drwine2001 wrote: flawed
Maybe a touch of TCA, definitely some VA. Musty with particularly vile finish, stripped of fruit. We couldn't talk ourselves into trying any more than the first few sips.
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4/26/2011 - NY Wino wrote: 89 Points
Nice nose of dark fruit and earth but the wine was a bit thin with the alcohol prevalent and the wine lacking a bit of structure. Overall a disappointment.
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4/23/2011 - KristianT wrote: flawed
Damn... the last bottle of my Pegau 1998s and it was badly corked :( previous bottles have all been spectacular, but this one was completely undrinkable
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4/1/2011 - depdoc wrote: 93 Points
Continues to improve. Minimal brett on the nose with dark fruit. Minimal tannin with lots of fruit and a long aftertaste.
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3/27/2011 - humagne wrote: 89 Points
Nice nose with some animal notes. Palate seems already slightly dried out. Should drink.
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3/12/2011 - MC wrote:
From memory with dinner a few nights ago. This was the first bottle of the case, and was great with about a 30 minute decant and out of poor glassware. Still plenty of life left to it, with dark, ripe fruit, plenty of game and spice. Really enjoyed it and felt it was better than recent RP rating. Looking forward to next bottle with proper glassware. A
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1/28/2011 - drwine2001 wrote:
Still deep and primary looking. Licorice, black fruit, a deft touch of brett and tobacco-very old fashioned Chateauneuf profile. Medium weight, quite tannic and crisply acidic for a '98. Red fruit comes forth, but not in an overly sweet manner. Even if it is a bit young, this is pretty much a flawless expression of ripe vintage Chateauneuf. Savory, full of flavor, and not at all too heavy.
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1/15/2011 - SteelerFan wrote: 97 Points
This is a very special wine. Still bright ruby in color, it is drinking brilliantly but still very youthful. Sweet cherry,pine,cedar flavors, with horsey funk that bothered some in our group even though it was the overwhelming wotn. Loved this.
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1/13/2011 - Stefanos T. wrote: 94 Points
Garnet colour and intensely aromatic nose - glass smelled grom one meter away. Not for everyone though! Barnyard, animal, leather and meaty. But it also had fruit, like prune and dried figs, sour cherry. Also sweet spices, old precious wood and coffee. The evolution of the wine is perfect, despite the funkiness the wine is 100% acceptable. Has nice texture in the palate, full body and tannins are ripe but still evident and chewey. Mouthfeel is round. Exceptional CDP ready to drink and at its best, can keep but won't get better than this.
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12/25/2010 - KristianT wrote: 95 Points
Pegeau in a classic mature vintage is pretty hard to beat. A little restrained when popped, but after an hour in the decanter a wonderful bouquet of leather, spice (classic garrique) and dark fruit (black berry and plum). Full-bodied yet elegant. Fantastic wine with many years potential ahead of it.
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12/23/2010 - devraj wrote: 94 Points
Nice deep red color. Lots of sediment in the bottle. Initial funk and mustiness blew off after ~30 mins of decanting, to reveal a haunting nose of lavender, baking spices, garrigue, leather and candied cherries. The palate is big, broad, very full-bodied, with nice kirsch liquer, herbs, pepper with a beautiful and persistent lavender perfume. Got better and better in the glass. Superb!
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12/16/2010 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
Monthly Tasting Group LTB 2010-10; Châteauneuf-du-Pape (By VD): Beautiful C9duP! Still a very fresh and youthful bouquet with a lot of herbs and spices and a bit perfume. Firm amount of sweetness balanced by good acidity, firm tannin and bitterness. Still youthful. Great and complex wine with at least 5 beautiful years ahead.
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11/30/2010 - Faryan wrote: 90 Points
Harry Karris and co at Againn (Againn, Washington DC): This wine tasted 2 years ago smoked this particular bottle which was a bit off balance and not quite integrated. It showed primary but still classic Pegau with the trademark blood, iron, saddle and grenache pitch. If this bottle is indicative, it tells one to hold. Beware of some heat on the finish though.
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11/30/2010 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Dinner with Harry Karis (Againn, Washington DC): I enjoyed the nose on this wine, with the classic Pegau funkiness - olives, blood, iodine, and provencal herbs. The palate never really opened up for me here. I found the wine very young and a bit shut down. At times, I could tell the classic Pegau character was poking it's head around the marble column...but unfortunately, it never revealed itself completely. The back end of this wine is so firm and masculine that a couple of us thought this was a couple years away from really showing its potential. Give this a SERIOUS decant if you're planning on opening one in the near term.
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11/14/2010 - winemaker wrote: 96 Points
Opened for three hours before consumption. Drank after the '97 Bonneau Marie Beurrier and the '98 Rayas. Darker in color, smells more gamey and wild. Big and powerful where the two previous wines were more elegant. Bigger garrigue, earth leather, sous bois, minerals, etc. Wow!
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11/10/2010 - mouton45 wrote: 93 Points
Stand-out bottle at wine group dinner at Bistro Bisou. Double-decanted 3 hrs earlier. Wonderfrul leathery scents in the nose. Powerful, rich, long aftertaste. A big hit at the table
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10/30/2010 - Radboy wrote: 92 Points
Terrific sauce with leather laced cherries and humble earth. Great stuff.
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10/30/2010 - Niagara wrote: 91 Points
A little on the dusty rose side.
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10/29/2010 - canan wrote: 96 Points
CH9 1998 Horisontal (MG work): Synthetic nose with a little sewer and it seems a bit closed but are showing a little cherry fruit.
The palate is powerful and filled with intense cherry flavors. A very good balance but a very powerful style. Plenty of black pepper.
Lovely freshness and starting to show secondary notes.
Great wine!!
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10/23/2010 - JohnnyBark wrote: 94 Points
This is some lovely Jesus Juice. Super inky, leathery and wild on the palate. Shoulders like Brock Lesnar with a waist and tits like Scarlet Johannsen. Fantastic tannins mellowed to reveal a very well integrated and seamless silky fruit profile. The finish was a mile long, gamey, rare braised beef and lots of herbs de Provence. This wine has at least 5-7 years to hit it's peak. Tannins might outlast the fruit. Amazing wine now. Enjoyed with a spicy rare hangar steak.
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10/19/2010 - d'Artagnan wrote: 93 Points
Nez un peu animal, viande, poivre.
Belle gourmandise en bouche, d'une vivacité étonnante, jeune, ample et épicée, un brin rustique.
Un vin encore jeune par son fruit mais abouti dans sa structure. Très beau et jeune vin....de Provence!
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10/19/2010 - bacchusnyon wrote: 93 Points
A perfect Pegau - leather, meat, a bit of tar and wood, but these odours were well integrated and not overpowering (as a couple of years ago). Did not decant, but opened 30-45 minutes, and let settle in the glass. Rich cherry, blackberry and few residual tannins. Will probably last a while, but is extremely good now.
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10/10/2010 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
A couple of cases on a Saturday afternoon: I seem to be drinking a lot of Pegau lately. This was mature and for some, past prime. I don't think so, but it depends on how you like 'em. Great nose of barnyard (Trent said sheep barnyard), wet earth and raspberries. Complex and mature. This has layers of cherries, raspberries and earthy barnyard. Long finish. Certainly, at this point, you need to pay attention to these. Personal tastes matter as this is twelve years from vintage and definitely in a mature stage.
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10/7/2010 - Winger wrote:
Starts out with a overly kirschy profile, but everything seems to become more balanced with 45 minutes of air. Medium bodied. The nose was somewhat simple and thus disappointing...not bad, it is just that my expectations were a bit higher given the buzz surrounding this wine.
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8/21/2010 - dmalcolm wrote: 91 Points
Drank over 2 days, and was more open and enjoyable the second day. Ripe dark fruits with herbs. A touch dry and restrained. I don't feel this will improve.
