Cloudy crimson under the light. Unusual and somewhat ripe nose of cherry cola, yeast rolls, and alcohol with a hint of mixed berries underneath. (Nope, not corked). Sweet red cherries with a silky texture lead followed by crisp Gala apples. Unusual and delicious .
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Friday Group Brown Bag Tasting (J&J's): Blind. Light garnet with a light meniscus. Notes of red fruit, pine, licorice, rosemary, currants and garrigue with a subtle earthy element. Medium-bodied. Lovely red berry fruit along with garrigue and licorice. Easy to pick out as our CndP in this lineup.
Our final standard bottle, this had been double decanted off its sediment about two hours before the flight was poured. A very nice showing from this off vintage and a fine start as the first of several 2008s we will be enjoying over the coming week as we celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.
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Initial pour clear, but a moderate amount of murky sediment at the bottom This definitely had a good share of medicinal funk which actually cleared over the course of 90 minutes. If opening a bottle, I’d definitely decant and generously aerate. Best showing yet with some clear maturing CdP high points, but still have some caution, as this definitely has some funk and requires a pinch of ambitious optimism to truly enjoy.
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Tasted over 2 hrs -nearly opaque dark red faintly fading purple rim -lovely meaty funky garrigue and sousbois -med acidity, med/med+ weight mature elements licorice earthy brambly wild dark fruit, med/med- tannins; very faint bit of spritz that is not detracting -savory fully mature robust alive
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Medium red; lovely rounded nose with caramel and raspberries; lovely rounded body, soft and silky, gentle acidity; really nice long aftertaste; still singing as it also did a few years back - really lovely
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My last bottle ans it was a curious one. There was an odd cedar note that hinted sometimes at bad cork, and other times as Brett. For most of the bottle it bobbed between advanced and stripped in a flawed way. Toward the end it got way more interesting. Might have been the fine sediment or maybe it finally came out to play.
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I love this house-style. Not like any other CdP. Relatively low on alcohol. Lots of dark, spicy, brooding stuffing here. Herbs, leather, developed dark fruit and a long finish.
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Really nice wine with complexity, yet surprisingly short on the finish. Edit: Revisting 2 days later. Finding the lavender and other garrigue, as well as the pepper and charcuterie even more attractive. A nice finish has emerged as well. Today's score is even better with 2 points added for the improved finish. Excellent.
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Could not be drinking better. Touch of pleasant bret on the nose which quickly blew off. Rich aromas of strewed red fruit with a hint of cedar. Darker red fruits came through on the palate with a touch of anise. Nicely complex. Medium bodied with respectable finish for a wine of this price. Wish I had more. Great on its own but certainly could stand up to red meat.
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Maturing nicely, a bit low in depth and complexity compared to great vintages of this - but incredibly well made and more balanced than some riper vintages.
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From and odd “Imperial Pint” 500mL The first 3 bottles from this case were quite odd, with a medicinal, Ace Bandage and Iodine aroma, and tons of Brett This particular bottle still showed a fair amount of Brett, but otherwise showed some decent mature grenache fruit; overall a rather passable 12-year-old CdP
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Soft, a little faded, and pretty "drink up" status at this point, but still enjoyable for our palates with our pot roast tonight. Garnet color. Aromas of dark and dark red fruits, cinnamon, dry leaves, potpourri, damp soil, mint, crushed rocks, and graphite. Pretty nice to smell actually. Medium body, acid, and finish, with dark and dark red fruits, lemon, black tea, and minerals. Kinda falling off on the palate, but still enjoyable if you like 'em a little tired and dusty. I'd suggest drinking up if you have them in either case.
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Yes, there is some Brett and the variability that results. But when this is on, it has to be one of the better sub-$50 wines in my cellar, especially since I paid $25 on release... I particularly appreciate the elegance of the ‘lesser’ vintages. Recognizable for what it should be and great to drink now.
There nothing off putting or super remarkable about this CDP. Not as bright as it once was before 2012 but still full bodied and very Rhone. A bit forest floor/Barnyard but delish with a BBQ chicken never the less. Good stuff but drink soon before it makes a hard turn south.
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From an unusual Imperial Pint 500mL Slightly murky ruby Very funky nose which incompletely cleared . Initially funky on the palate as well. Definitely NFS. Judgement reserved 1st of a case of 12
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Another great bottle of this wine. Fresh and lively, with great typicité. Nothing was out of place: the alcohol, the extraction and maturity were all in harmony, just as if this wine had been made 25 years earlier. Very nice.
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Splash decanted ! Big ribeye on the fire . Perfect match. Needs food. Went very well. Became softer with air and ended as a real yummy and enjoyable wine from this poor vintage. No hurry
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Much better than a previous bottle. Brett is a note rather than overwhelming. Red fruit and loads of garrigue - great match for roast chicken with herbs de Provence.
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Oh happy day. Thought we'd drunk all these by 2017 as they were maturing quickly (I thought), but found one last night in the cellar while trying to unearth an '11 from the bottom of the pile. Initially light with plums, acid and white pepper, it gained weight over the course of several hours in the form of extra fruit, garrique and a nutmeg kind of spice on the finish. Totally delightful.
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Tasted over 2 hrs -dark red purple -fragrant lovely garrigue plum iodine screams out southern Rhône -med acidity is just enough, med weight lively spiced plum garrigue earth with only trace heat and med tannins on long finish -this is in a sweet spot now and should remain there for several more years
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Opened alongside a 2001 Beaucastel. Fresh and lively with vibrant dark cherry fruit and a hint of the barnyard to it. I'd say that it's drinking quite well now, though there are some tannins on the back end.
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Dark fruit (black cherry, blackberry, slight plum), slight Brett, violet, garrigue, good acidity. Lingering finish. Really enjoyable. -popped and poured. Better with an hour or so of air.
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Curious if this was an off bottle. I loved it a year ago. This one was good but not at all special. Felt like a particularly good cote du Rhône for $15. Not flawed in any way but not in line with my last one or any of the CT reviews. One more bottle. I’ll open it soon and hope to be wowed! Won’t score this bottle.
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Really nice fruit but overwhelming brett. I like brett, but this was over the top. The group still liked drinking it, but definitely a BBQ wine for highly flavored food at best.
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Gorgeous wine. Dominant taste of very deep, dark soaked plum cherries, much like a rare Amarone. Yet also smooth and complex. Such a joy to drink from start to finish. If you have it, enjoy now. Cheers!
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Matured well. Still a good rusty red colour. Aroma top note of violets with redcurrant and blackberry and then earthy, leather underneath. Good complexity to tasting with a really good structure.
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Clear medium red with pink edges. Very fresh raspberry and blood nose. Even after a decade this wine is still alive and red fruit driven. Delicious earthy berry fruit flavours and a slightly soft finish. A bit more structure and acid would improve this a little but still a very nice wine.
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I'm sorry to hear about so much bottle variation. This is my 3rd bottle and they've been perfectly clean. (I really don't like poop, stink, etc.) Nicely balanced & a steal at the $29 I paid.
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Dinner at Sun Wah (Chicago, IL): Not particularly overwhelmed by brett, but not exactly the cleanest wine out there either. Something here reminds me of wet fur. On the palate, there's a little less funk, but the lightness of the palate presence doesn't jive very well with the hit of alcohol on the back end. And while this may be reasonably restrained for modern CdP, it doesn't strike me as well-integrated.
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Fresh perfume on the nose. Kirsch, underbrush and game on the palate. Sure an overperformer for poor vintage, but drinking great right now and highly worth seeking out.
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Continues to drink extremely well - garrigue, meat, black raspberry, & savory nose - similar palate. Medium body, medium acids and integrated (not noticeable) tannins with a long finish.
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Party for Jenni. My last bottle of the '08 Pegau and it was very nice. Not one of the bigger Pegau's but this is very nicely balanced, food friendly, and with decent complexity. Was a bargain at $38 and wish I had bought more. Considering that this was supposed to be a terrible vintage for CdP, an impressive effort.
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Clove, brambles and slate on the nose. Beautifully refined red fruit and spice -- the tannins are integrated and the wine has a perfect silky texture. It's hard to do this justice, but everything is working in unison and this wine is drinking very well right now.
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Nice showing. Dry and peppery on the approach with a meaty depth to the mid-palate. Cherry, licorice, white pepper dance. Quite a bit more structure than I recall, spicy, with dry and surprisingly persistent tannins. There are better vintages of Pegau, but this is pleasing and approachable albeit just a bit astringent. (I would have rated 2 points higher had the texture been a bit smoother.)
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This has settled down in the four years since I last tried a bottle. Not much evidence of age in the glass, it is still a deep red color with a nose of sweet red fruit, some oregano and a little grilled steak.
It hasn't entirely lost the spritz but it's less overt and again decanting helps. On the palate an initial hit of sweetness but there's acidity too and some drying tannin and the overall impression is of something that is somewhat balanced, a bit to my surprise.
Nothing profound here but given the state these were in when I last tried one four years ago, I'm happy that they've evolved into a solid every-day sort of wine that gives a certain amount of pleasure.
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Mini-Grenache battle (KC's place): Medium plus intensity aromas of ripe red berries backed by peppery spice with earth, leather and Asian five spice...with time funky farmyards and touches of truffle. Slightly sour, slightly funky, red berry and peppery spice, leathery with some mushrooms. Tannins are slightly drying but fine textured. Kind of dirty but kind of nice.
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Saturated ruby red. A pretty wild nose of smoke, red and blue fruit, asian almost medicinal spice, game and garrigue. A friend I was drinking it with said that it reminded her of Chinese pickled fermented cucumber that you put in congee. I had to agree that it did. Great acidity and precise red fruit. Gripping tannins on the back are good but, in the end, on the drying and tough side. Will it get better? Not sure. but it is very good right now.
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Some spritz/effervescence when poured initially. Blew off in the glass. bright red currant, more tart presentation. Paired with a venison dish and that worked. Nice color in the glass, but a different kind of Pegau. Younger/fresher than I expected for the vintage.
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So sad, this is my last bottle. And it didn't even show that well. People complain about the funkiness of Pegau, and if they only drank this bottle, they would be correct. This was so BRETTY, I could actually taste it. It was not completely unpleasant, just obviously marred by what many people consider a flaw. This was probably the least enoyable of 9 bottles that I drank. I still drank it. I am not cellaring Pegau for the long term, and this bottle shows exactly why you should not. If you gave this bottle another 5 years, it would be a real stinker.
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Singing; medium red; wonderful mix of raspberry and eucalyptus, some barnyard; sweet and mellow, strawberry, balsamico glaze, hint of licorice; really really good!
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Dark garnet, with just the slightest hint of brown at the edge. Almost opaque. Immediate very pronounced "barnyard" aroma of earth, leather, roasted meat, charred wood, complex. Viscous, mouth-coating flavors of dark berries and plums, a touch of sweetness, tannin definitely softer than two years ago. Tannin becomes more evident in the aftertaste, which is long and rich I think it's probably at its peak, but will last several more years. A classic CNDP! Ric
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Very solid performance, drinking at peak for me, with only mild residual tannin and fresh fruit. Not a blockbuster, but juicy now. WineSpectator actually nailed the TN; however, I thought they were too generous in the scoring (92). Drink now - 2020.
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Deep ruby, black core, some orange-brick color; slow-moving legs @14% abv. Beautiful aromas of Black fruits, licorice, laurel, beautiful (charred) wood structure. Dry-off dry, medium acidity, medium(+) ripe firm tannin, high alcohol and full body. Broad palate blackberry, black cherry, pepper, mocha, leather. Firmly structured, beautiful balanced between all components, velvety texture. Long lasting finish on a slight bitter-sweet rich note. Drink now.
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Very good! Not sure what was wrong with last March's disappointing bottle but this one was what I would hope based on 2015's. In fact, it's pretty identical to that, hasn't aged from there like one would expect considering it was maturing overly fast to that point. Nice fruit with just enough funk for intrigue.
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Popped and enjoyed over two days. Fortunately, this one wasn't ruined by brett. Still, the wine is a bit light and out of balance with the acid and tannin profile overshadowing the fruit and savory notes. On day two the wine softens and comes more into focus as the structure integrates so there is hope but this vintage is not of the quality this estate is known for. Put these away for a several years and hope for the best.
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Happy Birthday Kevin! (Kevin and Vicki's House): Slow o'd an hour, and cooled down slightly such that it was probably served a little below 55F. Thoroughly enjoyable, but not transcendent. Just a satisfying bottle of wine, and consistent with previous notes. A hint of funk, not a lot, still some rich red fruit is present. Once again, I get a lot of minerality from Pegau mixed in with the red fruit and funk. This is not an epiphany wine, but I think everyone enjoyed it. I can personally say that I enjoyed this wine better than most CDP's these days.
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A Wednesday Wine Lunch with Some Oomph (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Fun to drink this after reading a Pegau diatribe on WB recently. This was a very good bottle with a lovely sense of funk and earthiness, pepper, fresh herbs, metallic minerality and garrigue. Black cherry, kirsch, sour cherry, a bit herbaceous on the palate.
Kevin's (Rocknroller) Birthday Bash: Nose: Steely with white pepper and spices. Palate: Black and white pepper with black fruits showing and a medium long finish.
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Even in an off vintage, this wine rules! It smells and tastes as it should, with a juicy, red fruited attack, bracing, coco powder and white pepper driven middle, gripping back, and chewy finish of very good length. Generous, expansive, and balanced. So good!
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Seemingly not a great bottle. I detected some low level TCA. it was a pop and pour and it was drained fairly quickly but over the course a a few pours, it never developed or displayed anything distinct or intriguing. So far, the bottle variation has been rather significant.
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I have always found Pegau to be a fairly priced, classically styled CDP that I really enjoy drinking. Tonight, this bottle is no exception. The nose is predominantly earthy, bretty, cherry fruit roll-ups with garrigue and violet undertones, all of which are reflected on the, rustic, midweight palate where the tannins have integrated beautifully. This was drinking very well tonight with only a 1/2 hour or so of air and even though 2008 was touted as an "off" vintage, I have found it to be very enjoyable and approachable early. I was also able to purchase most of my 08's at prices that were considerably less expensive than usual.
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Crushed to read my note from Oct '15 as this wine was then so lithe and perfect, and the bottle we opened tonight was muddled and imbalanced. I didn't intend to age the bottles so much as I have too much wine and didn't get back to it when I should have. [gun to head]
The 2008 Pegau for me has been one of the most consistently approachable vintages, drinking well ever since release, but if anything it seems to have gained a bit of smoothness and a more persistent finish. Classic Pegau nose and flavor profile but the 2008 vintage coming through in its lighter body and flavor compared to stronger vintages like the 2009 that we enjoyed in the same sitting as this and which was a couple of notches up in quality.
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3rd times a charm. 3 years does a lot to a bottle. Brooding light violet. Plastic-y nose with white pepper, game and herbs-de-provence. Unusual texture that is a bit "sticky"? maybe. Tannins are fat/dense and present but not drying. Dried meats. It's all starting to come together and work together. I like CDP and it's entering the window I appreciate. Probably will be fantastic in another year or so.
Bright red. Spicey raspberry fruit with nice notes of game, smoked meat and pepper in behind. Still very fresh nose. Delicious medium weight red berry flavours with some development showing.
Very clean and still quite fresh. None of the over the top brett others have noted.
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What a stellar nose of ripe red fruit, glycerin, exotic incense, and a little bret on the '08 Pegau. I could just smell this all night though drinking it seems like a good idea as well. A bit of a short ball hitter on the palate lacking vigor and tasting a tad diluted. I remember buying this as a future from the now defunct Premier Cru on University Ave in Berkeley. I think the owner was selling futures he never intended to fulfill so I'm lucky it was ever available to pick up. I digress. Without looking at my previous note on the '08 Pegau I'm guessing my score of 90 tonight is a point or two higher as this has developed some nicely oxidized fruit and tertiary notes. I drank three quarters of a bottle of Las Rocas last night, a garnacha from Calatayud, and the buzz was heavy and foggy while the Pegau is ethereal and somewhat clarifying. Again, I digress. The Pegau is in a sweet spot right now and I don't think it will improve much from here so I recommend enjoying this by Summer, 2018 though I do see now that back in 2013 I stated this would be no good after 2015 which was off the mark. That said I believe in my Summer, 2018 drink by date.