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8/21/2010 - Remitrom wrote:
Jackie didn't like at all.
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7/30/2010 - IAMVLAD wrote: 94 Points
at its peak. while it is no danger of declining, i doubt it will get better. typical [in a good year] pegau roasted fruit. a wine even an inexperienced rookie would enjoy. Three bottles consumed in a week with consistent notes.
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7/20/2010 - dstraub wrote: 90 Points
A great bottle with wonderful depth and complexity. Decanted it for 4 hours and went well with our meal, but, the only reason we didn't rate it higher was a continued aroma of a nasty bardyardy nature and an initial similar taste that was very unusual. We will see if our other bottles have this flaw.
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7/17/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Cherry girotte, wild strawberry jam, fresh market herbs, underbrush, fennel and cracked black pepper start off the perfume. Full bodied, and filled with ripe, spicy, black cherry preserves, this sauvage style of Chateauneuf drinks well today and might improve a bit, but it's so much funto taste now, why wait?
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6/30/2010 - PeterH wrote: 94 Points
as always, winner winner chicken dinner
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6/27/2010 - bacchusnyon wrote: 89 Points
Earthy, horsey, jammy, plummy. Very nice - my bottle was just a little heat damaged though, so has hit its peak - but I am definitely pro-brettt, at least in moderation.
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6/11/2010 - ScottG wrote: 92 Points
Needs more time to evolve and open up. Has so much potential still. A powerful pegau. Drank next to the flamboyantly open 99 (first release), which really highlighted the structure and power of the 98 in comparison.
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5/31/2010 - IAMVLAD wrote: 93 Points
blood. meat. roasted spices. one of the better 98 pegaus that i've had.
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5/22/2010 - dmalcolm wrote: 94 Points
Some definite funk (brett?) when first opened, that mostly blew off over several hours, but was still always in the background, but not overpowering. Beautiful core of red fruit, spice and meat. Well balanced wine. Still a bit tannic. My first Pegau. Need to acquire more!
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5/17/2010 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
I surely do love this wine. Big, bretty, beasty, licorice, pepper and spice. Definitely on the very ripe end of the spectrum, some soy notes, raspberry jam, but so much in the way of pepper, spice and herbal notes that it has more than enough intrigue to carry the day. Just fantastic IF you can handle the brett.
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5/15/2010 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
Stinky, funky banyardy nose with roasted meat and herbs, underlying blackberry acid in the core complex with dried fig paste and hint of American bubble gum. Palate is young and didn't show much yet. Very sweet and juicy long finish. Need times. Er.... this is not old enough to fit the theme! haha... Buy - No.
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5/14/2010 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Simple Series IV: Dave's Birthday (Victoria Peak, Orchard Central): Very good. A very different animal from the 1995 Chapoutier Barbe Rac - the feminine yin to the Chappoutier's masculine yang. Nose had some funky animale tones and meaty notes, but was also marked by sweet dark cherries and a touch of flowers. Palate had typical Pegau purity in its sweet cherry expression, rather ripe and sappy, along with some incense and garrigue, a layer of earth and a veil of powdery tannins. Finish was longish and very well structured, with fine tannins providing quite a grip and lots of smoky spice and mineral at the back-end. Still very young, but very good. Another 5 years on this would be adivsed as well.
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5/7/2010 - locovino wrote: 90 Points
Very nice bottle of wine but I don't really get the "wow" factor that most have with this. Maybe there is a lot of bottle variation?...
Anyway, warm brick color in the glass, nose of bright red cherries and strawberries with a hint of tar and leather. In the mouth still pretty tannic with a wonderful stony/mineral finish which I thought was the best thing about this wine. I'm sure my other '98 could go for another ten years so I'll let it sit. Aaaand... if any of the uber fans of this wine want to trade me for a killer bottle of Barolo or Burgundy, I'm game!
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5/1/2010 - PeterH wrote: 94 Points
See earlier notes, nicely resolved CDP
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4/25/2010 - the godfather wrote: 97 Points
best pegau i've tasted to date
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4/7/2010 - IAMVLAD wrote: 87 Points
lacks the concentration of past bottles/. also, the very noticable co2 wasa turnoff. pegau had some consistancy problems this vintage..
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3/27/2010 - jreis wrote:
This was one of the better bottles I have had this year. Soaring nose of funky violets, dried roses, cranberry, condocrd grape underbrush and black pepper on the nose. Every time I stuck my nose in the glass it seemed a different aroma was dominant. Black tea, licorice, underbrush and black fruit on the palate - lots of black cherry and blackberry fruit. Enough tannins to give a nice structure to the wine, but tannins really pretty fully resolved. As good with food as it was on its own and still evolving as we drank the last of it. Outstanding!
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3/19/2010 - vinole Likes this wine: 93 Points
DoktaP Makes a House Call (La La vs. SQN) (Nonna Maria's - North Palm Beach, FL): Has the earth and slight barnyard I expect with Pegau, but not in an overbearing way. Medium body and acidity, that starts with mostly red fruit (strawberry, cherry) and finishes with some darker ones (currant). The tannins are mostly resolved, but some additional aging will likely improve this a bit, though I find it drinking well right now. As it got more air, it had a somewhat sweetish edge come out.
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3/11/2010 - IAMVLAD wrote: 90 Points
4 bottles drunk within a week and all very similar. not the most concentrated pegau that i've had but probably one of the stars of the vintage.
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2/14/2010 - Chuck Miller wrote:
Nice, clean, grenache-y nose. Pepper, almost a little tar and roses. More tar than roses. Still has a fairly firm, tannic grip on the palate, drinkable now if you must, but well stored, it is years from peaking.
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2/14/2010 - cadamson wrote: 96 Points
Now we are talking. A traditional CdP with oodles of personality. Saddle leather, barnyard, smoked meat, red fruit and herbs filled the fantastic nose. Excellent raspberry juice on the medium palate, with pepper and blood hints. At a remarkable stage.
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2/9/2010 - tomandlu wrote: 93 Points
Decanted one hour. Deep, almost opaque blood red. Brooding nose of roasted meat, red clay, herbs, tobacco, and non-descript ripe fuit. Soft and full on the palate with no obvious tannins and good acidity. Tremendous finish of cocoa and coffee. A magnificent accompaniment to coq au vin.
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1/30/2010 - Winetex wrote: 93 Points
Dark garnet color; A very clean (no/low brett) bottle. Vibrant fruit and black pepper. With strongly flavored food it was very good. It's unfortunate that Pegau has such bottle variation with brett and TCA. Rhone roulette.
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1/27/2010 - drwine2001 wrote:
1998 Chateauneuf Retrospective-Part Deux (Rivoli Restaurant, Albany, California): Dark and youthful. Bretty, dark fruit. Hefty, animal, tannic, and young.
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1/27/2010 - ebrown35 wrote: 95 Points
This was my first Pegau and it was definitely a wow experience. Medium garnet color with very sligh bricking at the rim. The nose has some animal qualities at first that blew off to reveal, red fruit, smoky meat, and herbs. There is denfinely ferrous blood thing on the palate with some tannins still left unintegrated. This seemed to add weight as it sat and a wonderful finish. This really came across as a tradtional CDP with modern sensabilities.
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1/25/2010 - europat55 wrote: flawed
Corked! Bummer!! :(
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12/30/2009 - Deb293 wrote: 89 Points
Garnet colored with nose of cherries and spice. Way better than the last bottle; even has some residual dusty tannins. Still has some decent fruit and a low barnyard factor, but drink up.
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12/29/2009 - michal wrote: 94 Points
amazingly complex. everyone enjoyed.
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12/27/2009 - Deb293 wrote: flawed
Barnyard funk and musilage glue on the nose that never blew off. Marked acidity on the palate, and while well integrated, the funkiness remained off-putting until the last drop. Heavy on the bret; will open the last one I have to make sure. Amazingly got an email from a friend the same day to whom I'd gifted a bottle, and he was all praise. Bottle variation? Anyway, this was underwhelming, and unfortunately brought to a friend's for dinner.
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12/25/2009 - Eric wrote: flawed
Not an ideal bottle. I think it saw some heat. Somewhat muddled, hinting at what 1998 Pegau can be but never really strutting. Probably 88-89 point juice but a mere shadow of its normal glory.
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12/25/2009 - keeno1 wrote: 95 Points
Wow. Took a couple of hours to show it's best. Garnet color with very slight bricking. The nose is loaded with fig, plum, and gamey aromas, while the silky textured palate is filled with blackberry, fig, tobacco and garrigue. The finish won't quit. Just so delicious. If you have a few bottles, definitely give one a try.
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12/12/2009 - UTPK wrote:
Clear and bright red colour with almost no signs of aging on the brim. Very clean nose composed of cherries, meat stew, faint herbs and smoked meat. Attack is quite light and not very sweet. On the palate it seems light but well balanced. It is a few years since I last had the 98 but I don't recall it being this lightweight. Hopefully it is my memory and not the wine which has lost its presence. This should by every token be a great wine, and it surely will have many years to go, but I have never seen an old wine take on weight again (at least not s simple Grenach...). I hope though since I have 8 bottles left...
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12/2/2009 - Montecalvo wrote: 93 Points
red color. wonderful nose. tannins integrated and soft. overall mouth feel was soft and round. developing secondary notes but fruit still present. not as concentrated as I would have expected from this vintage. finish was better than the mid-palate. curious if this bottle is reflective or not.
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11/27/2009 - jsebiri wrote:
this was good with the Turkey smokey / burnt wood / ground and all .....the real treat was the next night the last 1.5 glasses was so much better , smoother slightly more stewed fruit 93 type rating
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11/26/2009 - wishiwereking wrote: 92 Points
absolutely drinking fantastic right now,
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11/9/2009 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
Another fantastic bottle. Drinking very well right now. Bramble, spice, meat and outrageously good Grenache.
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10/25/2009 - ScottG wrote: 94 Points
pretty much a pop and pour. Tasted at the tail end of a braised short ribs meal. Clearly open and expressive on the nose with lovely high toned herb, spice, and meaty notes- touch of iodine and blood. Still a bit closed on the palate, but clearly wants to come out- some red fruit, touch of licorice, and lots of pepper on the finish. really pleasant and interesting wine.
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10/25/2009 - Employee500 wrote: 90 Points
Off bottle? I've got bottles from two sources, and the wines from one are consistently showing as spectacular, while hte wines from the other are simply "good" CdP. this was the latter and disappointing...
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10/25/2009 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
Paul K in SF (San Francisco): Leonard bourhg this, it had been opened an hour or so before. I had a great nose of rasspberries, black cherries, spice and just the slightest hint of sweat. This really showed elegance and a feminine nature to it. Nicely complex and by no means fully resolved, it gained in complexity all night long while never losing its deft touch. This wine continues to improve and evolve and while drinking great now, I am sure holds much more in store. 04
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10/23/2009 - rob1869 wrote: 89 Points
Very dumb/off-notes initially, later opens up but still nothing special...not a great batch of bottles of the 98 for me!
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10/23/2009 - HenryW wrote: 92 Points
Pure grenache nose of strawberries. Initially the palate was out of balance with the wood a bit too prominent. Over time became better integrated. By the end of dinner had evolved into a delicate, well-balanced wine. Slightly bretty, which I find pleasurable.
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10/17/2009 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
This rocks. Big, burly, brambly, iodine, band-aid, Provencale herbs, meaty, spicy, intense. Pure pleasure in a glass. So spicy and herbal and vibrant. Absolutely wonderful.
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10/4/2009 - ed-d wrote: 92 Points
Dark color. Superripe, big & lush with a medicinal quality. Good.
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9/7/2009 - ken-yyz wrote: 94 Points
Performed even better than I had hoped. Over the course of a 2 hour dinner (at Midred's Temple Kitchen thanks to BYO), the nose soared of everything that is great about CNdP. Provençal herbs & spices, bright red fruits and just a hint of earth and gaminess placed this firmly in CNdP. Initially, on the palate, the wine seemed younger than it should have been with grenache fruit as the dominant fixture. Over time, it continued to put on weight with darker fruits and spices joining the mix.
One of my favourite measures of a great wine is that once again, the last sip was by far the best. By that test, this was a truly outstanding wine that still has several years of improvement ahead of it.
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9/6/2009 - MatthewF wrote:
Cindy's 30th Birthday Party (Chicago IL): Red plum/berry with some cranberry. Powerful notes of grilled game sausages and some earthy underbrush. Sweet cherry and berry on the palate, but I felt the mineral notes were overpowering the fruit a bit. Good acidity on the finish, but again I feel there was a bit too much minerality showing. A good wine, but not a good as I was expecting. The 2000 served alongside blew it away.
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8/28/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: flawed
Grenache Smackdown (Wally's, Arlington Heights): corked, damn. No mistaking it
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8/10/2009 - markjanes wrote: 96 Points
I've had the pleasure of tasting this wine many times from 750 and last night got to taste from a 6L... reddish rim showing low extraction and light to medium color intensity. On the nose very expressive with a slight whiff of Brett that is overwhelmed by lovely red fruits, none of which are sour, and tons of dried herbs...no obvious new oak influence. On the palate high acidity, a very round, moderate + wide midpalate that seamlessly transitions into a very long and elegant, tapered finish with moderate at best tannins that are perfectly integrated... moderate alcohol that fits the palate structure superbly. Great balance, length (60+ seconds), intensity, and complexity... finesse to spare, an absolutely brilliant texture and pure expression of place... An aromatically "excellent" wine that on the palate is nothing short of "extraordinary." All of the 750s of this wine I have had would have to be considered "excellent" to "outstanding" wines... I thought the wine is such a large format would be less evolved and tight, however it was simply more "pure" at its core and just as expressive/balanced/seamless. An unquestionably great Pegau that manages to be blockbuster and texturally super fine and elegant at the same time. Large formats really do amazing things for great wines...
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7/18/2009 - DougLee wrote: 92 Points
Fairly dark purple. Nose of garrigue, white pepper, red fruits, earth. Plump and bretty on the palate with strawberry, pepper, leather, and spicey notes. Long, flavorful finish. Early in its drinking window but quite a nice drink if decanted.
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6/28/2009 - Employee500 wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic, classic Pegau with silky red raspberry fruit, tons of garrigue and white pepper.
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6/21/2009 - Tejano wrote:
Dark cranberry with a garnet edge...showing some red berry tartness and a smokey edge with some meaty notes underneath that faded with time. A lot of substance on a firm palate that even with time had a sense of being disjointed...almost monolithic.
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6/5/2009 - wineismylife wrote: 93 Points
WIML92. No formal notes. This wine is starting to come around and show really well.
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6/2/2009 - rob1869 wrote: 89 Points
Still fails to wow. Fairly simple aromatic sherbetty fruit through the palate, but has excellent length and good body. Prefer the 99.
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5/24/2009 - tomandlu wrote: 95 Points
Popped and poured and consumed over 3 hours. Mature burgundy color that faded slightly at the rim. The nose, which evolved stunningly over the evening, was a melange of barnyard, Provencal herbs, dried fruit, cured meat, autumn leaves, and cocoa. Very fruity and rich on the palate, more like good Pomerol than a CdP, with perfect acidity and tannic bite to balance the fruit. Very long, slightly tanninc, fruity finish. I wrote 'stunningly elegant' at one point in my notes. I can't remember the last time I had a CdP good.