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This wine restored my faith for CdP. After being turned off by so many overripe (Parkerized) 2007's and similar, this was a great joy to drink. Have to agree with Ex-Ray notes, but surprisingly (for Pegau) absolutely no Brett notes. This bottle went down easily and quickly with no heat or excessive alcohol. Excellent and a great bargain for $25 from PC
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Dark garnet, with just the slightest hint of brown at the edge. Almost opaque. Immediate very pronounced "barnyard" aroma of earth, leather, roasted meat, charred wood, complex. Viscous, mouth-coating flavors of dark berries and plums, a touch of sweetness, but tannin a bit too pronounced. Tannin becomes more evident in the aftertaste, which is long and rich. I think it's probably at its peak, though the tannin may soften further. Wouldn't wait too long, though, so it doesn't start losing fruit and flavor. Ric
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This restored my faith in decently made CdP and GSM in general. Kitsch, blackberry, hints if hooks in sauce, black tea and some garrigque on the nose. Almost Pomnard like burgundy that had good age. Good, without some associated bottle flaws of 2008. Any brettomycrs blew off early. This was served below room temp and had smoke and paired well with cheese, charcuterie, baby dill pickles, crusty bread. Other wines were in the mix but once again Pegau shined well above its price piping even in an off year. I double decanted with 2 hours of air time prior to serving. Nice. Wish I had 6 more.
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Consistent with other tasters, this was very hot with Brett and barnyard animal notes on opening. After 2 hours in the decanter and up to 4, the wine softened and its perfume intensified. It had a soft brown edge and otherwise opaque purple hue.
I noted fragrance of cedar cigar box, with graphite and dark plum. On the palate, notes of green olive, garrigue, licorice and cassis. It had balanced acidity and tannins with a somewhat long finish.
One cannot argue that this is a well made old world wine. However, perhaps it is the style or flavor profile that I don't find particularly appealing at the moment. My tablemate, an adept taster commented that this was showing as well as any Pegau he had ever consumed. And to that end I agree that this wine is in a prime drinking window. As I have bottles of 09/10 in the cellar, I am also curious to what extent vintage impacts the enjoyability of this wine, but the variability in average score across vintage is compelling.
Curious about how others think this wine compares to newer vintages and the degree of vintage variability you perceive from this producer...
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Brought to Tapas177 for dinner. This bottle was quite clean -- no obvious brett. Classic cdp flavors with red fruit, earth, and garrigue. Lively acidity gives it lift. Still plenty of tannins here, so no hurry to drink my remaining bottle. Overall, this is a very good cdp for a supposedly bad vintage, and was a good value.
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Notes of currants, plum, holiday spices and herbal notes with a pleasant amount of funk underneath. On the lighter side of medium-bodied, featuring flavors of red berries, spice and white pepper.
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I guess I have been one of the lucky ones. All of my bottles of this have been consistent. This one had a nice nose of red and black fruits with herbal overtones and a nice whiff of barnyard. On the palate, rich yet almost weightless with black raspberry, sage, and smoked meats. Nice long finish. Great value on these.
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Very beautiful nose, but had an oddness on front palate. One thought prickly verging on spritzy, another thought perfectly fine, I felt as if it might have had a touch of refermentation. Not really a bretty character to me, though I had some on prior bottles.
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Similar TN to first two times I've had this. Fresh, but with noticeable brett, yet less pronounced. Perhaps I am developing a tolerance to the funk in this wine. Spritzy acidity on this one too.
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I liked the wine more than my 91 pt rating would suggest. The wine is by no means a monumental Cuvee Reservee, however if you are looking for a wine that exhibits all of the telltale dried black cherry, sweet leather, and earth of a great reservee but in an approachable, medium bodied very well balanced, and silky format, this is for you. I might add that the wine is 99% intact 24 hours after being opened. Drinking optimally yet will last for years.
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PnP. 2nd of 3 bottles purchased from Premier Cru. Definitely bretty and has a bit of spritz. Flavor profile is similar to other Pegau but lacks the depth, concentration and oomph of better vintages. The strong presence of Brett detracts from this wine.
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Showing very nicely. Some of the same flavour profile I find in the 98 beaucastel: black olives and garrigue with dark fruits. But medium bodied rather than enormous which is frankly more elegant at the stage of evolution. Can be enjoyed now but may improve up to 10 years.
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Medium to deep garnet color. Barnyard nose, with red fruit, licorice and leather. Full body, very balanced and long finish. A good effort in an average year.
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Deep purple color with a seductive bouquet of riped red fruits intertwined with aroma of sweet spice and leather. Medium body and refreshing acidity. Good quality wine.
Food pairing: Roast herb crusted rack of lamb 2/2016
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Decanted for 1.5 hours and paired with grilled cheeseburgers (was good to go on PNP).
Medium blackish red color and throwing a fair amount of sediment. On nose, dirty, earthy, raspberry, licorice & cherry. On palate, medium+ body with high acidity, sweet tannins and a long finish. Flavor profile similar to nose. Drank really well tonight. 92+
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This is drinking really well tonigh with big, forward, red fruit, lots of earth and barnyard, garrigue and a midlength finish. The tannins have softened quite abit since I've last tested it. All in all, quite nice.
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After tasting the great wines of 2007 this was a few steps down and I made just limited notes. In the bouquet good garrigue and some horse stable impressions. On the palate red berries, some metal, herbs and some green impressions. For the rest ok acidity and tannin. The wine will benefit with a few more years of ageing. 2017 – 2019? 91 for this evening.
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Christmas Day Dinner 2015 at Table At 7 (Table at 7): Same note as before. Initally tight. Opened up nicely with 1.5 hours of air in the bottle. Nice early drinking from the difficult 2008 vintage. Can still develop a bit more over the next 3-4 years. Not for the long haul. Enjoy.
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Dark red. Deep nose of dark cherry and dank basement. Same on the palate, with firm tannin and juicy acid. As the evening went on the brettanomyscis odour became more dominant. Too bad.(403) 240-2660(403) 240-2660(403) 240-2660
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Initially, extremely spritzy, fruity and lots of brett. This all calmed down within an hour and the wine was consistent with my previous notes. Nice fruit and funk mix.
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Brett bomb with spritzy palate. Was drinkable after shaking but seemed flabby with dull CdP fruit. Nothing like my early bottle experiences which were quite good.
No detailed note. Slow O for about two hours. Absolutely in a great place and drinking very well. The fruit has come forward a bit, opening with raspberry and rhubarb that is mixing quite nicely with the garrigue and spices. It'll hold for quite some time but has achieved a nice balance of flavors at the moment.
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PnP. Pomegranite, olives and garrique initially with blacker fruit, herbs and some leathery notes coming in later along with more noticeable tannins. Splendid showing; should have a nice ride over the next couple years.
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Sad to see the last of my bottles go. Each has been better than the previous one. This Pegau is in its prime drinking window and probably staying here for some time as it is quite fresh and full of energy. A quintessential example of a Rhone red with its juicy black fruit, herbal and olive notes. Wish there are more off vintages that produce CdPs like this one.
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Lots of funk and barnyard when initially opened. Re-tasting this on night 2, the barnyard is not as prevalent, but there is not much complexity to this. Rather simple.
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Nose - blackberry, plum, hints of soy sauce Mouth - in 07/15 drinking much more open than the '09. Here I can appreciate the fruit much more and get less coffee and funk. Juicy big and balanced. More acidic than the '09. Excellent
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Brett and fruit, smooth, tasty. I like this wine, but the brett is strong enough that it only works with certain food pairings e.g. works great with stinky cheese, overwhelmed chicken w/ pan sauce.
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Nose of black raspberry, leather, hints of bret, sage, and anise. On the palate, raspberry, leather, smoked meat, melted licorice and herbs. Nice finish. This one showed a hint of bret but not enough to overwhelm. Drink over the next few years. I don't think it gets better than this for this wine.
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Having drank all 6 bottles I bought from Premier Cru, I was given 3 more bottles by a generous fellow wineberserker who strongly disliked it. I was curious to try it, as I've wondered if there was bottle/lot variation at Pegau. Getting some confirmed "bad" bottles from someone may help me understand.
Slow o'd for a couple hours and served to a group of 6. This wine was consistent with my previous experiences. There is funk here, and quite a bit. It is of the barnyard variety, not clean funk, but I've had dirtier funk than this. This bottle also seems more advanced, with some nice secondary components showing up - forest floor, olive, smoke, tar, earth. The fruit is mostly red, dark cherry and plum. I swear there is a cola flavor mixed in with the fruit. Tannins are surprisingly mild as well. This improved throughout the evening. But the next day, the funk had increased to a significant level while a lot of the secondary characteristics have disappeared. I’m drinking the last sips of it now, and I still enjoy it, but it was considerably better yesterday.
As for the rest of the tasters, 3 people declared it completely undrinkable, 1 other person liked it quite a bit, and 1 person was indifferent. Several disparaging comments were issued toward Pegau and this wine particularly. One gentleman was extremely vocal about his disdain for the wine, how he couldn't drink it because it was so poopy. This gentlemen does like CDP in general, and I do not dismiss his opinion. However, I personally think he affected some of the other drinkers present with his adamant discontent. I saw this behavior in reverse at a CDP tasting I organized a while back, where a “leader” in the group of 12 people extolled the virtues of the 2008 Pegau. At that tasting, everyone seemed to like the wine as a convincing expert explained its goodness. This time, with the loudest voice in the room being very very critical, most people disliked it.
Overall, I’m grateful for being given the wine, grateful to confirm that I like Pegau in all it’s funky goodness, and very grateful to see the polarizing opinions towards the same bottle of it.
Overly bretty and heavy spritz from secondary fermentation that didn't improve after 24 hrs. Worst bottle so far. With the cost of averaging-out the bad bottles this ended up being a pretty poor value.
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PnP. Similar to the bottle I had 6mths ago. Spritzy, bretty, gamey, earthy and a bit of spicy. This wine runs the gamut of flavours and keeps things interesting. Still enough fruit to keep going for a couple more years but really no reason to wait. Tannins are well integrated. Medium minus finish.
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Coravin taste. Brett on the nose initially but blew off after 15 min, leaving red fruit and lovely florals on the nose. On the palate, this is fresh and lively with bright red fruits, nice balancing acidity, and just a touch of gaminess for nuance. Mid-weight, but really nice for its balance and freshness. Like this much better than the 07 Donjon tasted alongside. This was a great bargain at $28.
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Free-flow Wagyu Beef Dinner and drinks (EN Dining Bar + Pine Close): Pop and poured. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of damp earth, smoky grilled meat, barnyard/horse stable/furry wild animal, spiced herbs and black pepper, licorice, dark black fruit, olive tapenade. Very complex nose. No doubt there is a Brett element here. Developing. On the palate, dry, medium acidity, medium+ alcohol, medum+ tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of grilled smoky meat, dark damp earth, leather, pepper, olive tapenade, dark redcurrant, black cherry, and a deep sweet core of licorice. Long finish. Very good quality. Nice early drinking from the difficult 2008 vintage. Can still develop a bit more over the next 3-4 years. The kind of wine for lovers of Brett and open-minded individuals.
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My first Pegau, and I thought it was stellar. Normally I despise CdP for being overripe, bitter, and laden with cough medicine qualities, or, if not, then it tends towards simple and boring. This was none of that. I will be honest, there was a ton of brett. A lot. But it added interest for me, not the opposite. The fruit was sweet, pure and vibrant. I liked it a lot and will be a buyer in the future.
A nice Pegau. Riper and denser than I was expecting. Yes, there is some Brett, but no more than in other years. I find this very attractive and a steal,at the closeout price.
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Rubinröd m tegelkant Ganska stor doft av körsbär o blå plommon, garrigue, fat och en aning plåster Drygt medelfyllig ännu ganska outvecklad, kärbär, plommon, sval syra, markerade tanniner, grillkol, ett stänk brett, örter i eftersmaken, 8,5p+
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Cherries, strawberries, meat and earth. Very pretty nose, tasty and full bodied palate. Nice bitter earth notes and hints of stems complement the fruit. Medium tannins, nice acidity. This bottle was very tasty, not much barnyard on this one. Equally good on first and second night.
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Olive tampenade , charred smoking ember, dill, a good bit of funkiness. Fantastic palate, lush, integrated, full finish. I could drink this every day. Outstanding .
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Lovely on opening. Real sense of place; baked earth, black olive notes tell you where you are. Light on it's feet. After about 2 hours, this had faded a little: a touch watery and a shortish finish. Maybe a little closed too. Drink sooner I'd say.
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Another very good bottle. I have trouble detecting any over powering brett so far in 5 of 6 btls I've drank of this stuff. I am somewhat tolerant of brett but not if it overpowers. What I do notice is lovely bright red fruit with garrigue. Not as horsey or animal as older vintages of Pegau (95-99). Lively acid keeps this fresh and helps carry the finish. As I said in my first TN in 2013, wish I bought a case.
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My last of four bottles. I wish I had bought more when I had the chance at $30 each as they have helped me keep my hands of the other vintages. This bottle showed much like the first few. Smells nice with soy, mineral, bloody meat juices and dark fruit. Leaner than most vintages, the fruit is dark in tone. More black than red. Lighter bodied and very dry. Shows better after being open for a few hours so give it a some air. Not a blockbuster, but very solid.
Quite spritzy upon opening, needed a good shake to get out the fizz. This left the bottle a little flabby, but nice red fruits, barnyard funk, and tons of spice cake. Typical Pegau in a lighter, accessible style. Tons of bottle variation here, which in my experience may be due to importer.
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This has fleshed out really well over the past few years and has developed good depth and complexity, especially for the vintage. This is a full bodied, old world style cdp that's drinking very well today. It's earthy, barnyardy, full bodied and still abit tannic. I think this is one to drink up while some of the bigger vintages come of age.
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Iodine and camphor on the nose. On the palate, raspberry and iodine, with white pepper and herbs on the medium to long finish. For me, this tastes more like a Gigondas from a good year than a Chateauneuf from a poor one. Excellent value for money at $25.
Maneur and musty cork and neck. Classical profile of musky oak with lots of graphite and camphor and forward raspberries laced with plum, bouquet of garrigues quite delicious. Acidity is dialed up and the palate is soft with some tannins and flesh, but leaves a medium finish of garrigues, charred oak and a kiss of fruit. Bravo, if this is '08 then can't wait to try '09 or '12.
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Friday Night Double Blind Tasting $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with lighter dull violet rim; leather, game, funky, Brett, horsey, dark wild berry, slight vegetal note, black pepper; rich palate, slight tinny character, dark wild berry, horsey, black pepper, garrigue, vegetal; very characteristic- nailed it, even called where it was purchased.
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Deep and slightly cloudy crimson color (I decanted, but might have missed a little). Aromas of red fruits, cinnamon, herbs, and mossy forest floor. Medium body, medium+ acid, and long and somewhat explosive finish, with red and dark red fruits, cinnamon, orange peel, leather, and herbs. There was a bit of brett as mentioned previously on the pop when I tasted, but that was gone when we started drinking with dinner 2-3 hrs. later. This was great. Worked well with a banging pot roast that's been braising since noon.
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Second Sunday Group: 2010 California Merlot (Our house): Notes of spice and red fruit and no brett in the bouquet; very nice aromatically. Medium-bodied, showing lovely red fruit and spice qualities, however, the brett rears its ugly head on the finish with notes of rotten vegetation (wet hay)/horse blanket.
I have two more 750s and 2 1.5Ls of this, and I'll not wait too long to open them.
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PnP and drank over 2hrs. Rather effervescent with a bit of brett. Not your typical full bodied CNDP due to the nature of the vintage. More on the elegant side. Fine tannins with good freshness. Cherries and strawberries overlaid with spice and some gaminess. Medium finish. Ready to drink now but should hold at this level for a couple of years.
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Medium minus intensity aromas of red berries and currant, sweet tobacco, slight leather, barynard, slight spice In the mouth the wine has flavours of red currant over red berries, herbaceoues notes, quite juicy as well…talc like tannic grip. The finish introduces a savoury/meaty quality, spice and some alcoholic warmth. The wine gains weight over time. very pleasant.
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Thought it was drinking better than my bottle from the winter. Love the purity and elegance here which unveils honest, unextracted Grenache goodness underneath. This might be the perfect CdP for burgundy fans.
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We have had bottle variation with this wine - this is bottle is a good one. Attractive nose of plum, autumn leaves, wooden attic, tobacco and black pepper. Flavors of black raspberry and plum fruit, mossy forest floor, black pepper and a little black ink. A spicy medium length finish.
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Old World Blind Tasting Group $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with medium extraction, lighter garnet rim; peppery, velvet, leather, game, wild berry, warm stone, Brett but not dominating like other bottles; good.
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A very good bottle, showing iodine, raspberry and spice. Just a hint of funk and animal fur notes to add interest. Smooth, accessible and balanced. Got even better with air.
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Closed/light at first. Opened up and built over 2 hours. Still settling down and finding its balance; some interesting aromatic complexity. Not as good as the Beaucastel 2008, but likely to improve over 5-10 years while being approachable young
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Savory, olive and black pepper with black plum lurking. Doesn't seem to have changed much from my last note a year and a half ago. Brett is subtle and definitely not offensive. Improves with air but drinking well now.
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Opened with some trepidation following my last unsatisfactory bottle however this is entirely better. Not entirely brett free, but its the right side of the line; it is still a little spritzy, which is calmed down after a spell in the decanter
Leather, meat and red fruits (mostly plums but a bit of strawberry) on the nose, decent structure and acidity on the palate with some grainy tannins which keep things rustic. Its a little unexciting but I'm just grateful I don't have another dud on my hands. The law of low expectations, I suppose.
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Just the right amount of brett to make this interesting. Medium bodied with red fruit, leather, fur, bretty funk with a solid acid core. In a good place right now, but can easily go another 5-7 years.
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HWZ Southern Rhone tasting (Asia Grand Restaurant, Odeon Tower): Double decanted for 1+ hours before I brought this bottle to the wine lunch. Red #6 tasted blind. Nose shows plenty for developed secondary notes, animal, fur, barnyard, funk and sweet leather. A nice elegant nose with perfume edge and it does slowly grow on me. On palate, earth, barnyard, sweet leather and savoury notes. A supple wine with good mid-palate and acidity backbone. Firm chewy tannins with strong finish. Afterthought: I was quite surprised when the label unveiled as I thought this taste like an aged CDP. It was so evolved and show classic old school style. Tasted 08 few years back during a Pégaü vertical and indeed 08 was more for early drinking among 04, 05 and 06. The bretty taste also seems common from notes of other CT taster.
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In a great drinking window now with an easy 5 more years to go. Old school aromas and flavors of stems, peppercorns, meat, and crushed blueberries with a good old school funk. #pegau #chateuneuf
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I love Pegau and I know this was a tough vintage, but this bottle was subpar even given the heavy discount. This had a lot of barnyard and other minerally, oxidative notes that were distracting and unpleasant.
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Continues to drink well. meat / dirt / funk /cherry / black raspberry on nose - similar palate ex. dirt / funk. Medium body, long finish. Great with grilled pork chops. Not bad for an "off" vintage. 91-92+
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CDP Offline at Heyday (Donjon Vertical; Clos des Pape, Charvin, plus Whites) (Heyday, Mpls, MN): Medium dark red color. PNP, Drank 1 glass voer 60 minutes. Lots of very barnyardy brett initially that later evens out fairly nicely, savory, roast meat, red fruits, . The palate is consistent, spicy, a fair bit of heat, intense and long finish. Not as good as the last 2 bottles. 90+pts.
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Best showing of the four bottles that I have opened. This bottle showed with richer and denser fruit than past bottles - more expressive as well, with a nice garrigue and spice profile. Overall pretty clean and fresh (no brett issues).
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Two bottles from my second case in recent weeks both of which have been a big disappointment compared with those from my first. Both bottles have been bretty and spritzy (and I do have a reasonable tolerance for brett) with more poop than a hospital maternity ward. The second bottle was vigorously double decanted back into bottle and left in the fridge overnight, after which it had calmed itself down, but I seem to have stumbled on a less than pristine batch.
Dark red. Earthy, pencil lead,dark fruit. Dark fruit and savoury notes, including smoke. Concentrated, full bodied but not terribly fresh or long. Drink over next couple years
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SonkinCellars Partners Meeting (The Barn): My first time trying this wine. Others may like it more than I. Its nice, but, for me, lacked something. Ruby in color. The nose is good, just a bit of stink along with cherries, and spices. On the palate, medium bodied. Nice cherry fruit. Good acidity. Its a very good wine, just not at that top level. Tom W. paid the PC price of $25 for the bottle and that is a nice value for sure.
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Like sniffing into a mysterious dank humid cave with aromas of warm loamy soil, dusty earth, plum, barnyard, earthy spice, leather, clove, baked underbrush. Really dry and plummy, and again with earth, spice and a soft sour acidity. Not the gooey style, more old school.
Loads of brett that took some time to lessen, yet only slightly so (note to self: best to decant for at least 8+ hours or slow ox'd overnight next time). Considerable barnyard funk, and underneath picked up notes of red cherry, plum, garrigue, spice, dark anise, lavendar, & roasted herbs. Mid:full bodied with fine grainy tannins, moderate acidity with spritziness, and a moderately lingering finish. Too bad, just too much brett for my liking.
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Needs about 2 hours in the decanter. Then shows some nice savory, meatiness with a touch of plum. A little funky on the nose but not off-putting. Good stuff.
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A complete delivery, with enough development and complexity of aromas and flavours. Brownish red visuals. Meaty and savoury on the nose, with a puff of forest fire, old strawberries, italian sweet/sour cherries, dried cranberries and plums, roast beef juices, polypody fern and liquorice, garrigue undergrowth, truffles, tar, and a hint of bretty farmyard oak foudres. Mature and generous on the palate, where the acids and tannins already are softened by age. Good midpalate concentration and nice length, with sensations of the sweet, salty and meaty, only moderately warming. A solid companion to our grilled vegetables and meat à la provençale. To be drunk soon, while the structure lasts. We're still happy to have a few of these relative bargains left.
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A lovely and very approachable Cuvée Réservée, this 2008 exhibits the classy gaminess, herbal tones and lovely dark Grenache kirsch we all long for in a wine from this "institution". The other side of its Janus face is a brett monster - but air for 3-4 hours certainly does it justice. Still the fruit seems a bit flat and there is not the "oohmpf" you would find in the better vintages of this effort. The palate is balanced and integrated. With a very nice acidity and a 40 second length on the finish this is a lovely effort. My guesstimate is it will drink well for another 5-7 years.
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Light red. The nose opens with a note of ketchup which becomes nice raspberry fruit. Later there are notes of wood smoke and pepper. Not at all lush or ripe, which worlks for me. There is some really nice things in the mouth and a soft dry finish.
A nice wine but not really any earthiness or complexity. I would have liked even a hint of brett.
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Started as a pop and pour, then some wild stuff (below) and ended up drunk mostly over two days. Barnyard and spice on the nose. Palate is fizzy and hard? A little difficult to get into. Then see on Wine Berserkers someone else opened a bottle in secondary fermentation. They vigorously shook it three times, as did I. Result is spicy, full of garrigue, kirsch, seaweed (isn't that supposed to be VT?) with some backbone. A friend sipped the improved version and wanted to get a bottle. Pre-shake: Below Average. Post-shake: Excellent
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90 minute decant. Meaty, funky (and awesome) nose. Good structure and length on finish. I was really enjoying this... but by the 2.5 hour mark or so in the decanter, to my surprise, this wine fell apart. It was thin and without any structure on the palate. Possible bottle variation? I am not going to decant for so long next time.
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Slightly maderized, could be a damaged bottle. The lightness of the vintage shines through and this is not at heavy hitter thankfully. I recognize the funk and barnyard that others do, this is old school Chateauneuf. Too bad with obvious impact from oxidation.
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CDP Tasting (Irene's House, St. Paul): Medium dark red color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 60 minutes and re-tasted 3 hours later. Nose shows lots of barnyard, funk and damp earth, leather, becomes nicely perfumed, cherry fruit and spices. The palate has medium body, garrigue, spices, floral, berries, with some fine grained but firm tannins on a medium finish. Held up very well at 3 hours and was probably even better. One person held this in glass for the full 3 hours and it really was delightful.
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Quite clean, with just a hint of barnyard goodness. fresh fruit, damp earth and stones all wrapped in a soft, easy drinking textural package. Quite nice.
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The comments have been all over the place on this wine. This is the third bottle we have had, and we've enjoyed them. While not as dense or complex as other vintages there is some classic Pegau funk, black pepper, iodine and meaty notes along with a mix of tart black and red fruits. The wine is dry with good acidity and medium tannin. At 30 each, this was a good deal. Drink over the next few years.
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Dark crimson core with larger dull crimson rim; meaty floral, little horsey, cranberry, leather, radish; harder Brettier palate with fruit shutting the wine down at first but it opened with more air, a certain elegance on the front, Burgundian, leather; drinks like it has 10 years of age on it; this bottle drank more like a normal Pegau but the vintage was evident on the initial impression; nailed it double blind; amazing the way the Brett reacts and makes every bottle different though [more expensive] bottles from a local retail source have proven to drink much better than the [ridiculously low priced] ones from a source in CA...curious.
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Very aromatic, with iron and blood, iodine, spice, and an animal quality. Palate adds a little cherry fruit to the spice and meat notes, but is on the flabby side--smooth and round without much energy. Moderate length spicy finish. not terribly complex despite the typical Pegau flavor profile. Bottle variation is crazy, as it seems I haven't had the same experience twice. This one is just ok.
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The 2008 is considered an "off vintage" and Pegau Reservee can be found for a reasonable price. Some friends thought we'd give it a try with the hopes that we'd be excited and buy more.
I really liked the nose. It makes one feel like they walked into an old library - worn leather and musty smells with some barnyard, wet sheep scents. The palate was good, but felt like there was a hint of carbonation which detracted the overall taste. It also lacked depth which I would expect from Pegau. I liked this wine, I did not love it.
I will be holding off before I buy more of the '08.
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Perhaps best of the four I've had and unfortunately my last one. Much less brett than 2 of the previous bottles and on par with one of the others. Animal funk (to a lesser degree this time), though enjoyable. I enjoy the off years just fine. Might have to stock up on some reasonably priced '11s
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Funky in a good way. It took a while to accept the horsey, animal fur quality of this wine. Interesting blood, iodine, raw meat notes. Good acidity and crispness. Not especially deep or age worthy, but this offers enjoyment with a good amount of intellectual appeal. For the closeout price of about $28, this was a great deal.
Nose: This shows off as a classic styled Pegau from the outset. The nose is more nuanced with red cherries, spices, violets, roses, lavender, funk, and some tobacco tones. There is medium depth to this with a real open quality to it.
Taste: Medium bodied with silky tannins. While medium bodied, it is on the lighter side with tobacco, red cherries, violets, tobacco, leather, white and black pepper, with a touch of leathery notes.
Overall: This is far from a long term Pegau. But, this is one that acts like it has proper age on it from the beginning and is certainly one for earlier drinking.
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Unspektakuläre Farbe. Reife Kirschen, Waldbeeren, aber wenig primärfruchtig. Erdig, würzig, mineralisch, am Gaumen kräftige Tannine und hohe Säure, braucht zeit und Luft, vollmundig, extrem lang. Großer Wein mit Zukunft.
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Bretty and lots of barnyard at the start. It took two and half hours to come around and reveal some blackberry fruit, lavanda, leather, musty wet earth but the barnyard persists on the finish. Plenty of grip on the finish and acidity has toned down as this has gained weight. Will drink second half tomorrow. Flavia still hates it. Better on day 2, the barnyard nose has blown off and evolved into saddle leather. Much better fruit presence and still quite tannic. Next bottle will be drank in a couple of years and will decant for 4-5 hours.
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I really need to stick with "off vintage" CDP. This is Burgundian in texture yet with all the rich Grenache fruit, herbal and earthy profile. Super fresh and tasty. No alcohol sticking out, no overextraction - love it. Very developed and complex nose. Glad I have more.
More one dimensional and muted compared to several very good bottles of this wine. Precious little of the savage character I love in Pegau. There has been significant bottle variation with this vintage but overall it delivered great QPR.
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Tough to rate. I didn't mind the more subtle notes typical of 08s. The rustic funk on night one was just a bit more than I typically care for. Night two it blew off quickly and was more enjoyable. First try with Pegau and excited to tap into more in different vintages.
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There definitely is brett in this wine, but not offensive to those who don't mind it - oddly enough, the brett seemed to lessen over the course of 2-3 hours, so either it was diminishing (not sure how it could) or the structure and fruit of the wine was emerging further, covering it up a bit. A lighter style of Pegau, likely due to vintage, but still pleasant.
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Each bottle shares a core of similarity and yet each is slightly different. However, all have been fascinating. This one had big notes of dark chocolate and roasted coffee along with sweet tobacco, savory herbs and truffle.
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Seems to be a bit of bottle variation here. This bottle is the best yet; cleaner, with less brett. Nice raw meat notes, stones and just a hint of horsey funkiness. Lengthy and layered.
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Originally discovered Pegau in St Tropez, this bottle howerever was enjoyed in simpler surroundings. Nose has a thick, slightly sweet concentrated oak and earth character, followed by beautifully balanced spices and fruits. The pallete is slightly sweet also, I got liquorice current flavours with old oak. Wonderful wine, wonderful memories :)
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Cleaner and less funky/leathery than my last bottle, but also a lot less interesting - there's bright red fruit here and some earthy/herbal accents, but this is a bit of a one-note wine with not a whole of depth - it's pleasant, but not particularly exciting.
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Not going to get any better than this, even though it has years to live. From a marginal vintage, but I think I like it better because of that (does not have the 'bigness'). Bright, red fruits, lighter than normal Pegau funk, very good acidity. Easy, fun drinker.
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This is agreeably light for a CdP. First day, brett dominated even after a couple hours. Funny: I really could've mistaken this for the cheap (~$35 at the restaurant) bretty Canonnau we'd drunk the night before. It was all horse's ass and cranberry, and fairly disappointing. Day two, with popcorn (or is that papecorn?), it was way classier and more interesting. The brett dial was turned down from 8 to 4 (perfect for me: I like some funk in a contributing role where it adds complexity, just not in a dominating role where it precludes complexity), and while the fruit was thereby a little more pronounced, what really came to the fore were wet stone and ashes, with maybe a little garrigue. A lot of texture and interest. Nice! If I had more bottles, I might open them say 12-24 hours in advance.
This was another mellow bottle; just a hint of barnyard to accompany the herbs and fruit. Drinks so easily and was a great accompaniment to roast duck at Mountain Bird in Harlem.
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Slightly better than my last bottle. Still some funk, but not as pronounced as my last sample. Cool-toned fruits, spices and leather with a balsamic note. The structure is more acidic than tannic. Nice wine for the sub-$30 price tag. A wine to have with food rather than by itself.
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Medium body red color with pinkish hue. Got notes of barnyard brett but it blew off within minutes. Effusive perfume of spice box, fresh cut flowers (some lavender), garrigue, old and new oak, sweet red fruit confit, and a hint of orange rind. Entry has beautifully correct acidity and supple round tannins, however the body is thin for a CDP (vintage stamp) with some raspberries and garrigue. Finish is medium in length with plummy spicy fruit and new oak. Not bad for this challenging vintage, very food friendly and grows on your palate. On day 3, acidity and tannins remain but the fruit has faded to some extent, so I would not keep this for much longer. 92-
I can see this as a polarizing wine as it does have a healthy amount of funkiness to it; a bit horsey. However there is a nice, cool-toned, crisp red-fruitiness to it. Light, airy and elegant... but again, funky. The structure seems to rely more on acids and tannins in this vintage. It should be noted that this is less funky on the palate than on the nose. Seems to have gotten a bit better on day 2 and 3.
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The bottle variation on this vintage is remarkable; each bottle is like its own ecosystem of funk, spices and fruit. This bottle was a little more mellow, but still delicious.
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Picked these up a couple of days ago after waiting a year to arrive. Didn't ask when they arrived. Perhaps some bottle shock. Not a bad drink but not offering much. At times hinted at TCA. After about an hour it put on considerable weight , became lush and showed provocative herbal and spice notes. Not much fruit but very impressive.
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Agree with most of the notes and scores here. This is definitely more dirt-forward than fruit-forward, especially upon opening. With some air time, the red fruits come out a bit more and some of the funk flows off. After an hour or so, it works its way into a pretty nice balance, but is still an earthy wine overall. Nice velvety texture and acid balance, with a good finish. I really liked it, the wife not so much. If you like CdP and are not super brett-sensitive, this is a very nice wine for the price (I paid only $28 since it was a weak vintage). Drinking well now with some air but I think maybe even better in a couple more years. Should have several years of life left.