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5/21/2009 - Nutty08 wrote: 94 Points
From winebid. Perfect cork. Popper and poured and consumed over 2-3hrs. Very expressive clean nose of cherries and plums, without any bret or barnyard. Also showing some garrigue, tons of herbal spices, and a touch of that wet earth character on a summer day after rain. Palate is quite acidic, with little tannin and a flash of heat that quickly dissipates. Plenty of cherries with dark fruit and dried fruit highlights, but the spices is what shines in this wine; tons of thyme and Asian spices and a little sandalwood. Finish is quite long, 60+ seconds, showing off spices, herbs, a little leather and a definite wet rock minerality. Fantastic CdP that is open for business now, but seems to have plenty of acidity to last several more years.
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4/7/2009 - pbaek wrote:
1998 CdP tasting at Il Corso, NY. Ferociously tannic and closed down right now. But to me a better wine than the Laurence. This is a big scaled wine in the typical Pegau style - lots of garrigue, provencal herbs, red meat, beef blood. Dark red cherry fruit. By no means over the top, everything is well contained. Needs time to come around and integrate. Solid.
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3/21/2009 - wineismylife wrote: flawed
DAWGS March 2009 - Rhone Varietals (WineWave's house in McKinney, TX): WIMLNR
Tasted March 21, 2009 at an offline.
Opened and poured about an hour before serving. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose was slightly off but did have some muted aromas of black berries. Tasted anyway and once again muted flavors of black berries. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Drink or hold, presuming you have a good bottle. Not rated for obvious reasons.
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2/22/2009 - Colia wrote: 90 Points
Seems to be in a dumb period, having shed most of its fruit and not quite developed secondary flavors. ...it was still awesome....but put it away for a few more years and you will be rewarded. Nose of cedar, sandalwood, leather and spice. Dry and a little hot on the palate. It took about three hours for the fruit to arrive, but you could tell it was really trying to come out. Really good stuff. Wish I had another.
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2/21/2009 - drwine2001 wrote: flawed
Light, almost mature Pinot color with light, tawny edges. This did deepen a bit. Just dreadful nose of pure, stinky brett for the first hour and a half which pushed me right to the brink of dumping this down the drain. The wine struggled mightily to show some dark cherry and menthol, but it could not overcome the brett, which gave a tarry, muddy, drying finish and stripped away the fruit. I am not in the "any brett is bad" camp (see my last note on this wine), but this exceeded my tolerance by a mile. Modern, squeaky clean style? Um, not exactly.
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2/7/2009 - Terkel wrote: 97 Points
Pegau Reserve Vertical Tasting: Medium red core color with a maturing hue. Juicy fruit on the nose, boiled sweets, raspberry and dried fruit like raisin and prune. Similar fruit on the taste with strawberry and raspberry first, before the midpalate kicks in with more rustic notes of herbs, tobacco, dirt and barnyard. Absurdly long taste with great intensity and balance, really beautiful.
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2/6/2009 - jaimetown wrote: 91 Points
Opened and decanted in for 1.5 hours - the wine initially showed a very complex aromatic profile of dark red berries, grilled meats, herbs and worn leather. The barnyard component of the wine is there, but is mild and compliments the other flavors nicely and is unobtrusive. The flavors are all together nice and juicy, but the finish is a little short and displays more mature, woodsy notes, drying out a bit at the end. I think this particular bottle is on a faster aging curve than some of these other TNs here.
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1/28/2009 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
French Bakery 2nd Chateauneuf de Papes BYO Dinner (The French Bakery, 1023 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor Islands, FL): Mark's wine(Me). Received 7 of 9 1sts, average 91.8. David E - 92 High"ROH"(Bronx Science- e.g. alcohol), great finish; Richard G-94 luscious, some brett(Later commented WOTN); Deidre-95 luscious, ripe; Charlie-93 ripe,delicious, long fine tannins; Ellen-92 ELEGANT;Mark(me)-92 fine,meaty, classic CdP; Jerry-92 spice&pepper nose, black cherry cola, slight medicinal finish.
Bob said it showed better than his did at Pacific Time last Friday. I had decanted given it about 2+ hours of air in the am. Surpisingly, when it was first poured the initial funk was back. Also, I think it didn't show as well Friday, because it was poured against the 03, a decidely richer wine. In the morning it seemed to me to reflect forest floor pine needles, beef, and garrique.
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1/23/2009 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
A Last Minute Bash for 8 (Pacific Time, 40 th St(Design District), Miami): The 98 & 03 Reservee's folllowed the 01 Ca' Macarana Promis, and the 03 Ernie Els. This was Bob's wine which he had decanted at home, for how long, I don't know. This preceded the 03, and then I tasted them both side by side. The 98 is leaner, drier, and more austere, perhaps w more structure, and may outlive the glorious 03. It was very good, but last night it fell behind its younger sibling, and the 03 Ernie Els.
It will be interesting to see how it compares with my bottle at Wednesday's French Bakery, Bay Harbor Islands, BYO CdP dinner. ps There are a few spots available for any CTer interested.(Wines to include the rare 90 Henri Bonneaux Special, and the 98 Pegau Laurence).
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1/3/2009 - psmith wrote:
Grenache driven wine - all sweat and red fruits. Well balanced with alcoholic warmth and structure. Very nice.
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12/22/2008 - drwine2001 wrote:
What a difference 18 months have made. Now medium ruby with some browning. Not perfectly clear (probably imperfectly decanted). Oh my, an immediately engaging nose that really draws you in with a whiff of funk rapidly giving way to plum and strawberry fruit and toffee. This then shows some lavender and secondary perfume that were not present in the last bottle. Clean and round in the mouth with perfect weight and ripeness of fruit without the excesses of the vintage. Tannins have faded, but a late note of tarry licorice provides an anchor. Outstanding and has the material and balance to hang on and become even more complex.
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12/17/2008 - depdoc wrote: 92 Points
Spectacular with a filet mignon. It drinks extremely well by itself.
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12/3/2008 - depdoc wrote: 91 Points
The aroma is typical for a CDP, like a barnyard, but more subtle. It is a massive wine that is good by itself or with heavy meat, as I had it with barbequed ribs. Dark berries, herbs and pepper. Will no doubt even improve.
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11/24/2008 - WetRock wrote:
Rhones at Catal (Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar, Anaheim, CA): Initially tight showing a note of brett and a bit of heat the nose opens with funky rustic complexity and integrated spices. Very nice balance on the palate with nice acidity and light feel along with a still strong tannic grip. Easily the WOTF for me and candidate for WOTN. A Pegau that performs to its rep. Excellent.
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11/22/2008 - canan wrote:
Nose: Barn, wet hay and spices.
Mouth: Dirt, strawberries, medium body with a nice acidity to it. Great intensity and a "big" wine.
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11/20/2008 - mappleton wrote:
Explosive nose of ripe fruits. Dark blueberries dipped in chocolate on the attack. Great acidity and well integrated tannins that are still pretty big. I would have guessed much younger. Delicious
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11/19/2008 - Tree512 wrote: 95 Points
At its apogee and truly outstanding. Loads of red fruit and with enormous secondaries of blood & iron with black truffles and a long balanced finish. Awesome.
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11/14/2008 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
Mmm, thick, sweet, herbal and meaty. This wine may as well be a food group. It is so thick you could cut it with a fork and knife. A fantastic and explosive nose of dried herbs quickly gives way to a ripe, thick and powerful palate. It clearly wants more time to shed some weight and get a bit more secondary, but wow is this hedonistic at this stage.
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10/30/2008 - peblin wrote:
Domaine de Pègaü vertical tasting with Munskänkarna (Stockholms Vinkällare): Nose a bit closed, wonderfully complex, fruity, alcoholic. Long, elegant, powerful taste with lots of tannins left for more ageing. Fantastic wine.