UPDATE: Upon tasting on subsequent days from the Enomatic, this starts out extremely earthy/dirty/bretty each time. But after an hour or so of air, it really starts to shine. The fruit comes out and the balance is nice; mouthwatering acidity. Definitely recommend decanting for 1-2 hours if you are cracking a bottle soon. Remarkable transformation in the glass. Upgrading score to 92
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Light on its feet, but incredibly fragrant with layers of damp earth, leather, spice, fresh herbs, and red fruits all coming together into a lovely scent. It's not particularly powerful but very refreshing and drinking wonderfully now with very little noticeable tannin and bright acids.
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Aromas of blackberry licorice, musky garrigue and some wet horse (which diminished with more air) leads way to a medium to full bodied wine with some tangy red fruit, some earth, some spice and a distinct meatiness. Not for the brett averse.
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I've been waiting six months for delivery on a half case of this from Crush Wine in NY, and it finally arrived yesterday. Thought I should let it rest, but that idea only held up for 24 hours. Deep plum red in the glass. Pnp, and the deeply satisfying nose of grass, slate, and barnyard blooms from the glass, only slightly less funky and distinctive than I remember from the bottles I drank last year direct from the winery. The palate on this bottle is not as singular as the nose; tangy red fruit, earth, mushroom, and a touch of barnyard, but relatively subdued compared to some other bottles of this I've had. A nice, long finish with red fruit and grass lingering for quite a while. This wine has a sauvage quality which I adore, but which in all honesty might be had in almost equal amounts in a much cheaper, less prestigious wine - for example, the best from Christophe Foucher and other small organic producers who's wines can be had for half the price of this. And be aware, this funky, individualistic juice seems to have a ton of bottle variation. But this wine is sublime; seek it out.
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If there's such a thing as a pretty Chateauneuf being made these days, this is it. Probably the vintage as there was a ton of rain but as I smell the '08 Pegau I find it charming and feminine with plenty of fruit, glycerin, and character which includes some bret. After reading other reviews I thought this would just smell like a cow pattie, but for me the bret doesn't detract at all. A bit acrid on the palate like a viognier, I think it's the mouthfeel that was really affected by the rain as this doesn't have much of a finish. There's a nice weight on the mid palate with a note of creosote but the fruit in the mouth just isn't there at all. The tannins are a bit abrasive, this almost has an under ripe cab franc feel. Perhaps giving this two years would soften things a bit but don't wait any longer as the fruit will have vanished. Drink by late November, 2015.
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Teeny, tiny Pegau vertical: The dark and red fruit, while quite nice, was abit on the reserved side. There's still characteristic earth and garrigue, and this is very Pegau. The tannins are very soft and reserved. All in all, this is drinking very well tonight.
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Not as explosive as some other bottles I've had as this was on the elegant side instead of the typical savage Pegau. Good nose, nice acids on the palate and attractive barnyard notes on the palate. Tasty+
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Dark red and shows strong notes of garrique and canned bamboo shots. After an hour in the glass this lessens a bit and it becomes more fruity. Lots of nicely integrated tannins show a long future for this wine. Powerful and concentrated with a real "one track mind". This is a racecar going with explosive power. Fruit, fruit and fruit! 50+5+12+16+8 (91p)
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Still going strong. Lots of barnyard funk, but as the wine breaths this dissipates and blends nicely with deep dark fruits and spiciness. Long integrated finish with firm tannins. Excellent. Just really an interesting wine.
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Popped, poured, breathed for an hour, followed over next 90 minutes. A little bit volatile on the pop, but settled down quite nicely after an hour in the glass. Perfect with grilled lamb!
Opaque blackish red core with crimson rim; holy horse manure on the nose!, Brett is overpowering out of the bottle and never resolves, there are some floral and red fruit notes underneath but you need a hazmat suit to get down there; not sure what happened to this vintage, were they trying to make a weak vintage more interesting or do they need to overhaul the cellar.
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Dry rub herbs, dry weeds, Funky brett in the form of band-aid and potting soil; stewed fruits and pot-pouri; soft and silky and a medium bodied; concentrated herbal notes (sage), dense cooked fruits at its core; some cured meats, anise with fine tannins and medium finish. Went back and forth on this. does seem to be trying to find its character. Classic, but a bit funky, lighter vintage. Will be interesting to see if this improves with time, or goes down hill. Try in 2-3 years. 90-91
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DC/Northern Virginia Off-Line II - "Blind Reds: Favorites vs. Underdogs" (My home, Falls Church, VA): tasted blind. Other than the obvious brett/earthiness, I found the nose on this inexpressive and thought it might be a bit shut down right now. very tannic for the body, and some interesting spicy/salami notes on the palate. I liked it, but wonder if it won't be a whole lot better with a livelier nose a few years from now.
Rustic old world yet not as horse filled manure as previous bottle. In the mouth nice and tart bursting with raspberries and strawberry rhubarb along with a rustic iodine and fig to it. Overall nice just a bit short on the finish and a tad offputting on the nose.
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Spontaneous Blind Tuesday night Rhone Varietals (Portland, Oregon): aromas were pruney, stems, stewed red currant, soy, eucalyptus, hoisin sauce meaty. Palate showed smooth surprisingly soft tannin with savory saucey flavors and stemmy braised fruit and meats. Finished long and savory. No heat
Guessed correctly 08 Pegau. The first bottle of my case that wasn't flawed. A top wine of the night for many of us.
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Wow, this is really nice stuff. It's young but already shows plenty of complexity. Reminds me of '99 with less funk. One can't help but notice the intensity and palate persistence. Really a Pegau I adore. Ready to drink, I would be very surprised should this wine shut down. First of a 6-pack. Should have bought a case. Served with a mixed grill of chicken & quail (J. Waxman's asian marinade) and lamb chops.
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Similar to the bottle we opened three months ago. Masculine, lots of black pepper, iodine, bloody/meaty notes, mesquite and ripe black fruits. A little alcohol poking through. The wine puts on a little weight after a opening up but it still lacks the depth and richness of better vintages. The wine has character though. Day 2: this is has smoothed out some and put on weight. Less black pepper but still lots of meat. Maybe less interesting than day one but I think more enjoyable. This paired really well with braised short ribs from Brandywine Prime both last night and with leftovers today.
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Another K&L Rhone Tasting (San Francisco): Medium center, light rim. Stalky, vegetal aromas. Light, green and dry on the palate with ungenerous texture and high acidity. Not particularly attractive and I wouldn't wait to drink if I owned it since there is modest fruit to begin with. Once that is gone, there will be nothing left.
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Opened by Allred. An integrated and smooth wine for only being 5 years old. Notes of cherry and cola. Moderate to firm tannins. I've had the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 before (some on multiple occasions) and this is a consistently fine wine. The 2008 falls into the middle of my scores for this wine. 93 points.
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Anniversary Dinner (The Anvil Club, East Dundee, IL): Crimson color with aromas of red currants, violets, lavender, garrigue and earth. Medium- to full-bodied, with very pretty red fruit, earth and garrigue qualities on the palate. Long finish with spice and garrigue nuances. Lovely. 93+ pts.
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This wine is a complete crap shoot. I've had bottles from from two different retailers and it's about 50/50 as to whether or not the wine is flawed (it's usually fizzy).
When it's not flawed, it's really nice. Given that it's 50/50, the 'apparent' low price is no longer worth it.
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Popped and poured. Color is a darker-leaning red, which is surprising for a CdP of this vintage. On the nose, there is sweet raspberry, garrigue, and a bit of smoke on the backend. The nose is very enjoyable and complex, carrying classic CdP overtones, albeit on the slightly riper end of the spectrum. In the mouth, this wine is rich and flavorful, with the primary attributes being fruity red berries with a touch of ripe figs. The fruit lingers on the finish, along with a bit of tannin. Overall, this is a very nice wine for the vintage that highlights the joys of good Grenache. The QPR on this wine ($29 from Premier Cru) is amazing, and this bottle had zero of the Brett Monster that has apparently affected other 2008 Pegaus. I would buy more, particularly for around $30. 93+ points.
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Again...delicious. Young Cdp that is showing well in its youth. Considered an off vintage, probably because it is lean for a Chateauneuf. But its acidity and lack of complete roundness make for great drinking now. Elegant and racy. I would drink this three times a week!! Love Pegau.
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This wine is not for the faint at heart. Very herbaceous with tastes of iron and iodine that complement the fruit that comes through. Paired very will with Osso Bucco.
Overall good but i wouldnt consider this great.
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This was fizzy upon opening. It blew off in an hour, and the wine was definitely Pegau, with tons of iron, iodine, meat and blood notes. Palate lacked a little structure, but still had plenty of dark spicy fruit. Moderate length. Never seemed to recover from the initial "effervescence phase" as it was rather muddled and lacking structure compared to other bottles.Clearly not up to the first 4 and was from a different source. This is the second bottle in a row that was a bit "off" 86-87 if grading.
A good wine, not remotely at the level of the best vintages but rather nicely built with tobacco, licorice aromas and flavorful fruit wrapped by soft tannins and sound acidity. A boîre...
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Pop and pour, consumed over three days. Pretty barnyard/stinky and unsettled at first. After an hour of air, it began to sing and just got better and better until it was gone. Complex with notes of sweet tobacco, cedar, roasted savory herbs, leather and more, showing lots of personality and a refreshing core of acidity.
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Popped and poured. Young but already showing secondary flavors of garrigue, leather and cured meats though not completely integrated with primary fruit flavors. Very racy acidity for Cdp. Leaner and more elegant, consistent with Pegaus that I have had in the past. Not the most ponderous wine but delicious. Have three more and it will interesting to see how they develop.
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Mixed bag. Positives: interesting flavor profile with black plum and spice dominating. Surprisingly well structured wine in terms of acid and tannin for an '08. The issue is just an overwhelming dose of brett. Personally, a bit of subtle funk makes a wine more interesitng. This is brett to a distraction. It's simply poor winemaking.
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First bottle of four. Dominated by brett on day one. Proceed with caution. Recorked and put in the fridge and retasted on day two. On day two, the brett had blown off revealing the Pegau I've come to know and love. The 2008 is a mid weight example with medium concentration. Classic notes of Kirsch and dark fruit on the palate.
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Consistent with my TN of 1/5/13, except I did not get the sweet edge on the finish. Unlike others' bottles, I did not find the brett excessive, rather the leather, earth, and slight barnyard notes I expect from Pegau. If you are not a fan of that style, then don't buy Pegau. Shared with my wife and in laws who are not serious about wine, yet they really enjoyed. So that should give an idea that there was not excessive brett with this bottle (but of course variation does happen).
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Totally flawed. Bretty as hell, the barnyard, leather horse saddle and manure nose says it all. Overpowers and mutes everything else. Undrinkable. My wife was ticked off and i made the mistake of not bringing a plan B.
Seriously, how can there be so much bottle variation? Notes on this wine are totally polarizing.
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An initial whiff of canned bamboo blows away and leaves a concentrated and balanced wine with character and charm. A different style than other CdP-wines tasted earlier. Notes of barnyard and horse-stables, some sweetness, and a little bit canned green vegetables. Enjoyable!
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Lots of iodine and white pepper on the nose. On the palate this has some cherries, leather, iodine, green veggies, hint of barnyard and another does of white pepper. Tasty and savory, good acidity, mild tannins, good dinner companion. This bottle was less expressive and seemed less deep that the previous one. (90-91pts; I re-corked a small amount and tried it the next night, but this fell apart overnight).
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Another delicious bottle. Hint of brett on the nose along with spice, leather, garrigue, and kirsch. Lovely mix of spice and kirsch on the palate. Excellent.
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Black olive, black fruit, black pepper and green veggies on the nose. Savory palate with plum fruit and allspice. Plenty of acidity, bordering on volatile. Yes, there's brett here but it's integrated and not of the offensive variety.
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Tons of funk and horse on the nose, showing rich black plums, dark dried fruits, saddle leather, brett, and spicy black pepper. The funk carries through to the palate, with more horse, dirty diaper, leather, spicy black pepper and clove, black cherries, and black plums. Good acid, with a medium+ length finish ending on notes of leather and black pepper. This isn't for the faint of heart, incredibly stinky even for Pegau with tons of brett. This is either a "love it" or "hate it" wine. Put me in the "love it" camp. Very good.
Not doing it for me. Great color and high water table. Great scent of kirsch, red liquorish. Mouth feel is thin and highly acidic, out of balance and hot. Not very good.
This was not as good as the other bottles that I have had. It was very tight and took a long time to open up. Once it did it was not as complex as the other bottles. It was much less funky. Dark fruits with olives and herbs. Still nice and enjoyable with braised veal.
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It took about 30 minutes in the decanter for the funk to blow off. Once it did I found two of my favorite things: gamey red meats and cranberry juice. Wonderful stuff from start to finish. Drink now or wait 10. How many wines can you say that about??
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I've never understood why people complain about brett in wines that are traditionally known for having brett. I personally enjoy it which is why I love Pegau. Especially Pegau at $30 a bottle because its considered an "off vintage". Its drinking beautifully now and its the perfect distraction from my other vintages of Pegau while they rest. Lighter bodied that other wintages. Almost like the pinot of Pegau. Still has loads of Kirchs, cherry, garrigue, and yes....brett.
Delicious now and will continue to drink well for a least a few more years.
Classic dark red core with cloudy red rim; earnest nose of earth, stone, radish and other vegetation, red fruit including cranberry and pomegranate, bandaid and classic grenache notes, meaty, latent tannin, and a finish like red hot candies. This bottle was very much more grenache like than past bottles that could have been confused with syrah. This bottle may be entering a different phase. A good wine but poor vintage which was confirmed when compared to some others at the tasting coming after this.
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This bottle was on the cusp on unenjoyable for me. Fur, smelly soil, rosemary, horsey raspberry nose. Somewhat fresher palate showing savory tones, iron, rust. Hope my others are better.
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Chateauneuf Du Pape at The Orchard (The Orchard, Kennet Square, PA): Meaty/bloody, masculine, black pepper, spicey, chewy, mesquite, bay leaf, complex nose. This bottle was complex but not particularly deep or dense. Overall pretty solid though I think this was the groups least favorite. Of the 08 CdPs I've had, the Vieux Donjon is the best so far.
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Start with the purest and most perfectly-ripe red cherry fruit imaginable. Next, dial up the Brett level just to the point of becoming undrinkable, and subtract 1. Great stuff.
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My Super Bowl party contribution. Opens with some horse stable nose, but matches that with loads of sexy lavender, garrigue, blueberry, raspberry, herb sack, iodine, soft leather. A early drinker, and delicious.
Not the most powerful Pegau ever, but really pleased me with its charming Elements next to the typical Pegau tastes of earthiness and meat. Great wine, underestimated vintage.
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Brett was heavy on this bottle, but cleared off after a couple hours. Second day was even better. 5 bottles left...hope I have a couple that are "cleaner."
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Great nose on this wine. Dark, dark wine. The nose was full of Blackberry, Dark Fig, Hoisin Sauce, Smoked Bacon and lots of violets. Nice on the palate, and could see why some complained of brett, but I didn't find any more than other Southern Rhones. The meatiness and the bacon flavors, don't translate well to the palate, but the wine drink much better a little cooler than room temperature. Nice full wine, good finish and I hope it gets better with age. When the wine gets too wartm, it isn't bad, but loses much of its great nose.
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Consitent with prior bottles. This is excellent juice. Firing off right from the moment the cork was pulled. Deep and layered. So complex, the commoners do not get it. Much love for this bottle and the fantastic price I bought it for.
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Dinner with Friends (Oswego): Popped & poured just before dinner and followed over four+ hours. Immediately better than the last bottle- no brettanomyces or overly vegetal qualities here. Dark fruit, plum and roasted game aromas at first. Develops lovely garrigue and violet notes as it opens. Medium-bodied, with plum, meat, iron, earth and garrigue flavors. Finishes quite nicely.
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This is a wine that I have been drinking since arrival. It is very mature, has a zesty flavor and was just a great bargain at $28. Would I buy more---yes. However, this wine is not going to cellar well; I will drink mine by the end of 2013.
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PnP at a restaurant and did not change much over 1.5hrs, so little decanting needed for this. Got the leather and barnyard I expect from Pegau, but not overbearing on the palate. Red fruit of strawberry and raspberry that was surprisingly lush and even came across with a little sweetness on the finish. Medium body and acidity. Lacking the complexity and concentration of better vintages, but still a very enjoyable wine that is a knockout value at under $30. I intend to drink my remaining bottles over the next 1-2 years to enjoy the freshness of this vintage as I don't expect it to improve going forward.
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Third bottle from a case purchased from PC. I guess I'm lucky as all my bottles from this case have been super clean. Nose is full of round and rich red fruits, spice, earth, fragrant and polished. Medium concentration, integrated tannins and easy drinking. Hard not to enjoy now or in a few years when it might pick up a bit more complexity.
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This took about four hours in the decanter for the brett to blow off. It never entirely tames; the nose has brett, tea, vinegar (but not in an oxidative/flawed way) and a touch of fruit. The palate is textured and complex, with tea, earth, leaf/twigs, sour cherry and spice. Tons of acidity, medium tannins and a long finish.
I would have never predicted the pairing but this becomes magical with the Jasper Hill Farms Bayley Hazen Blue. The Penicilium roqueforti must go well with the brett is this intensifies the earthiness and funk in a very good way, and makes the finish as long as any I've ever tasted. 92pts for the wine itself but with the cheese it's easily a 95+pt combo.
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Meaty mineral nose, bit reductive at first, with a nicely rustic expression of dried dark cherries, cherry pits, cranberries, currants, beef juices, black pepper, bouquet de garrigue and wet stones. Good density on the dry palate, tart fruit with a dried component, long spicy finish without any heat. Constantly showing new aspects as it opens up, this beast is definitely alive and extremely interesting/rewarding to follow over the evening. We get some similarities aromatically to Le Ragose Amarone (also an old-school botti/foudre wine)
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Initially some cool, raw bloody steak on the nose, but this opens up into some barnyard, meat and cherries after ~2 hours of decant, when we started drinking it. Really tasty mixture of cherries, iodine, rust and bitter note on the finish. Very good acidity and tannins, not overpowering but extremely smooth. After further decanting this clears up into more sweet cherry and blueberry tasting wine. Smooth and enjoyable with grilled lamb chops and lasagna bolognese. Will age nicely but ready to drink now with few hours in a decanter.
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Popped and poured. Nose of black raspberry, leather, herbs, smoke, and a slight hint of barnyard. On the palate, dark berries, garrigue, leather, earth, with a hint of anise. Balanced finish, but lacks the oomph of better vintages.
Two hour update. This has filled in nicely. More funk and game are apparent. Bump the score to 92.
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Fantastic! Lots of barnyard - yes, I very much like it. Super old school on the palate. So many layers here and nothing over the top. Flawless balance. This is a can't miss wine and way underrated by the critics.
Nose is strong and pleasant fruit. Full ripe red fruit on the taste. Plush. An acidic bite on the mid-palate. Then the funk comes. Tannins are fairly strong and rather grippy at this time. Accessible now, great fruit and funk combo. The tannins make me want to try the wine in 3-5 years, and I hope the funk does not completely take over by that time. I would not hesitate to open one now if you're curious.
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Fairly dark red. Very open nose at first with lots of bramble, earth and boysenberry. No brett or ass like others have noted. In fact the wine is dissapointingly clean and fruit driven. The flavours are dark fruit and spice and the finish is very soft. Later it seemed to close up a bit. so I'm not sure what to do with my remaining bottles. The acid should keep everything in check while the nose develops but 5 years would be the longest I would hold a bottle.
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my first pegau. definitely some weird volatility for the first hour or two. even after extended decanting it was still just too funky and bretty to truly enjoy.
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Slightly spritzy and high toned acidic upon pnp. Quieted down over a 2 hour journey in the glass to become quite enjoyable, if still a tad on the acidic side. Still a classic Pegau, though.
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Pretty good wine for a difficult vintage. Tasting of pepper, leather and spices with dark cherry fruit, this is not the best from Laurence by a longshot, but it is typical of the rustic Pegau style, and I'm not sorry I've got more. Perhaps 92 is a bit generous, but I'm a big Pegau fan. I don't think this is going to age well, drink up.
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Excellent. Lots of earth, truffle oil, and blackberry. Good complexity with high toned acid and a medium length finish. Less tannin than other recent vintages. Ready to go now and doubt there is any upside to holding this.
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A little closed now but still delicious. Smoke and meat notes on the nose, with nice fruit on the palate. I imagine this will only get better over the next 5 years. If this bottle had brett in it, it didn't bother me at all.
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As expected with Pegau, some barnyard on the nose with smoke, meat and dark fruit. Nice mouthful of ripe dark fruit balanced with good acidity and a long pleasing finish where the tannins assert themselves but they are smooth and rounded, and for me, enhance the overall package. Nice wine that is really good now, but has the structure to last a while.
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No brainier for the price, not as much aging potential as other vintages, but great now over short term cellaring. I'll let the other vintages age and consume these. Bret was there but didn't bother me, it's pegau and that's what I expect. Drinking great out of the bottle, even better at hour 3. Glad i picked up a bunch.
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Deep plum color. Strong grassy barnyard, brett, and a little black pepper on the nose. Deep dark fruits and barnyard on the palate, with no sweetness and mild tannins. Long finish.
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Don't care for the brett; at first we thought it might be the bottle, but after reading tasting notes of others we realized that is what we can expect from this wine. Good CdP flavors if you can get past the brett.
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Very nice and truly very Pégaü, this 2008 shows the better sides of this producer in such a difficult year. There is plenty of the rustic barnyard in the nose but not too much and tonight it actually helps bring the fruit forward. The fruit, as in many wines from this vintage, is more restrained and less flirtatous. The palate is medium-bodied, integrated and shows few, if any hard edges. Compared to the 2003 Cuvée Réservée tasted a few weeks ago, this bottle shows few, if any, signs of oak. A great wine to drink now or in the coming 5-8 years.
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Young Pegau Vertical with Warso: Double decanted for 3 1/2 hours. The final Pegau of the evening. All the usual Pegau characteristics were present, but like previous bottles of 08 Pegau, this lacked depth and concentration. This is not a bad bottle of wine, just not up to expectations, but since I was able to get this lot for under $30 a bottle I find it to have quite a good qpr and if I could get more at the same price, I think I would. I think its a very nice, early drinking CdP.
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The most disappointing bottle of this I’ve had. Lots of brett on the nose, off-putting and I’m usually rather tolerant to brett. Later this turned to more iodine, iron/blood character, but just wasn’t doing it for me. Palate was cleaner, a bit of spice with a red cherry pit character. Course tannins and a moderate length finish with sandalwood. Still had good poise and polish for the vintage. A more nuanced wine, seemed thin on the palate compared to the Janasse. I still love this as a wine to drink while waiting on other years, but this bottle was not at good as previous. Not from my stash, so hopefully not representative of where this is going.
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This has been a fairly variable wine, but this was an interesting bottle. Spicy, almost raspy, rustic and lively. Licorice, pepper, and cherry. Vibrant and explosive. A bit thin in the mid-palate and dry on the finish, but this is wild and delicious nonetheless.
Good right out of the shoot, no decant needed. Great meaty and funky nose. Earth and more meat on the palate. Finish is a bit light, but for less than $30 this is an absolute steal. Delicious.
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Opened and consumed over 2 hours - strong brett at first open, gradually blowing off. Nose - earthy, mushroom, musty. Palate - old world style, complex, spice, leather, tobacco, dark fruits, hint of sweetness, no alcohol. Palate is certainly more earth/savory than fruity sweetness. Good acidity keeping in balance. Grippy finish. At $29 from PC this is a steal. 91+, will update on night two.
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Cloudy blackberry robe with a blackberry nose showing good forest floor earthiness, herbes de provence & beef. The palate showing similar qualities is soft with balanced acidity and tannins. Currently drinking quite well, this should improve with 3-5 more years in cellar.
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Pop and pour, wonderful nose, layers of dark fruit, cedar, sweet tobacco, leather, pencil lead, lavender, roasted savory herbs. A little more flesh than my last bottle, fabulous balance, even more impressive.
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4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Rich & Dana's): Garnet color. Red and black fruit notes, also herbs/garrigue, with an earthy undertone. Develops a subtle vegetal quality as it sits. Medium-bodied with herbs, red fruit and pepper flavors. Guessed S. Rhone.
The vegetal note does have that wet hay/horse blanket quality (brettanomyces), though it wasn't too distracting here.
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Delicious! earthy, stoney, with spice and berries. Glad this was considered by someone to be an "off" vintage so we could land such a great wine for a great price.
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Here horsey horsey, here horsey horsey. Hmm can you say Brett? I still enjoyed it as a little brett appeals to me on some levels but this bottle was a brett bomb that blew off somewhat after a few hours. The underlying fruit in this wine is great and exceptional for the vintage. Pretty typical Pegau flavors dominate this but as said a little more barnyard than the last few I've had.
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Clean bottle, zero brett but I also don't consider myself that sensitive. Lots of stone, mineral, gaurige, spice and berry elements. It didn't seem overly tannic but was still closed and a bit shy. The decanter helped and after a few hours it did become a bit more fleshy. Maybe longer air time or sideways sleep in the cellar.
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Just because a wine has traditionally tasted of horses__t doesn't mean that it SHOULD taste like that. You'd think that for the prices that Pegau charges they could find a solution to their brett bomb problem. This could have been a much better wine...
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On opening, big, dark meaty, leather and a bit hot. Came together with air to be really very nice. Great nose on this, and around 3-4 hours was beautiful. Felt like it was starting to get a touch oxidized after 5 hours, but who knows? A great deal.
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opened after a previous bottle was corked. purposely chosen because i had an 08 vieux telegraph la crau the night before, and i was sampling some 08 CdPs. this clearly trumps the VT. not the best vintage, but this had enough in the tank to be pleasing. consistent with the pegau ethos, which i favor, but it's clearly an off vintage for them. some mild brett which i can tolerate, somewhat chewy and meaty. i don't see the point in aging this wine much.
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Awesome wine. This business about this being an off vintage is total bs, this wine rocks big time. Terrific nose. Earthy and complex palate that is medium in weight. Nothing lean about it. Wish I bought more.
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A beautiful mix of red berries, raspberry, smoke, lavender, chocolate, pepper, exotic spices, and game notes. Medium-full body with a beautiful velvety texture and a long chewy finish. The Cuvée is 100% hand picked from vines averaging 60+ years in age and composed of about 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre, and 6% other authorized varietals including Counoise, Cinsault, Vaccarèse, and others. (Drink 2012-2022)
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Bought this bottle to see if it makes any sense to pull the trigger on some low pre-arrival prices ex chateau. Nice, simple Pegau, correct for the variety and the domiane. Raspberry, sous bois, medium- acidity and tannin with a medium length finish. Nothing offensive, nothing terribly memorable compared to other recent vintages. Went well with grilled lamb. Ready to go right now, and have some doubts as to long term ageability.
Day 2: savory elements remain with just a smattering of red fruit. The trademark Pegau terroir is there among other meaty elements, sort of a delicious broth flavor. This is actually pretty darn good at this stage, and is worth another point as a result of better than expected holding potential. 14%
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This bottle was very tasty but considerably weaker than the prior two bottles. Somewhat raspy and thin when first opened, this did blossom in a gamey, spicy, mid-weight Châteauneuf. For what it's worth, this bottle was a replacement for a corked bottle and had been sitting on a store shelf for an extra six months. There is no doubt that the Brett population in these is significant, and this bottle seemed more overwhelmed and showed much less character.
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Fabulous right now. Classic baked earth and herbs nose that run through its Grenacheyness. Simar palate but with black olive too. While powerful this was never beastly. It retains its sense of balance with a great lightness on its feet. Savoury finish helped it avoid the sweet and alcoholic pitfall of some. Much liked by the non CdPers.
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And Decanted 3 hrs. Purchased at PC for $24.95. Aromatically this had a lot of kick to it, multidimensional scents of dark, roasted plums and fig preserves, traces of black pepper on the edges, and while lacking the traditional scent of Garrigue, it still had quite a pop of fresh herbs and underbrush. The most immediate and obvious descriptor of the palate was of a clean, pure driven Grenache dominated cuvee, medium weight, but never veering off course of its satisfying destination. Staying within the red fruit spectrum, added touches asphalt and a moderate tannic backbone lent this to early drinking enjoyment. Off vintage, under-priced Pegau, yes please, back up the truck!
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Pop-n-pour, medium purple/garnet and light bodied. Tart red fruit, spice, some smokiness, saddle leather and horse stable... Definitely Pegau, if a little lacking in concentration. None of the vegetal notes that have turned me off of other '08 S. Rhônes. A good buy at the going rate and early drinker. I strategically opened this on a night my wife wasn't home. She would not have been happy with this level of brett, but exactly what I'd expect from Pegau.
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Really delightful wine. Medium bodied with no green notes - lovely fruit and acidity. Nice upside given the negative press on the vintage and value pricing on the wine.
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YES-avec surpris. First i have opened from the case, did not expect a lot seeing the advertised price and what a surprise. Lovely fruit and acidity, dark colour but very light taste for a pegau. Less rustic, in time may not be complex or very intellectual but a lovely wine. Really good value at its current stated price.
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Opaque but bright purple-ish. Gaminess, pepper and herbs aroma. On the mid-palate this was rather thin and uninspiring. Perhaps in a closed phase? Even the finish seemed kinda clipped.
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I opened one of these last week, and it was drinking so well I decided to kill another. Alas, the first one I opened was so corked it was scary, but the second one is glorious. As Pegau goes, this is medium weight, very spicy, vibrant, loaded with pepper, hints of sandalwood, and then vibrant and somewhat tart red fruit. There is no shortage of funk, but what makes the wine is the rusticity, energy and overall vibrancy.
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While this still not is the most concentrated of Pegaus it has definitely improved in last year. The green note is gone and it now shows great balance together with the classic Pegau aromas. Very enjoyable.
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This is supposed to be a weak vintage? Yum, I love 'weak' vintages of Pegau like 1994, 1999, 2004, 2006 etc. This 2008 is already strutting, in fact exploding. It is nowhere near as concentrated as vintages like 98, 00, 03, and 07, but it makes up for it with loads of white pepper, spice, garrigue and pure ZING. Like most Pegau, it is certainly heavy on the blood and iodine and shows some brett, but the wine is very energetic, spicy, complex and just downright enjoyable. I doubt this will make VERY old bones, but I suspect there is a great decade of drinking. It is already pretty darned ready to go, so dig in and enjoy!
After opening the bottle there was a strong scent of burnt wood and smoke. After an hour in the decanter the nose showed the very Pégaü typical elements of dark mature fruits, garrigue and thyme combined with a whiff of stable and wet horse. The palate is medium- to full-bodied and is certainly nicely integrated. I recommend an hour or so of aeration. There is no reason to hold off drinking your 08's, they are just perfect right now.
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A clear dark ruby in the glass, the nose barely extends above the rim. Initially, the nose is quite tight and restrained, yielding only garrigue, mineral, and what comes across as a dusty dryness. Over time, the wine opens, and while the garrigue remains front and center, a dark raspberry begins to show up amongst the mineral notes and I begin to detect the raw meat that others have alluded to. Over more time, the raspberry notes take center stage, hint at sweetness, and the garrigue disperses into some separate herbs, with the scent of fresh tarragon at the last. On the palate, the medium body feels lean and taut, the acid, fine grained tannins, and oak influence all blending nicely. Initially, it tasted all of minerally earth and herbs, with only a hint of fruit. Over time, the palate evolved with the nose to reveal black raspberry tartness, tea leaves, and just a touch of minerally funk that I keep wanting another chance to identify. All in all, the wine comes across as both young, elegant, and restrained, as well as suggesting the gaminess of a barnyard brawler. A beguiling combination that has me looking forward to checking in again after a couple of years have elapsed. Who knows who we'll meet then? 91/92+, likely to get much better.
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Dense, rich and drinking quite well on P&P. Day 2 and it's toned down significantly and is now more enjoyable. The nose, although shy, is pure perfume. Palate shows well both days with dusty tannins and ample acidity. 3-5 more years & this will be drinking as well as the 2004.
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This is obviously an infantile wine, but I wanted to see how this Pegau vintage is at this point before ordering more. Generous nose with spices and leather. Rich concentrated palate with long and bitter tannins. A bright future ahead. I will buy more.
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Pop and pour, ready to go, but still improves in the glass. Beguiling and restrained in body yet nicely intense and succulent due to the refreshing acidity. Very satisfying CdP. 92+.