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10/29/2008 - davergny wrote: 94 Points
This wine is really in it's stride now. The nose screams Chateauneuf, with aromas of dark red berries, leather, garrigue, licorice, and just a hint of the horse stables. The
wine is much more open than the last time I drank it, two years ago. Kirsch, spicy dark red fruits, marzipan, and pepper on the palate. Brawny, evoking a wildness to it. Long, mouthwatering and spicy finish. The fruit really started to come out with the last glass, so I wish I had decanted it. This should last for a long time and possibly even improve.
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10/25/2008 - Russell Faulkner wrote:
Very strong tannins, with a slightly grainy feel. A hint of brett and some woody herbs and cherry. The tannins a little unbalanced, should have decanted maybe.
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10/15/2008 - Employee500 wrote: 95 Points
Sensational, with rich, ripe fruit, silky tannin, a huge, juicy finish and terrific complexity. No brett. In addition to the impressiveness of the wine, there is nothing here that detracts from its immense drinkability (i.e. the palate doesn't fatigue with continued consumption, it's not heavy, etc.).
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10/5/2008 - Faryan wrote: 96 Points
Pegau Vertical (Morton's Steakhouse, Washington DC): My WOTN and perhaps the consensus for the group. A heavy nose of feral barnyard coupled with deep aromas of cassis, garrigue and kirsch liqeur. The palate was the most polished of the night (with 04 nipping at its heels). Simply brilliant, round kirsch liqueur with a seamless and long finish. I couldn’t help but hold onto as much of it as I could throughout the night. Fantastic stuff.
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9/28/2008 - decaturwinedude wrote: 93 Points
Chateuaneuf in ATL 9/28/08: Nose has some brett, but just enough if you dig it. I did. Palate is precise. Mouth coating cherry fruit, some meaty essence and youthful, expansive acidty. Long, peppered finish.Really quite nice. I wrote young-ish. Top 3 of the night for me.
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9/12/2008 - JFish wrote:
Decanted for about an hour. Slightly bretty with dark fruit and leather/horse saddle on the nose and palate. Corked and refrigerated 1/2 of bottle. On day 2 the brettiness was gone. Drinking beautifully. Incredible balance and depth of fruit.
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9/8/2008 - kevin h wrote: 92 Points
Dense nose with dried thyme, liquorice (sweet Pontefract cakes) and the smell of 200 year old books when opened, quite lingering and with plenty of garrigue. This is just passing out of a youthful phase into early maturity. Still a little young, peppery fruit but plenty of game, herbs and liquorice in the flavour too - big and powerful with a black fruit profile here rather than red fruits. Deep and lingering and still with many years aheard of it. Old-style power and extract rather than elegance and still a fair bit of tannin. Drink or hold - this should still get better over the next decade.
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9/2/2008 - Mlermontov wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Dino's with the DC/Balt Crowd (Dinos): YUM. Iron and cassis, rush of acidity, rustic and chewy and at the same time full of vigor, still on the young side but sooo good. my red WOTN.
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8/29/2008 - CSteefel wrote: 95 Points
Well, the 1998 Pegau Cuvée Laurence may have been shown up last time, but this time the 1998 Pegau Cuvée Reservée held its own, especially if you take into account its younger age. This was the best 1998 Pegau I have had, and the wine really seems to be hitting its stride now—I can only shake my head with regret over the previous bottles I drank too early. One whiff of the wine and I cracked a smile as a profusion of red currant berry, garrigue, and licorice cascaded out of the glass. On the complex palate it presents an interesting contrast with the Beaucastel, with the higher proportion of Grenache providing licorice notes in place of cherry. The flavors were classic Chateauneuf, but the wine is beginning to take on an almost Burgundian character in the way that multiple themes seem to set up and play out on the palate. Wow, two great wines in one night…
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8/10/2008 - xwine wrote:
This was smoking! Better than the last bottle at a CC tasting (I think Mike or Mark brought that bottle). Beautiful, deep color. Loads of herbs (lavender, thyme) on the nose. Palate was complete, with everything in balance; supple, with tannins initially evident but then integrating with the other components. But frankly it was hard to keep my nose out of the glass. Flat out terrific wine. Lovely with the grilled porterhouse!
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7/19/2008 - BordeauxNut wrote: 89 Points
Saturday Group Kicks Off with Haut Brion: Stewed fruit -- prunes on the nose, actually. There's a good bit of funk and that distinctive and slightly reduced 'Pegau' signature. With air, a slight floral note appears. Modest finish. Served blind (and identified to be Pegau -- but guessed to be the 1999 initially) this bottle reinforced my already strong opinion that this wine isn't what it once was. As I have a good bit of this, I'm hopeful that this is simply in an odd place right now. Craig and I discussed this very topic with Dan Kravitz (Pegau Importer) during his visit to St. Louis and he suggested it needed more time. I'm not so sure, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
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6/22/2008 - rob1869 wrote: 90 Points
Limpid ruby; initially wet dishcloth and rhubarb crumble on the nose, develops a bit more sherbetty red fruit; full glycerine body (smooth, slightly viscous); decent medium length finish but fruit somewhat pinched in the end. Balance v good. I think this is just a stinky bottle rather as the fruit intensity doesn't compare to the others (87). On the 2nd night the fruit showed much more and the dirty smells much less so - fruit also less pinched on the finish.
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5/24/2008 - the godfather wrote:
tasted like 2 horses had sex in my glass
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5/23/2008 - JOsgood wrote: 88 Points
What a dirty beast of a wine this was. Very funky with all kinds of barnyard aromas that weren't very pleasant.
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5/11/2008 - Jozefs wrote: 93 Points
Fair amount of stable aromas on the nose; also kirsch, sweet red fruit, white pepper and leather. The palate is dominated by sweet grenache fruit, lots of kirsch, pepper, red berries; tannins almost but not completely resolved. Nearing its peak, I like it as it is, why wait and risk loosing (some of) the beautiful fruit?
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4/2/2008 - PeterH wrote: 93 Points
So, the last time I had this wine, it was after some '99 Burgundy. Was looking for another bottle to open and I hit this. To me, at the time, it smelled and tasted like it had been used, before bottling, to give an enema to a donkey. Really barnyard/horsey smell and taste.
This time, it was the first bottle opened. I guess you can't drink this stuff after Burgundy!
Now much better. Still bretty, but nowhere near what I perceived, last time.
Still tannin to resolve, but a classic CDP, though on the horsey side...
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3/14/2008 - rob1869 wrote: 89 Points
Wines of 1998 - Naked Offline "B-Team" (Alex's Office): Medium ruby; light style but with high toned red fruits; fuller glycerine body, good acidity and length; still no distinctive personality from the 98 to my palate.
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3/10/2008 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Sweet is the dominant perception here. Really sweet like a BBQ sauce layered with lovely funky earth, spicey kick and fleshy notes. Some tannins kicking around, but really a non-pla yer in the face of concentrated fruit, heading into kirsch territory. Normally I'd give this wine a pasting, but I wanted something brassy and outre both to go with Waygu burgers and with a strenuous day.
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1/23/2008 - yeoman wrote:
Light burgundy red. Nose of very barnyard, earth and flower. Palate is wow...nice balance with plenty of fruits with melting tannin, follow by a nice moderate finish.
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1/9/2008 - nwk wrote:
Super-high tone with VA, cider-like notes. Port like on the nose- ripe fruit, prune and fumy. Porty in the mouth, very ripe, with cooked fruit. Huge and ripe with raisin flavors. Some sweet n' sour character with the VA. Very big wine with kirsch and sweet fruit flavors. Mouth better mouth than nose.