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Beautifull nose of ripe strawberries, musc, cep de Bordeaux, animal... taste of pure fruit, very sweet, oriental spices, less concentrated than the 2009, but beautifull finesse
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A wonderful wine, the 2008 Cuvée Réservée is drinking superbly at present. The nose at first exhibits huge amounts of Earl Grey tea, herbs, wet stable/hay and dark brooding fruit. After an hour in the glass the Earl Grey tea is replaced by vivid and very expressive raspberry. Of course the classical rustic and rough Pégaü character is there as well. Some 'blame' it on brett but I actually like the tones of wet stable. The palate is medium-bodied and is rather short on the finish. Tannins, acidity and oak are nicely balanced. This is a very nice wine and it is open for business without too extensive aeration.
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A Dense, dark ruby color and full in body, this wine is BIG. I opened and decanted to let the wine breathe a bit since earlier notes said this was young and tight; sure enough, young and tight but bursting with complexity in the bouquet. Warm raspberry, black pepper, cinnamon, tons of garrigue, and an earthy/mushroom aroma assault and arrest the nostrils; seriously, I couldn't pull my nose out of the glass all night. Olfactory orgasm. Once the wine opens up it is bright and playful in the mouth with great structure and grip and a cool velvety texture that belies the full body. Although the tannins and acid are abundant, they are not overpowering or unpleasant but instead suggest great aging potential; this wine is begging to be left alone for years and promising to reward those who can. Bright raspberry hits on the front of the palate while the mid palate is dominated by dry herbs and dusty minerals. The finish is still a little veiled although, chocolate and pomegranate seem to come to mind and there is a slight oakiness just before the astringency of the tannins wipe the palate clean. There is also just a playful hint at sweetness that is reminiscent of anise but it's covered by the tanic finish before it truly develops. (Near the end of the bottle, 5 hours in the decanter, the finish really began to show a beautiful creamy, exotic mushroom and the nose reflected it as well). All that being said, the finish lingers for nearly two minutes, developing all the while and promising good things to come. While young and big, this is definitely enjoyable now and worth the $50 price-tag but, if you have the diligence to lay this down for at least a couple years you will be very happy you did so. While I never put a number to my notes, I feel the 91 this has in the CT community is low so, I will go against my normal routine and give this a 93-94++.
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More acidic, ending taning almost disjoint. Very different from previous bottle. No sweetness.wondering if first one got more air. Nonetheless it is still very good bottle but needed more time.
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Dark ruby hue, a very young wine indeed, needs time to unlock its true aromas and flavors. Opened 23 hours ago, it is showing abundant black cherry, raspberry, strawberry and blueberry aromas with elements of black pepper, anise, cedar, graphite, orange peel and an undertone of herbal bouquet showing Asian spice and eucalyptus. Very complex nose. Full bodied. An attack of black cherry, red currant and raspberry leads into a well-structured mid-palate of gritty, velvety tannin and fresh acidity. Very long aftertaste, balanced and complex, with black cherry, blueberry and orange peel lingering, finishing with anise, cedar and coffee. Extremely age-worthy wine that will be enjoyable after 2013. 92 PLUS.
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Very good. Drinking nice now.Old style Chateauneuf, sweet green olives, herbs.Complex palate. Medium finish. Not sure it has the material to have long term cellaring.
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Had to try this before cellaring the rest. P&P, a little reticent at first. Color is beautiful dark ruby red & translucent - easy to see through. Nice on the nose, complex. Creosote, tar, a little funk, rubber tire - some fruit hiding in there, but not out front. On the palate, soft fruit, floral (violets), good acidity, long finish with strong green olives carrying over (I like these). Lots going on here, gotta love it. Opened up quite a bit after a time. There's lots of good in this wine. Reserving score.
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Dark red. Intense raspberry jam and roasted meat, hint of reduction. The palate is broad and unfocused. Firm finish with menthol. Short. Left 6 ounces in the bottle 'til next day and it was tired. Not recommended
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Wonderful!! Such a well made wine.. and in an off vintage, just a real treat.. the balance is nice between dark fruits (including plum and prunes) and the barnyard funk... I love it.. the mouth feel is silky and the finish just lasts and lasts.. Perfect accompaniment to a traditional french meal!!
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Popped and poured at DOCG in Las Vegas (my bottle). Nose just oozes iron and blood. Palate is still quite tannic and acidic, with lovely spice and energy, with plenty of currant and cherry notes. Medium to long finish with iron, thyme, and earth. Lovely contrast to the Janasse VV the night before, as this is a sensational food wine with plenty of complexity for an "off" vintage.
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The 08 CdP's are ready to drink now so I figured why not start with a Pegau. This sets the bar pretty high for an off vintage CdP. Very slight earthy funk on the nose along with leather and dark fruit. the nose developed nicely as the earthiness wore off and the fruit intensified. Light tannins on the palate with raspberry and cherry coming through. This went very well with food. It is well made, nicely balanced.
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This is my first 08 Cdp and this is a very lightweight Pegau. It still has all the usual Pegau characteristics, the garrigue, the earthiness, the dark fruit, but they're all very subdued and it needed a couple of hours of air for these flavors to develop. I'm glad I was able to purchase this for half the usual going rate for Pegau, otherwise this would have been a big disappointment. As it is, its a nice early drinking 08 CdP. I wonder if it will ever get any better. I tasted it side by side with their 07 Plan Pegau and there wasn't a huge difference between the two, even though the CdP was double the price.
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I like 'off' vintage CdP. Lighter, so accessible young, and with some panache. This is a great example. Interesting nose of leather, cherry, full palate with more cherry, licorice notes, some sift tannins, medium plus finish. Complements food well, drinks well on its own, a very nice bottle to enjoy while waiting on 2007.
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Medium slightly brown red; staple, sherry, animal tones, raspberry; spice box, fresh, pointed, not heavy at all, some tannin, where's the fruit?; very special compared to other CdP 08s tasted, unique, special; whether you like it is individual I guess; I like it, just wondering how it will develop
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Unmistakeable Pegau aromas of leather, cherry, game and herbs du provence. Lighter than usual due to vintage and with a slightly greenish afrettedes. Still a pleséira to drink.
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Consistent with prior notes - 92 range +/- excellent with grilled ny strips - as prior tasters noted this is fine on pop & pour but did improve with airtime.
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VERY PLEASANT AND PRETTY MUCH READY TO DRINK. OF COURSE IT DOESN'T COMPARE WITH OLDER, READY BOTTLES FROM STRONGER VINTAGES [98 AND 99 COME TO MIND] BUT IT IS A FUN WINE TO DRINK WHILE WAITING FOR THE 2000 AND SUBSEQUENT VINTAGES TO COME AROUND. IT WAS CONSUMED RIGHT AFTER OPENING SO A BIT OF BREATHING MAY HAVE SOFTENED IT FURTHER.
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Expressive nose with a floral character, showing dried red fruits, iron, blood, sandlewood and kirsch. Intense palate with raspberry, plums and spice. Soft mouthfeel with fine tannins and bright acidity, turns slightly bitter with a cherry pit character with >2hrs of air. Does lack the concentration of Pegau in the better years, but the flavor profile and complexity are there. Lengthy finish with a saline quality and adding a hint of mocha/tar. Great wine. This should peak in the next 5 years and drink for 10. A great Pegau to have around waiting on the more concentrated/intense wines to open up.
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Complex, savory nose packed with garrigue, smokey charcoal, raw steak and red fruit. The savory aspects carry over to the palate, with the elegant, red fruit Grenache character up front, firm tannins and a smokey ember flavor that lingers on the finish. Very approachable right now and far exceeded my expectations for the vintage.
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{GVHwtb} Opened less than an hour earlier, no decant. Color not noted. Bouquet is tight, showing most obviously barnyard, as well as lavender, garrigue, kirsch, and pepper. On the palate, flavors of animal, lavender, garrigue, red and black currants, and black pepper. Excellent depth of fruit and savory characteristics extending into quite a long finish. Medium-plus acid and full, very drying tannins. Distinctive characteristics remind me of how much I love Pegau, especially after 7 to 10 years of age (eg., the 2000 is drinking so well right now!) depending on the vintage. Low 90's range but no score given as this was tasted among 40 other wines and not given proper air or attention.
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Dan Kravitz and Hand Picked Selections (Hinton's Wine Store, Atlanta, GA): 85% Grenache, 9% Syrah, and 4% Mourvedre, with other authorized varietals including Counoise, Cinsault, and Vaccarèse. Kirsch, fennel, herbs, raspberry, Asian spices,smoke/incense, oiled leather. A beauty, finely supple, with great balance and finish.
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Decanted for two hours, needed much more. Seriously tight on first tasting, but gradually opened up to reveal some serious potential. By the end it was reasonably generous for such a young wine but it needs to be kept. Classic CDP aromas and flavors, I continue to be a huge fan of this house.
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Needed about 30 min in a decanter to open up. Great nose with forest floor, raspberry and meat. The palate is fresh with raspberry and animalistic flavors with hints of earth. Excellent in a poor vintage.
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Helga's 7th Annual CDP Tasting (2008 Vintage CDPs Semi-Blind) (Atlanta, GA): Leather / black raspberry/ black cherry / garrigue / meat (palate consistent with nose). Medium+ body / great balance / long finish - old world style CDP and I loved it. I bought six bottles of this wine. Good value & quality in a supposedly poor vintage. This got 3 votes (including mine) out of 14 for WOTN. 92++
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Visit to Pegau (Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France): Another great treat from Laurence. This was a barrel sample, but I believe it will be bottled fairly soon. Really nice wine with good structure and a bit more restrained fruit than the 07 and 05. Some mineral elements and really excellent balance. Laurence again proves her skill with a slightly more difficult vintage.
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Animal nose, grilled mushrooms, ripe strawberries... in the month, red fruit, mushrooms, light integrated tanins... to my taste close to the style of the 2006 Pegau vintage
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3/28/2024 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
Domaine Pegau 1995-2008 Vertical: Nose: 94, Palate: 91
My #2, Group's #3. Tasted Blind.
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1/1/2024 - gdbarton1@gmail.com wrote:
I agree that it is holding up well. Good color and flavor
A good but not great wine
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12/25/2023 - senorvino wrote: 90 Points
Holding up incredibly well. Cherry cola and mesquite, still bright, dark crimson color.
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11/1/2023 - Matt.dubois9 Likes this wine:
11/1/23. Decanted for 2-3 hours and it opened quite well.
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10/7/2023 - TexasBob Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cloudy crimson under the light. Unusual and somewhat ripe nose of cherry cola, yeast rolls, and alcohol with a hint of mixed berries underneath. (Nope, not corked). Sweet red cherries with a silky texture lead followed by crisp Gala apples. Unusual and delicious .
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9/11/2023 - Discobiscuits42 wrote: 93 Points
In a very nice place. Has some animal charm but retains elegance. Well balanced and underscored on CT.
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9/10/2023 - Colowine Likes this wine:
Absolutely singing right now
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4/21/2023 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Friday Group Brown Bag Tasting (J&J's): Blind. Light garnet with a light meniscus. Notes of red fruit, pine, licorice, rosemary, currants and garrigue with a subtle earthy element. Medium-bodied. Lovely red berry fruit along with garrigue and licorice. Easy to pick out as our CndP in this lineup.
Our final standard bottle, this had been double decanted off its sediment about two hours before the flight was poured. A very nice showing from this off vintage and a fine start as the first of several 2008s we will be enjoying over the coming week as we celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.
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2/5/2023 - cos65 Likes this wine: 89 Points
From an odd 500mL imperial pint bottling
Initial pour clear, but a moderate amount of murky sediment at the bottom
This definitely had a good share of medicinal funk which actually cleared over the course of 90 minutes.
If opening a bottle, I’d definitely decant and generously aerate.
Best showing yet with some clear maturing CdP high points, but still have some caution, as this definitely has some funk and requires a pinch of ambitious optimism to truly enjoy.
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11/28/2022 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Drinking very well!
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9/30/2022 - Cote d'Or wrote:
Tasted over 2 hrs
-nearly opaque dark red faintly fading purple rim
-lovely meaty funky garrigue and sousbois
-med acidity, med/med+ weight mature elements licorice earthy brambly wild dark fruit, med/med- tannins; very faint bit of spritz that is not detracting
-savory fully mature robust alive
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8/28/2022 - Miceri Likes this wine: 98 Points
Medium red; lovely rounded nose with caramel and raspberries; lovely rounded body, soft and silky, gentle acidity; really nice long aftertaste; still singing as it also did a few years back - really lovely
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5/20/2022 - VDLT Wine wrote:
My last bottle ans it was a curious one. There was an odd cedar note that hinted sometimes at bad cork, and other times as Brett. For most of the bottle it bobbed between advanced and stripped in a flawed way. Toward the end it got way more interesting. Might have been the fine sediment or maybe it finally came out to play.
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4/29/2022 - mtaczak wrote:
Last of four, all weird and funky. Not my style.
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1/19/2022 - Shiaxonna wrote: 91 Points
I love this house-style. Not like any other CdP. Relatively low on alcohol. Lots of dark, spicy, brooding stuffing here. Herbs, leather, developed dark fruit and a long finish.
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12/19/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Maybe the best bottle of '08 I've had--this was a "clean" bottle. Lovely dark red fruit and provincial herbs and spices. Perfectly mature.
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12/11/2021 - theRealPepe wrote: 92 Points
Really nice wine with complexity, yet surprisingly short on the finish.
Edit: Revisting 2 days later. Finding the lavender and other garrigue, as well as the pepper and charcuterie even more attractive. A nice finish has emerged as well. Today's score is even better with 2 points added for the improved finish. Excellent.
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11/28/2021 - spineguy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Could not be drinking better. Touch of pleasant bret on the nose which quickly blew off. Rich aromas of strewed red fruit with a hint of cedar. Darker red fruits came through on the palate with a touch of anise. Nicely complex. Medium bodied with respectable finish for a wine of this price. Wish I had more. Great on its own but certainly could stand up to red meat.
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9/26/2021 - dmalcolm wrote:
A lighter weight effort, which for me is preferable with CdP. Opened up real nicely on day 2, becoming more silky and savoury.
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7/5/2021 - lake.vino Likes this wine: 92 Points
Maturing nicely, a bit low in depth and complexity compared to great vintages of this - but incredibly well made and more balanced than some riper vintages.
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3/28/2021 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Love this wine! Same as in October! Have one more bottle which will likely be gone by year end.
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1/28/2021 - pkouchu wrote: 91 Points
leather, licorice, smoked cedar, blackberries, pepper, mocha
just a tad bit of brett, which is forgivable. everything else is pretty nice.
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1/26/2021 - cos65 wrote:
From and odd “Imperial Pint” 500mL
The first 3 bottles from this case were quite odd, with a medicinal, Ace Bandage and Iodine aroma, and tons of Brett
This particular bottle still showed a fair amount of Brett, but otherwise showed some decent mature grenache fruit; overall a rather passable 12-year-old CdP
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12/13/2020 - studleytrey Likes this wine: 90 Points
Soft, a little faded, and pretty "drink up" status at this point, but still enjoyable for our palates with our pot roast tonight. Garnet color. Aromas of dark and dark red fruits, cinnamon, dry leaves, potpourri, damp soil, mint, crushed rocks, and graphite. Pretty nice to smell actually. Medium body, acid, and finish, with dark and dark red fruits, lemon, black tea, and minerals. Kinda falling off on the palate, but still enjoyable if you like 'em a little tired and dusty. I'd suggest drinking up if you have them in either case.
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12/11/2020 - jerhardt Likes this wine: 91 Points
Yes, there is some Brett and the variability that results. But when this is on, it has to be one of the better sub-$50 wines in my cellar, especially since I paid $25 on release... I particularly appreciate the elegance of the ‘lesser’ vintages. Recognizable for what it should be and great to drink now.
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10/25/2020 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Drinking beautifully. PNP. No detailed notes.
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8/16/2020 - Brain Capers Likes this wine:
PnP, had with seared duck breast, and figs. Drinking very well, for it’s vintage. Cork came out fine, lovely.
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7/12/2020 - Vitis Maximus Likes this wine: 91 Points
There nothing off putting or super remarkable about this CDP. Not as bright as it once was before 2012 but still full bodied and very Rhone. A bit forest floor/Barnyard but delish with a BBQ chicken never the less. Good stuff but drink soon before it makes a hard turn south.