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1/2/2008 - d'Artagnan wrote: 94 Points
Grand vin, trame tannique encore imposante malgré le fruit gourmand. Nécessite plus d'une heure de carafe mais ma dernière devrait attendre idéalement 5 ans. 94 pts
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12/30/2007 - DougLee wrote: 94 Points
Curious to try this after sampling the 1998 Cuvee Laurence several times. The cork had one rivulet of wine stain reaching the top edge. On opening, there was a healthy amount of barnyard, provencal herbs, dark plum, leather, and holiday spice cake on the nose. This would gain in complexity and volume throughout the night. The color was a somewhat translucent garnet. On the palate there was a striking combination of earthy garrigue, tarry red fruits, pepper, and surprising sweetness to the grippy, pliant tannins which interplayed from the initial attack to the long, wonderful finish. Equal to the Cuvee Laurence, just a bit more earthy. Absolutely delicious at this early stage.
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12/6/2007 - OW wrote: 96 Points
The best showing yet for this wine. It was the concensus WOTN in very distinguished company. Nose of sweet red and black fruit, leather, bacon, a little tar, and a perfect amount (for me) of sweaty horse/barnyard. Exceptionally smooth on the palate, mouthcoating, balanced with sufficient acidity to be mouthwatering, and a medium long aftertaste. The killer part of this wine is the nose - against all the others (Clos des Papes, Pegau 95 and 2000, boisrenard 2001, and a couple I'm forgetting, and Musar 1991) this was just exceptional both in quantity and quality. This has been stored at a constant 60 degrees since first release, and was opened 5 hours ahead, so may be a bit advanced of colder storage, but is certainly at the beginning of plateau now. I usually don't do points, but to put it in context of others who have done so here, I did this time. As one of the tasters said, this is a rock star.
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11/10/2007 - Tree512 wrote: 94 Points
Reaching its plateau. Large fruit but with loads of secondaries. Will last for a while but finally starting to taste like CdP.
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11/4/2007 - BradA wrote: 94 Points
This has become the "go to" or "house wine" around here. Tonight, Dad came over for an autumnal dinner and nothing else seemed right to pairwith the food. A quick decant prior to service and we were off. Rich, brambly aromas mixed with flavors of herbs, kirsch and scorched earth. A wine that continues to excel and demand a prominant position in the collection. Beautiful now with years of life ahead.
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11/1/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Traditionally styled with ripe, red fruit, herbs, licorice and pepper. Concentrated with rich textures, this ripe wine packs a lot of ripe kirsch in the finish.
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10/30/2007 - Eric wrote: 97 Points
Seattle Tasting Group does Châteauneuf-du-Pape (mostly Pegau) (Seattle, WA): Mmm, a brett bomb! Big notes of tapenade. Every time I come back to this wine it is leaping out of the glass and is head and shoulders above the rest of the flight. As it turned out once unveiled, this was decanted quite a bit more than the 2000 and 2001 and clearly benefited. The palate rocks, ahhhh, gorgeous, waves of stunning garrigue, dry, powerful, long, dense, dark, spice cake, blood, I LOOOOVE this! Sweet and sour, dynamic, loaded with olives, a powerful and gorgeous wine that is drinking impeccably!
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10/24/2007 - RWilkinson wrote:
pop-and-poured this one, young, deep core of dark cherry fruit, youthful red fruit nose with only hints of ageing; palate balance impeccable. A friend with much more knowledge than I regarding wine, remarks that in 5 years this wine will be 20% better. WoW, can’t wait till 2012.
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9/21/2007 - Jozefs wrote: 92 Points
Sweet grenache with all the stuffings, accessible now.
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9/15/2007 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
At Michael's Genuine Food, Design District, Miami w Margot & Richie Tedaro. Decanted for 4 hours. Excellent now, still young.
One of my favorite CdP producers. Very good, but not the = of the extraordinay 03.
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9/13/2007 - d'Artagnan wrote: 95 Points
nez plus classique sur la garrigue, le poivre, partage la même structure et richesse que la cuvée Laurence avec un brin de rusticité qui le démarque et que je trouve plus classique. Long, ample, généreux et savoureux. Fruits rouges des champs, kirsch. Un magnifique exemple du millésime et mon vin de la soirée avec sa sœur. 95 pts
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9/11/2007 - rob1869 wrote:
Not rated. From a recent auction purchase. Medium, limpid ruby; youthful red fruit nose with only hints of ageing; palate balance impeccable. Finish medium. No detail because I found this bottle fairly anonymous and it compared unfavourably to a 2004 I had earlier in the summer. Will keep the others for a while.
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9/2/2007 - hcampana wrote: 93 Points
TNs: 1998 Pegau Reservee, 2002 Domus Aurea, 2004 Numanthia Termes & 2004 Terrunyo Carmenere Peumo Vineyard (Guadalajara, Mexico): Had at Abejo's club house w/ Vane, Amanda, Juan Aretos, Delia, etc.
I took this magnum to my cousin's plot warming party. This wine showed better than ever, unfortunately I have already consumed the 4 magnums I owned. The color is less than stellar for those of us spoiled from ripe-year Bordeaux and Cali Cabs. For me, Chateauneuf du Pape is all about the nose. This was the most expressive this wine has shown for me. Complex, spicy and earthy, this is a complex nose! The palate follows through with more spice and red fruits as well as a surprising tannic edge and a long, minerally finish. A definitive winner, even when Chateauneuf du Pape rarely hits on all cilinders for me.
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8/11/2007 - gorm wrote: 93 Points
It's been more than a year since I last had this. This bottle seemed very mature with few tannins and loads of round red fruit in addition to classic notes of barnyard, provence spices and some leathery tobacco. The maturity combined with some strange prickling acid (very little) and my memory of the previous bottle a year ago leads me to believe that this bottle may be just slightly off. Still great and drinkable though.
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6/1/2007 - sdr wrote: 85 Points
Just a middling score this time; it's O.K. but not as classical as I had hoped. A bit out of balance due to a slight excess of acidity and a lack of intensity in the middle. There's just a hint of the garrigue in the nose although more evident on the palate. Still, a nice match with mustard grilled chicken. Maybe just an off bottle.
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5/22/2007 - Harry Cantrell wrote: 93 Points
Good, textbook Ch9P. Very Good.
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5/19/2007 - jeff nowak wrote: flawed
corked. my last bottle.
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5/18/2007 - mattiasjansson wrote: flawed
Rhone dinner with Paul Jaouen (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix, AZ): CORKED
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5/18/2007 - kstoddard wrote: flawed
Unfortunately very corked.
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5/13/2007 - drwine2001 wrote:
Deep ruby with no hint of maturity. Impressively young, deep core of dark cherry fruit, simple at first and only slowly developing some spice and herbs, but blossomed nicely over a couple of hours. Sappy without being overripe, fully ripe but very noticeable tannins and significant acidity. This is very well balanced for a '98 Chateauneuf. Excellent, but I'd be inclined to wait another 5 years before trying another bottle. Serious, with great potential.
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2/17/2007 - BradA wrote: 94 Points
Pegau at Wild Ginger with Laurence Feraud (Wild Ginger Seattle): A quick note. A more advanced nose--very smooth and easy to drink. Just delish!
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2/16/2007 - Winetex wrote: 88 Points
VinoCellar.com 4th Anniversary Celebration (Willi's Wine Bar, Santa Rosa, CA): Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. This was one of the bretty Pegaus. The horsey smell was the first aroma out of the decanter. Those adverse to horsey aromas stopped at that point while the others pressed on. While it had some complexity this was an off showing for this wine. [Decanted at the table; not much improvement in the decanter]
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2/16/2007 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Domaine du Pegau Tasting at Wild Ginger with Laurence Féraud (Seattle, WA): This bottle was more closed and less impressive than two I had last summer (pop-and-pour might be better to grab this one right now versus decanting for a few hours which seems to have shut it down). Still, a really nice wine. Mmm, melted licorice, soy and spice. This wine is just flexing and stretching as it burns off the last of the primary elements and is starting to get a little bit secondary. I love the tooth-coating tannin and the emergence of some iodine. Gorgeous.
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1/20/2007 - winefool wrote: 86 Points
CFTG Dinner at Mark Pecken's (Mark Pecken's): Full red color. Medium 'plastic' nose of red fruit with licorice hints. Very bretty. Big black purple fruit with stinky earh notes. A bit off-putting to me.
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1/15/2007 - klang wrote: 88 Points
A very nicely balanced wine - probably at or near it's peak.
A very forward bouquet, with secondary characteristics creeping in, just as I like them!
The palate delivers balance, warmth and intensity.
Lovely - can't see it improving much, but who knows.
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12/9/2006 - hcampana wrote: 92 Points
Dinner at Bistro Bardot ('98 Pegau Reservee & '01 Wegeler Geisenheimer Rothenberg Eiswein) (Monterrey, Mexico): Had at Bistro Bardot with my mom, sister and girlfriend.
From Magnum. This is the best showing of this wine for me. Medium ruby color and an attractive nose of spice box and red fruits. Medium to full bodied, with completely resolved tannin and a very pleasant finish. I like Chateauneuf du Papes but I am rarely wowed by them. This is one of the best I've had, but the nose fell short on the complexity side when compared with an incredible 1998 Bonneau Reserve de Celestines that remains shoulders above any other CNP I have ever tasted including this one.
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11/19/2006 - dbkitc wrote:
(at Corks – Baltimore) Very cool to drink this next to the Cuvee Laurence. Initially the noses were quite different – this was more tea, violet and plum, but with air they became more similar than dissimilar. This wine was a bit bigger, with a bit more depth, but not the elegance (maybe balance is a better word as these really weren’t elegant) that the Laurence has. This wine needs a few more years. (18+)
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11/5/2006 - gareth wrote:
Drank sometime in October. Can't remember with who. Very soft tanins good frut but won't last forever.
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10/22/2006 - Wineosseur wrote: 92 Points
Consumed over 3 days, and again, I found this wine to have lots of potential but fall just a bit short of my expectations. Ripe red fruits with hints of earth and garrigue. Didn't get any horse/barnyard, but my sense is that some of the complexities are still asleep in this wine. Rich, smooth palate with a touch of heat on the finish which seems to come and go. I really need to save my remaining bottles for another 5 years or so to get that extra notch or two that this wine is capable of delivering.
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10/9/2006 - BradA wrote: 93 Points
Brought to Chez Shea for Karen's birthday--yowza this was a fun bottle! The waitstaff decanted and when they poured, couldn't contain their enthusiasm; I said they should have it on their list!
Sweet fruits, some earth, but more smooth and rounded IMO. Could drink this regularly--a rich and beautiful wine that paired well with duck breast. Not as tangy as some recent vintages, but a full bodied wine that has years to go.
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10/4/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
Another (Mostly) Pegau Tasting and Dinner (Skokie IL): Tasted blind. Fat fruit that seems very upfront and forward, but a little shallow. Black fruit, lush, coming across more modern than most other wines tonight. Again, no surprise to me this was unveiled as a 1998, not my favorite vintage, and that others in the group enjoyed this far more than I did tonight.
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10/4/2006 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Pegau Vertical (Larsa's Mediterranean Restaurant - Skokie, IL): Ruby in color with an enchanting nose of tar, smoke, garrigue and dark fruits. The palate has a bright fruits and firmness on entry (from tannin and acid). The midpalate is intense with leather dark fruits that carry forward to a long, smoky finish. Outstanding.
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8/26/2006 - gareth wrote:
Drank on my own during the week. Very smooth w/good fruit. But not amazing.
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8/23/2006 - antiwood wrote:
Exuberant and lively nose of provencal herbs, spice, some pepper. Still extraordinarily youthful, thick, and primary on the mouth. Garrigue, lively tannic presence. Powerful finish. Extremely pure tasting Chateauneuf. Needs 5+ years. This is a large scaled wine on the palate by my standards. My only quibble is that it's large enough to lack the precision I seek in S. Rhone wines with a bit more leaness. I had this with a fairly large scaled duck dish at Zoe's and the wine was too large for the food. This is a style, not a quality question.
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7/14/2006 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Earlier today I was dropping off a whole load of wine at my offsite storage facility and happened upon the tail end of a small, private tasting where Steve Tanzer was reviewing Washington wines in preparation for an upcoming issue. Once I got my wine down to my locker and came up and chatted and sampled some of the highlight wines. As they finished up, they wanted a little something to cleanse the palate and magically bottles of 1990 Beaucastel (sadly somewhat oxidized) and 1998 Pegau appeared on the table (plus a corked 1999 Raveneau Les Clos and a very ripe 1999 Comte Lafon Puligny-Montrachet). I had never actually had the 1998 Pegau and have avoided mine for fear of them being closed. Anyway, mmm, that 1998 Pegau was just stunning, very approachable, and mind blowing! A complex melange of herbs, cherry, horse greeted you on the nose. The palate was rustic, powerful and beautiful. Man oh man was I fired up by that wine!
So I ran home to the market and then home to cook Shabbat dinner and, appetite somewhat whetted by the taste of 1998 Pegau, I grabbed a bottle of my own 1998 Pegau for dinner with my in-laws. Dinner was chickens roasted with Provencale herbs, black olives and caramelized onions; roasted green beans; and a quick pasta with sauteed mushrooms, herbs and a bit of veal stock.
My bottle of 1998 Pegau was just what I was looking for. Inky, a bit cloudy, and loaded with blood and garrigue. This is utterly fabulous wine. Very powerful and traditional, ripe, but not over the top. It's less spicy than the 2001 and less intense than the 2003 (what isn't), and this is probably still a bit closed. That said, it is already wonderfully rewarding. It makes me realize that I NEED to drink more Pegau, maturity be damned. 94 points for now but with upward potential.
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6/27/2006 - ken-yyz wrote: 92 Points
Tasted at a vertical along with '85, '94, '95, '01, '03. Initially, the '98 was less impressive than the other vintages, with a slight VA nose. As it sat in the glass for a couple of hours, it really came in to balance and developed some great secondary nuances that I loved. Brighter red fruits and a smoky spicy nose.
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5/2/2006 - thas wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for app. 1½ h. Deep red with no real sign of age. The bouquet is intense with kirsch liqueur, spices and meat. The taste is balanced with deep, intense primary fruit, still some mature tannins. Very good.
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2/28/2006 - gorm wrote: 95 Points
Dark violet with a hint of brown. Spicy and very clear nose. Intense taste, spicy smoked bacon, dark berries. Wonderful.
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1/28/2006 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 94 Points
double decanted in am(1 1/2 yrs ago decanted for 4 hours). At Pastis, Coral Gables(best bistro outside Paris) had with crackling hot bubbling Escargot, and a wonderful thick Pork Chop Provencal. Opulent woodsy gamey smokey CdP both in the bouquet and extended finish. Will wait a few yrs for next one. P.S. I visited Pegau's retail cave in CdP during the broiling summer of 2003, fortunately got a bottle of of the 2000 CAPO @ 100 Euros.
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1/6/2006 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
Just about oustanding, this dark brooding behemoth started out disjointed, alcoholic and tannic. But with the magic of just 15 minutes or so or aeration, it melted together beautifully. Very extracted but not bitter. Real CdP character; K even peceived some "barnyard" character at first which I did not. This will improve over the next few years at least. Nice match with grilled tenderloin of veal and red wine reduction sauce at home.