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5/11/2020 - jerhardt wrote:
A pretty clean bottle. Lightweight and moderately complex. Ready to drink, but no hurry.
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4/16/2020 - carlsport Likes this wine: 90 Points
Better than I expected, but one of the weaker Pegau vintages for sure.
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2/27/2020 - jerhardt wrote:
Pretty substantial Brett in this one. Still drinkable for me, but many people would dislike it.
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2/20/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:
From an unusual Imperial Pint 500mL
Slightly murky ruby
Very funky nose which incompletely cleared .
Initially funky on the palate as well.
Definitely NFS.
Judgement reserved
1st of a case of 12
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1/27/2020 - MLipton wrote:
Another great bottle of this wine. Fresh and lively, with great typicité. Nothing was out of place: the alcohol, the extraction and maturity were all in harmony, just as if this wine had been made 25 years earlier. Very nice.
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11/16/2019 - Kepos wrote: 89 Points
round and elegant, not very deep, maybe a bit light, already on its way down? Would be very surprising for Pegau, lets try again soon
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10/26/2019 - TigerLeopard wrote:
Excellent!!!!!
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10/9/2019 - french16 wrote:
Classic. Delicious and elegant, showing the lighter vintage.
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10/9/2019 - french16 wrote:
Classic Pegau with the right amount of brett. Fresh and balanced, garrigue, inky and mix of red and dark fruits.
Really nice.
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10/5/2019 - Sten Sohlé wrote: 90 Points
A new one cost now 1500 sek. God.
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7/5/2019 - Frank Schneider wrote: 93 Points
Splash decanted ! Big ribeye on the fire . Perfect match. Needs food. Went very well. Became softer with air and ended as a real yummy and enjoyable wine from this poor vintage. No hurry
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5/30/2019 - Tree512 wrote: 89 Points
Much better than a previous bottle. Brett is a note rather than overwhelming. Red fruit and loads of garrigue - great match for roast chicken with herbs de Provence.
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5/15/2019 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Oh happy day. Thought we'd drunk all these by 2017 as they were maturing quickly (I thought), but found one last night in the cellar while trying to unearth an '11 from the bottom of the pile. Initially light with plums, acid and white pepper, it gained weight over the course of several hours in the form of extra fruit, garrique and a nutmeg kind of spice on the finish. Totally delightful.
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5/13/2019 - Cote d'Or Likes this wine:
Tasted over 2 hrs
-dark red purple
-fragrant lovely garrigue plum iodine screams out southern Rhône
-med acidity is just enough, med weight lively spiced plum garrigue earth with only trace heat and med tannins on long finish
-this is in a sweet spot now and should remain there for several more years
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4/18/2019 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points
Quite an outstanding nose (A-). Palate is a little be strange but still excellent.
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3/21/2019 - MLipton wrote:
Opened alongside a 2001 Beaucastel. Fresh and lively with vibrant dark cherry fruit and a hint of the barnyard to it. I'd say that it's drinking quite well now, though there are some tannins on the back end.
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3/18/2019 - JJKinch wrote: 91 Points
Dark fruit (black cherry, blackberry, slight plum), slight Brett, violet, garrigue, good acidity. Lingering finish. Really enjoyable.
-popped and poured. Better with an hour or so of air.
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3/1/2019 - Grape_ape wrote:
Touch of brett, but in a good way adding complexity. Drinking pretty well at this stage.
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2/17/2019 - short and confused wrote:
Curious if this was an off bottle. I loved it a year ago. This one was good but not at all special. Felt like a particularly good cote du Rhône for $15. Not flawed in any way but not in line with my last one or any of the CT reviews. One more bottle. I’ll open it soon and hope to be wowed! Won’t score this bottle.
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2/17/2019 - Tree512 wrote: 85 Points
Really nice fruit but overwhelming brett. I like brett, but this was over the top. The group still liked drinking it, but definitely a BBQ wine for highly flavored food at best.
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2/16/2019 - edjBoca Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinks so well.....why wait?
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2/12/2019 - Escher Cellars wrote: 96 Points
Gorgeous wine. Dominant taste of very deep, dark soaked plum cherries, much like a rare Amarone. Yet also smooth and complex. Such a joy to drink from start to finish. If you have it, enjoy now. Cheers!
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2/1/2019 - battytaxicab Likes this wine: 93 Points
Matured well. Still a good rusty red colour. Aroma top note of violets with redcurrant and blackberry and then earthy, leather underneath. Good complexity to tasting with a really good structure.
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1/11/2019 - AudunG wrote: 90 Points
Aromas of dark red druits and leather. Generous, with clean, but warm fruit. Good structure for a C-d-P. Lacks some acidity and freshness.
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12/30/2018 - Celeritas Does not like this wine: 89 Points
Didn’t love it - very meaty and earthy. Was the other wife Xmas day yo have with beef Wellington. Not a fan
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12/21/2018 - David J Cooper wrote: 93 Points
Clear medium red with pink edges. Very fresh raspberry and blood nose. Even after a decade this wine is still alive and red fruit driven. Delicious earthy berry fruit flavours and a slightly soft finish. A bit more structure and acid would improve this a little but still a very nice wine.
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12/8/2018 - roljui Likes this wine: 92 Points
Loved it - on open, big, almost smoky - evolved very nicely in the glass and over 2 hours in the decanter. Would buy again and happily drink again!
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12/7/2018 - sc03852 wrote:
Reserved, high in acidity. Red fruits, medicine, tannic tea, ripe black fruits.
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11/21/2018 - winemaker Likes this wine: 89 Points
This bottle is pretty decent. Lacks typical explosive Pegau intensity, but still provides interest and complexity. A bit of Brett.
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10/30/2018 - MObiker wrote:
I'm sorry to hear about so much bottle variation. This is my 3rd bottle and they've been perfectly clean. (I really don't like poop, stink, etc.) Nicely balanced & a steal at the $29 I paid.
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10/3/2018 - acyso wrote: 88 Points
Dinner at Sun Wah (Chicago, IL): Not particularly overwhelmed by brett, but not exactly the cleanest wine out there either. Something here reminds me of wet fur. On the palate, there's a little less funk, but the lightness of the palate presence doesn't jive very well with the hit of alcohol on the back end. And while this may be reasonably restrained for modern CdP, it doesn't strike me as well-integrated.
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9/29/2018 - Litt12 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fresh perfume on the nose. Kirsch, underbrush and game on the palate. Sure an overperformer for poor vintage, but drinking great right now and highly worth seeking out.
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9/23/2018 - CWilliam wrote:
92+
Continues to drink extremely well - garrigue, meat, black raspberry, & savory nose - similar palate. Medium body, medium acids and integrated (not noticeable) tannins with a long finish.
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9/13/2018 - SpoochMan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Party for Jenni. My last bottle of the '08 Pegau and it was very nice. Not one of the bigger Pegau's but this is very nicely balanced, food friendly, and with decent complexity. Was a bargain at $38 and wish I had bought more. Considering that this was supposed to be a terrible vintage for CdP, an impressive effort.
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9/4/2018 - Bob in NC Likes this wine: 88 Points
The red cherry fruit and spices showed through once the cellar funk faded away after a couple of hours.
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8/27/2018 - OaktownRush Likes this wine: 96 Points
Clove, brambles and slate on the nose. Beautifully refined red fruit and spice -- the tannins are integrated and the wine has a perfect silky texture. It's hard to do this justice, but everything is working in unison and this wine is drinking very well right now.
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8/22/2018 - mtaczak wrote:
the bottle variation here is extreme ...
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8/16/2018 - mtaczak wrote:
I like funk, but this was so brett-ed out and bandaid-y that it was hard to enjoy.
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8/3/2018 - VDLT Wine wrote:
If tasted blind, I would say fading left bank Bordeaux. Seems stripped and with no charm.
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7/31/2018 - europat55 wrote: 90 Points
Strong wine. A lot of leather on the nose and palate. This bottle had a strange feel on the tongue... almost like a small effervescence!
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7/6/2018 - ccn wrote: 91 Points
Lovely -- a model of balance, really singing right now.
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6/8/2018 - Eric wrote: 91 Points
Nice showing. Dry and peppery on the approach with a meaty depth to the mid-palate. Cherry, licorice, white pepper dance. Quite a bit more structure than I recall, spicy, with dry and surprisingly persistent tannins. There are better vintages of Pegau, but this is pleasing and approachable albeit just a bit astringent. (I would have rated 2 points higher had the texture been a bit smoother.)
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6/3/2018 - PJRONeill wrote: 89 Points
This has settled down in the four years since I last tried a bottle. Not much evidence of age in the glass, it is still a deep red color with a nose of sweet red fruit, some oregano and a little grilled steak.
It hasn't entirely lost the spritz but it's less overt and again decanting helps. On the palate an initial hit of sweetness but there's acidity too and some drying tannin and the overall impression is of something that is somewhat balanced, a bit to my surprise.
Nothing profound here but given the state these were in when I last tried one four years ago, I'm happy that they've evolved into a solid every-day sort of wine that gives a certain amount of pleasure.
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3/17/2018 - chatters wrote:
Mini-Grenache battle (KC's place): Medium plus intensity aromas of ripe red berries backed by peppery spice with earth, leather and Asian five spice...with time funky farmyards and touches of truffle. Slightly sour, slightly funky, red berry and peppery spice, leathery with some mushrooms. Tannins are slightly drying but fine textured. Kind of dirty but kind of nice.
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3/17/2018 - short and confused wrote: 93 Points
Saturated ruby red. A pretty wild nose of smoke, red and blue fruit, asian almost medicinal spice, game and garrigue. A friend I was drinking it with said that it reminded her of Chinese pickled fermented cucumber that you put in congee. I had to agree that it did. Great acidity and precise red fruit. Gripping tannins on the back are good but, in the end, on the drying and tough side. Will it get better? Not sure. but it is very good right now.
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3/9/2018 - btock wrote: 89 Points
Some spritz/effervescence when poured initially. Blew off in the glass. bright red currant, more tart presentation. Paired with a venison dish and that worked. Nice color in the glass, but a different kind of Pegau. Younger/fresher than I expected for the vintage.
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3/4/2018 - galewskj wrote: 88 Points
So sad, this is my last bottle. And it didn't even show that well. People complain about the funkiness of Pegau, and if they only drank this bottle, they would be correct. This was so BRETTY, I could actually taste it. It was not completely unpleasant, just obviously marred by what many people consider a flaw. This was probably the least enoyable of 9 bottles that I drank. I still drank it. I am not cellaring Pegau for the long term, and this bottle shows exactly why you should not. If you gave this bottle another 5 years, it would be a real stinker.
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2/17/2018 - Miceri Likes this wine: 97 Points
Singing; medium red; wonderful mix of raspberry and eucalyptus, some barnyard; sweet and mellow, strawberry, balsamico glaze, hint of licorice; really really good!
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2/8/2018 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dark garnet, with just the slightest hint of brown at the edge. Almost opaque. Immediate very pronounced "barnyard" aroma of earth, leather, roasted meat, charred wood, complex. Viscous, mouth-coating flavors of dark berries and plums, a touch of sweetness, tannin definitely softer than two years ago. Tannin becomes more evident in the aftertaste, which is long and rich I think it's probably at its peak, but will last several more years. A classic CNDP!
Ric
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2/5/2018 - jeff nowak Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very solid performance, drinking at peak for me, with only mild residual tannin and fresh fruit. Not a blockbuster, but juicy now. WineSpectator actually nailed the TN; however, I thought they were too generous in the scoring (92). Drink now - 2020.
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1/15/2018 - Theamaronefan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent wine. Medium to full bodied with stewed dark fruit, mineral, leather and spice.
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1/13/2018 - tewino Likes this wine: 92 Points
One of the greatest bargains of my life. Perfect garriuge in a medium body. Balanced. Earth.
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11/3/2017 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
A quickie taste was substantial and tasty though heavy on the brett but well within the allowable range for Pegau.
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10/16/2017 - Barolo Raymond wrote: 91 Points
Deep ruby, black core, some orange-brick color; slow-moving legs @14% abv. Beautiful aromas of Black fruits, licorice, laurel, beautiful (charred) wood structure. Dry-off dry, medium acidity, medium(+) ripe firm tannin, high alcohol and full body. Broad palate blackberry, black cherry, pepper, mocha, leather. Firmly structured, beautiful balanced between all components, velvety texture. Long lasting finish on a slight bitter-sweet rich note.
Drink now.
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9/25/2017 - wkkan Likes this wine: 92 Points
drinking very well now
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9/12/2017 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Very good! Not sure what was wrong with last March's disappointing bottle but this one was what I would hope based on 2015's. In fact, it's pretty identical to that, hasn't aged from there like one would expect considering it was maturing overly fast to that point. Nice fruit with just enough funk for intrigue.
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8/30/2017 - EhrlichDY Does not like this wine:
Popped and enjoyed over two days. Fortunately, this one wasn't ruined by brett. Still, the wine is a bit light and out of balance with the acid and tannin profile overshadowing the fruit and savory notes. On day two the wine softens and comes more into focus as the structure integrates so there is hope but this vintage is not of the quality this estate is known for. Put these away for a several years and hope for the best.
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5/11/2017 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
Happy Birthday Kevin! (Kevin and Vicki's House): Slow o'd an hour, and cooled down slightly such that it was probably served a little below 55F. Thoroughly enjoyable, but not transcendent. Just a satisfying bottle of wine, and consistent with previous notes. A hint of funk, not a lot, still some rich red fruit is present. Once again, I get a lot of minerality from Pegau mixed in with the red fruit and funk. This is not an epiphany wine, but I think everyone enjoyed it. I can personally say that I enjoyed this wine better than most CDP's these days.
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5/10/2017 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
A Wednesday Wine Lunch with Some Oomph (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Fun to drink this after reading a Pegau diatribe on WB recently. This was a very good bottle with a lovely sense of funk and earthiness, pepper, fresh herbs, metallic minerality and garrigue. Black cherry, kirsch, sour cherry, a bit herbaceous on the palate.
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5/10/2017 - Mattshank wrote: 91 Points
Kevin's (Rocknroller) Birthday Bash: Nose: Steely with white pepper and spices. Palate: Black and white pepper with black fruits showing and a medium long finish.
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4/11/2017 - Motz wrote: 92 Points
Even in an off vintage, this wine rules! It smells and tastes as it should, with a juicy, red fruited attack, bracing, coco powder and white pepper driven middle, gripping back, and chewy finish of very good length. Generous, expansive, and balanced. So good!
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3/31/2017 - VDLT Wine wrote:
Seemingly not a great bottle. I detected some low level TCA. it was a pop and pour and it was drained fairly quickly but over the course a a few pours, it never developed or displayed anything distinct or intriguing. So far, the bottle variation has been rather significant.
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3/10/2017 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 91 Points
I have always found Pegau to be a fairly priced, classically styled CDP that I really enjoy drinking. Tonight, this bottle is no exception. The nose is predominantly earthy, bretty, cherry fruit roll-ups with garrigue and violet undertones, all of which are reflected on the, rustic, midweight palate where the tannins have integrated beautifully. This was drinking very well tonight with only a 1/2 hour or so of air and even though 2008 was touted as an "off" vintage, I have found it to be very enjoyable and approachable early. I was also able to purchase most of my 08's at prices that were considerably less expensive than usual.
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3/1/2017 - Neecies wrote:
Crushed to read my note from Oct '15 as this wine was then so lithe and perfect, and the bottle we opened tonight was muddled and imbalanced. I didn't intend to age the bottles so much as I have too much wine and didn't get back to it when I should have. [gun to head]
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12/23/2016 - Munch Likes this wine: 91 Points
The 2008 Pegau for me has been one of the most consistently approachable vintages, drinking well ever since release, but if anything it seems to have gained a bit of smoothness and a more persistent finish. Classic Pegau nose and flavor profile but the 2008 vintage coming through in its lighter body and flavor compared to stronger vintages like the 2009 that we enjoyed in the same sitting as this and which was a couple of notches up in quality.
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11/20/2016 - michal Likes this wine:
Great stuff. Meaty and mushroomy. Drinking very well for an "off vintage".....
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11/20/2016 - Thirsty1 Likes this wine:
3rd times a charm. 3 years does a lot to a bottle. Brooding light violet. Plastic-y nose with white pepper, game and herbs-de-provence. Unusual texture that is a bit "sticky"? maybe. Tannins are fat/dense and present but not drying. Dried meats. It's all starting to come together and work together. I like CDP and it's entering the window I appreciate. Probably will be fantastic in another year or so.