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12/17/2005 - DCornutt wrote: 95 Points
The nose is heavenly. Beautiful dark fruit wrapped in herbs and earth. The palate is a little tight and finshes with a rush of tannin.
It is however wonderful. Big meaty dark fruit with interlaced garrique. Beautiful.
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10/27/2005 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Domaine du Pegau Luncheon at Aureole in NYC (Aureole, NYC): No formal note. Tasted side by side with the '98 Capo (see TN), the two wines offered very different expressions of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The '98 Reservee showed quite well, though it is certainly a few years away from really starting to crack open. Due to its youth, texturally it is a bit rustic and rough around the edges, but that element will come together given more time in the bottle. Gutsy, honest wine. Actually, it was not as closed as I was expecting. Well structured, with more secondary components entering the picture than I recall from my last bottle about a year ago (see TN). The fruit leans more to red than black, and there is certainly some of the typical '98 heat. A very impressive wine with a bright future ahead of it.
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10/23/2005 - xwine wrote:
Deep, vibrant, ruby red. First tasted about a half hour after decanting. Loads of meat and spice on the nose, with a touch of herbs/mint. Nice impact on entry, with grenache at the forefront; meaty finish. Tannins evident, but quite fine. After a couple of hours in the decanter, it seems to close down. Now somewhat primary, but very deep and concentrated. After three hours, quite perfumed, with a wonderful exotic spiciness and that meatiness still lurking in the background; tannins seem to become a bit firmer. Terrific wine! Twenty-four hours later, the nose is simply beautiful -- mocha and spices; palate has herbs, dark fruit, and a silky finish with fine tannins. Lovely.
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10/1/2005 - Wineosseur wrote: 93 Points
Very nice Pegau with plenty of upside. Tasted over 3 days with the last day showing the most complexity. Lots of ripe grenache fruit with earthy herbs and spice. Couldn't find and barnyard (which I like), but I think this wine will gain much complexity with age. Great balance and long finish.
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7/23/2005 - mouton45 wrote: 95 Points
Incredible luncheon and tasting at Al G's. with Saturday Group. This was the lineup of reds (after 7 great whites to start);
1993 Vincent Girardin Santeney La Maladiere
1974 Beaulieu Private Reserve cab
1966 Haut Brion
1981 Beaucastel CdP
1985 Gruard Larose
1982 Gruard Larose
1990 La Dame de Montrose
1994 Muga Riserva rioja
1994 Tignanello
1994 Penfolds Bin 707 cab
1994 Vieux Telegraphe CdP
1998 Domaine Pegau CdP
1995 Ridge York Creek Petite Sirah
1996 Poggio Antico brunello
And by unofficial hand count, the Pegau was the WOTD against some pretty tough competition. I decanted it in a carafe for about 2 hours before going to Al's. Then it sat in the bottle, open top for another 2 hours or so before we got around to drinking it.
The Pegau was seemless. Rich, powerful, full bodied. Still has moderate tannins but very approachable (which surprised me a little). Super-ripe flavors of roasted meats and sweet fruits. Velvety finish. Delicious!!!! Gosh I'm glad I bought a lot of this.Try another in maybe a year.
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6/22/2005 - jamiekutch wrote: 93 Points
S.F. - Rubicon High End Rhone Wines (Rubicon, S.F.): Rich and fine, I couldn't determine which I liked more the Pegau or Beaucastel. With density and muscle, this was a bruiser. Black fruit, and scorched earth along with a lovely long finish this was delicious.
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5/1/2005 - winefool wrote: 90 Points
Bright red pink. Tannyic and earthy. 5/05
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2/21/2005 - PaulH wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful shining red wine with marked pepper on the nose. Medium-full body with lush tastes of ripe Grenache fruit and an undercurrent of black olives for complexity. Long smooth finish. Drinking well now.
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2/12/2005 - ScottG wrote: 95 Points
I really, really like this wine, but it still needs a good five years to come into it's own. Decanted over 3 hours it was still improving (but the one glass leftover did not last overnight). Powerful nose of pepper, herbs, berries, and a wee bit of funk (although certainly not as much as the bottle I had upon release- THAT was a sweaty bottle). Palate still quite tannic with a myriad of fruit flavors and a nice long powerful finish. Good golly I should get more of these.
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11/13/2004 - Ben Andersen wrote:
$33 retail on release. Obviously, the '98 Pegau is a solid, traditional Chateauneuf. Tonight it showed typical '98 fruit (and heat), leaning towards the red side. It really benefitted from an hour+ of air. Well-structured; showing a textbook young Chateauneuf profile, with great detail - layers of spice/fruit aromas and flavors. This was very enjoyable tonight, though a little hard-edged. It will certainly benefit from more time in the cellar (3-5+ years), and will no doubt enjoy quite a long life. FWIW, compared to the '98, the '99 is giving more up at the moment, and I know I'm not alone in suggesting popping the '99 (or even the more lush '00) while waiting on the '98 Pegau to realize its potential...
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10/29/2004 - Hammer wrote: 95 Points
It's a beauty. Somewhat reticent on the nose but has a great concentration and power in the palate. Nose of roasted meat, a bit of barnyard, and raspberry - exactly what I like in CDNP. I seem to prefer the 1998 to 2000 every time I drink the 1998.
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9/27/2004 - Wilfried wrote:
Pégaü vertical tasting (Graz, Austria): Light ruby, brilliant, fat tears. Soft fat fruit in the nose, bit yoghurt, cool. Medium body, dark fruit, slightly chemical tongue coating. Medium finish. Damaged bottle?
Score: 50 + 3 for optic + 12 for bouquet + 14 for taste + 4 for overall = total score of 83. This seems unfair, so no score.
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9/26/2004 - davidcbaker wrote:
Wow - had with Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk triple cream cheese. The cheese brought out honey and almond flavors from the wine - almost buttery. And with the Cowgirl Creamery Pierce Point - the coffee flavors in the wine were accentuated. This is a tasty and versatile wine.
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3/18/2004 - ScottG wrote: 94 Points
I had poured this into a decanter and then straight back into bottle about an hour prior to arriving at the restaurant. By the time we got to it, it was really starting to open up. I really don't have a lot of descriptors, but there was definitely earth, pepper, and lots of fruit and spice to explore. This went very well with my lamb and DukeRiley's rib-eye. It did seem to close down by the end of the night and become somewhat hard and tannic. I think that it can really use some more time, but is developing splendidly. Tasty Tasty juice.
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1/3/2004 - Winetex wrote: 93 Points
93 WS; 94 WA; 92 IWC; We decided to get the New Year off to a good start by opening our first bottle of this wine.
It was decanted for 45 minutes prior to serving. Directly from the bottle it was super tight and revealed only black pepper and spices on the nose. The first taste was black pepper with the fruit in the background. As it opened up from the decanter the nose exploded with licorice, earth and dark, ripe fruit. The flavors were raspberry and kirsch liqueurs along with exotic spices, meaty and herbal notes. It was superbly balanced, velvety in the mouth and had a lengthy, spicy finish. The presence of strong tannins caused us to believe we opened this one at least a year too soon. As with many European wines it was better with food. At 1.5 hours post-decant it was flying.
The good news is that everyone who is holding this wine is in for a treat. The bad news is that I’m not opening another one for at least 1.5 years.
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5/24/2003 - JeffGMorris wrote:
A favorite of many wine geeks, this didn't do it for me. All I got was overwhelming pine and forest scents.
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9/1/2001 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
($40) Mushroom and leather funk nose initially. Full bodied with moderate acidity leather, black fruit. Nice.
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6/1/2001 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Dense and concentrated. Tannins all over the place but the wine is still moderately sweet. Concentrated, somewhat monolithic and closed. Not showing well now, but with great potential in a couple years.
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