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10/5/2016 - europat55 wrote: 90 Points
Quite 'heavy' barnyard component. Interesting...
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10/1/2016 - David J Cooper wrote: 92 Points
Bright red. Spicey raspberry fruit with nice notes of game, smoked meat and pepper in behind. Still very fresh nose. Delicious medium weight red berry flavours with some development showing.
Very clean and still quite fresh. None of the over the top brett others have noted.
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9/29/2016 - kanjimoti wrote: 90 Points
What a stellar nose of ripe red fruit, glycerin, exotic incense, and a little bret on the '08 Pegau. I could just smell this all night though drinking it seems like a good idea as well. A bit of a short ball hitter on the palate lacking vigor and tasting a tad diluted. I remember buying this as a future from the now defunct Premier Cru on University Ave in Berkeley. I think the owner was selling futures he never intended to fulfill so I'm lucky it was ever available to pick up. I digress.
Without looking at my previous note on the '08 Pegau I'm guessing my score of 90 tonight is a point or two higher as this has developed some nicely oxidized fruit and tertiary notes.
I drank three quarters of a bottle of Las Rocas last night, a garnacha from Calatayud, and the buzz was heavy and foggy while the Pegau is ethereal and somewhat clarifying. Again, I digress.
The Pegau is in a sweet spot right now and I don't think it will improve much from here so I recommend enjoying this by Summer, 2018 though I do see now that back in 2013 I stated this would be no good after 2015 which was off the mark. That said I believe in my Summer, 2018 drink by date.
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9/26/2016 - JOEABR wrote: 93 Points
This wine restored my faith for CdP. After being turned off by so many overripe (Parkerized) 2007's and similar, this was a great joy to drink. Have to agree with Ex-Ray notes, but surprisingly (for Pegau) absolutely no Brett notes. This bottle went down easily and quickly with no heat or excessive alcohol. Excellent and a great bargain for $25 from PC
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9/2/2016 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark garnet, with just the slightest hint of brown at the edge. Almost opaque. Immediate very pronounced "barnyard" aroma of earth, leather, roasted meat, charred wood, complex. Viscous, mouth-coating flavors of dark berries and plums, a touch of sweetness, but tannin a bit too pronounced. Tannin becomes more evident in the aftertaste, which is long and rich. I think it's probably at its peak, though the tannin may soften further. Wouldn't wait too long, though, so it doesn't start losing fruit and flavor.
Ric
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8/22/2016 - Champagneinhand Likes this wine: 92 Points
This restored my faith in decently made CdP and GSM in general. Kitsch, blackberry, hints if hooks in sauce, black tea and some garrigque on the nose. Almost Pomnard like burgundy that had good age. Good, without some associated bottle flaws of 2008. Any brettomycrs blew off early. This was served below room temp and had smoke and paired well with cheese, charcuterie, baby dill pickles, crusty bread. Other wines were in the mix but once again Pegau shined well above its price piping even in an off year. I double decanted with 2 hours of air time prior to serving. Nice. Wish I had 6 more.
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8/9/2016 - yipen wrote:
In a good place now, did not feel much brett and still have vibrant fruit tone.
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7/20/2016 - jerhardt wrote:
Certainly some Brett in this one, and a bit over my tolerance level...
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7/9/2016 - ccn wrote: 90 Points
Showing very well; open; light in body but big in flavor. Very slightly stewed character to the fruit. Meaty and savory while fresh.
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7/8/2016 - jviz wrote: 92 Points
Consistent with other tasters, this was very hot with Brett and barnyard animal notes on opening. After 2 hours in the decanter and up to 4, the wine softened and its perfume intensified. It had a soft brown edge and otherwise opaque purple hue.
I noted fragrance of cedar cigar box, with graphite and dark plum. On the palate, notes of green olive, garrigue, licorice and cassis. It had balanced acidity and tannins with a somewhat long finish.
One cannot argue that this is a well made old world wine. However, perhaps it is the style or flavor profile that I don't find particularly appealing at the moment. My tablemate, an adept taster commented that this was showing as well as any Pegau he had ever consumed. And to that end I agree that this wine is in a prime drinking window. As I have bottles of 09/10 in the cellar, I am also curious to what extent vintage impacts the enjoyability of this wine, but the variability in average score across vintage is compelling.
Curious about how others think this wine compares to newer vintages and the degree of vintage variability you perceive from this producer...
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6/17/2016 - SpoochMan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Brought to Tapas177 for dinner. This bottle was quite clean -- no obvious brett. Classic cdp flavors with red fruit, earth, and garrigue. Lively acidity gives it lift. Still plenty of tannins here, so no hurry to drink my remaining bottle. Overall, this is a very good cdp for a supposedly bad vintage, and was a good value.
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6/5/2016 - rsbeck wrote: 92 Points
Similar to previous.
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5/29/2016 - AllRed wrote: 91 Points
Notes of currants, plum, holiday spices and herbal notes with a pleasant amount of funk underneath. On the lighter side of medium-bodied, featuring flavors of red berries, spice and white pepper.
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5/22/2016 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
The right mix of smoked meat and dark fruits. Best '08 Pegau I've had so far.
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5/19/2016 - GalvezGuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
I guess I have been one of the lucky ones. All of my bottles of this have been consistent. This one had a nice nose of red and black fruits with herbal overtones and a nice whiff of barnyard. On the palate, rich yet almost weightless with black raspberry, sage, and smoked meats. Nice long finish. Great value on these.
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4/30/2016 - MindMuse wrote: 87 Points
Very beautiful nose, but had an oddness on front palate. One thought prickly verging on spritzy, another thought perfectly fine, I felt as if it might have had a touch of refermentation. Not really a bretty character to me, though I had some on prior bottles.
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4/28/2016 - DRS-Inc wrote: 88 Points
Similar TN to first two times I've had this. Fresh, but with noticeable brett, yet less pronounced. Perhaps I am developing a tolerance to the funk in this wine. Spritzy acidity on this one too.
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4/1/2016 - captaincrush Likes this wine: 91 Points
I liked the wine more than my 91 pt rating would suggest. The wine is by no means a monumental Cuvee Reservee, however if you are looking for a wine that exhibits all of the telltale dried black cherry, sweet leather, and earth of a great reservee but in an approachable, medium bodied very well balanced, and silky format, this is for you. I might add that the wine is 99% intact 24 hours after being opened. Drinking optimally yet will last for years.
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3/30/2016 - winemaker wrote: 87 Points
PnP. 2nd of 3 bottles purchased from Premier Cru. Definitely bretty and has a bit of spritz. Flavor profile is similar to other Pegau but lacks the depth, concentration and oomph of better vintages. The strong presence of Brett detracts from this wine.
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3/26/2016 - ccn Likes this wine: 90 Points
Showing very nicely. Some of the same flavour profile I find in the 98 beaucastel: black olives and garrigue with dark fruits. But medium bodied rather than enormous which is frankly more elegant at the stage of evolution. Can be enjoyed now but may improve up to 10 years.
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3/18/2016 - jfpwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium to deep garnet color. Barnyard nose, with red fruit, licorice and leather. Full body, very balanced and long finish. A good effort in an average year.
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3/5/2016 - minipc123@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
https://pairingwine.wordpress.com/2016/02/21/2008-domaine-du-pegau-chateauneuf-du-pape-cuvee-reservee-rhone-france
Deep purple color with a seductive bouquet of riped red fruits intertwined with aroma of sweet spice and leather. Medium body and refreshing acidity. Good quality wine.
Food pairing: Roast herb crusted rack of lamb
2/2016
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2/29/2016 - CWilliam wrote:
Decanted for 1.5 hours and paired with grilled cheeseburgers (was good to go on PNP).
Medium blackish red color and throwing a fair amount of sediment. On nose, dirty, earthy, raspberry, licorice & cherry. On palate, medium+ body with high acidity, sweet tannins and a long finish. Flavor profile similar to nose. Drank really well tonight. 92+
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2/21/2016 - Darkhorn Likes this wine: 91 Points
wow. Decanted 3 hrs. the barnyard finally blew off. really nice, bold classic CDP. dark ripe fruits, garrigue, forest floor.
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2/8/2016 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is drinking really well tonigh with big, forward, red fruit, lots of earth and barnyard, garrigue and a midlength finish. The tannins have softened quite abit since I've last tested it. All in all, quite nice.
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1/10/2016 - manny651 Likes this wine: 93 Points
excellent! yes it is very bretty upon pnp, but wears off with some air time and reveals a powerful and smooth cdp.
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1/9/2016 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
After tasting the great wines of 2007 this was a few steps down and I made just limited notes. In the bouquet good garrigue and some horse stable impressions. On the palate red berries, some metal, herbs and some green impressions. For the rest ok acidity and tannin. The wine will benefit with a few more years of ageing. 2017 – 2019? 91 for this evening.
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1/9/2016 - Cote d'Or wrote: flawed
Excessively brett-y and fizzy, something went terribly wrong with this bottle
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12/25/2015 - Derek Darth Taster wrote:
Christmas Day Dinner 2015 at Table At 7 (Table at 7): Same note as before. Initally tight. Opened up nicely with 1.5 hours of air in the bottle.
Nice early drinking from the difficult 2008 vintage. Can still develop a bit more over the next 3-4 years. Not for the long haul. Enjoy.
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12/19/2015 - KVM wrote:
Dark red. Deep nose of dark cherry and dank basement. Same on the palate, with firm tannin and juicy acid. As the evening went on the brettanomyscis odour became more dominant. Too bad.(403) 240-2660(403) 240-2660(403) 240-2660
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12/12/2015 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
Initially, extremely spritzy, fruity and lots of brett. This all calmed down within an hour and the wine was consistent with my previous notes. Nice fruit and funk mix.
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12/7/2015 - Nutty08 wrote: flawed
Brett bomb with spritzy palate. Was drinkable after shaking but seemed flabby with dull CdP fruit. Nothing like my early bottle experiences which were quite good.
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11/28/2015 - arthrovine wrote:
PDX-S note nails it. I decanted this wine for just an hour. Could've used 4.
I would suggest pairing this with an Argentinian or Brazilian steak/BBQ experience. The pairing was absolutely killer last night.
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11/10/2015 - mkotlarz wrote: 90 Points
Herbs dried leaves soft tannins but still with some backbone. Finish is beginning to fade drink in next 1-5 years. Showing well
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11/8/2015 - PDX-S Likes this wine:
No detailed note. Slow O for about two hours. Absolutely in a great place and drinking very well. The fruit has come forward a bit, opening with raspberry and rhubarb that is mixing quite nicely with the garrigue and spices. It'll hold for quite some time but has achieved a nice balance of flavors at the moment.
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10/28/2015 - Neecies Likes this wine:
PnP. Pomegranite, olives and garrique initially with blacker fruit, herbs and some leathery notes coming in later along with more noticeable tannins. Splendid showing; should have a nice ride over the next couple years.
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10/27/2015 - pifcho Likes this wine: 93 Points
Sad to see the last of my bottles go. Each has been better than the previous one. This Pegau is in its prime drinking window and probably staying here for some time as it is quite fresh and full of energy. A quintessential example of a Rhone red with its juicy black fruit, herbal and olive notes. Wish there are more off vintages that produce CdPs like this one.
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9/22/2015 - cookie7 wrote:
Lots of funk and barnyard when initially opened. Re-tasting this on night 2, the barnyard is not as prevalent, but there is not much complexity to this. Rather simple.
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9/12/2015 - Saint Stephen wrote: 90 Points
Oh this was tasty. At first all angles and a little spritz. Rounded out after a bit. I can't believe you're reading my tasting note. Yeah, you.
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7/30/2015 - pomelo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Faut aimer le style bretté...
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7/29/2015 - @VisserMartijn wrote: flawed
Probably just a bad bottle, but not 100% sure.
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7/15/2015 - soyhead wrote:
Nose - blackberry, plum, hints of soy sauce
Mouth - in 07/15 drinking much more open than the '09. Here I can appreciate the fruit much more and get less coffee and funk. Juicy big and balanced. More acidic than the '09. Excellent
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7/14/2015 - rsbeck wrote: 93 Points
Popped, poured, consumed over next hour, performed beautifully from first sip to last.
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7/7/2015 - daniel.jay wrote: 90 Points
Brett and fruit, smooth, tasty. I like this wine, but the brett is strong enough that it only works with certain food pairings e.g. works great with stinky cheese, overwhelmed chicken w/ pan sauce.
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6/30/2015 - GalvezGuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose of black raspberry, leather, hints of bret, sage, and anise. On the palate, raspberry, leather, smoked meat, melted licorice and herbs. Nice finish. This one showed a hint of bret but not enough to overwhelm. Drink over the next few years. I don't think it gets better than this for this wine.
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6/28/2015 - french16 wrote:
Great bottle. Textbook CdP, earthy, ripe but not over done. Drinks well right now and not for long term ageing.
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6/13/2015 - VDLT Wine wrote:
Not a good bottle. Imbalanced and muted flavors.
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5/31/2015 - galewskj wrote: 92 Points
Having drank all 6 bottles I bought from Premier Cru, I was given 3 more bottles by a generous fellow wineberserker who strongly disliked it. I was curious to try it, as I've wondered if there was bottle/lot variation at Pegau. Getting some confirmed "bad" bottles from someone may help me understand.
Slow o'd for a couple hours and served to a group of 6. This wine was consistent with my previous experiences. There is funk here, and quite a bit. It is of the barnyard variety, not clean funk, but I've had dirtier funk than this. This bottle also seems more advanced, with some nice secondary components showing up - forest floor, olive, smoke, tar, earth. The fruit is mostly red, dark cherry and plum. I swear there is a cola flavor mixed in with the fruit. Tannins are surprisingly mild as well. This improved throughout the evening. But the next day, the funk had increased to a significant level while a lot of the secondary characteristics have disappeared. I’m drinking the last sips of it now, and I still enjoy it, but it was considerably better yesterday.
As for the rest of the tasters, 3 people declared it completely undrinkable, 1 other person liked it quite a bit, and 1 person was indifferent. Several disparaging comments were issued toward Pegau and this wine particularly. One gentleman was extremely vocal about his disdain for the wine, how he couldn't drink it because it was so poopy. This gentlemen does like CDP in general, and I do not dismiss his opinion. However, I personally think he affected some of the other drinkers present with his adamant discontent. I saw this behavior in reverse at a CDP tasting I organized a while back, where a “leader” in the group of 12 people extolled the virtues of the 2008 Pegau. At that tasting, everyone seemed to like the wine as a convincing expert explained its goodness. This time, with the loudest voice in the room being very very critical, most people disliked it.
Overall, I’m grateful for being given the wine, grateful to confirm that I like Pegau in all it’s funky goodness, and very grateful to see the polarizing opinions towards the same bottle of it.
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5/23/2015 - d'Yquembe Mutombo wrote: flawed
Overly bretty and heavy spritz from secondary fermentation that didn't improve after 24 hrs. Worst bottle so far. With the cost of averaging-out the bad bottles this ended up being a pretty poor value.
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5/11/2015 - dchoo077 wrote: 90 Points
PnP. Similar to the bottle I had 6mths ago. Spritzy, bretty, gamey, earthy and a bit of spicy. This wine runs the gamut of flavours and keeps things interesting. Still enough fruit to keep going for a couple more years but really no reason to wait. Tannins are well integrated. Medium minus finish.
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5/5/2015 - SpoochMan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Coravin taste. Brett on the nose initially but blew off after 15 min, leaving red fruit and lovely florals on the nose. On the palate, this is fresh and lively with bright red fruits, nice balancing acidity, and just a touch of gaminess for nuance. Mid-weight, but really nice for its balance and freshness. Like this much better than the 07 Donjon tasted alongside. This was a great bargain at $28.
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4/24/2015 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 93 Points
Free-flow Wagyu Beef Dinner and drinks (EN Dining Bar + Pine Close): Pop and poured.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of damp earth, smoky grilled meat, barnyard/horse stable/furry wild animal, spiced herbs and black pepper, licorice, dark black fruit, olive tapenade. Very complex nose. No doubt there is a Brett element here. Developing.
On the palate, dry, medium acidity, medium+ alcohol, medum+ tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of grilled smoky meat, dark damp earth, leather, pepper, olive tapenade, dark redcurrant, black cherry, and a deep sweet core of licorice. Long finish.
Very good quality. Nice early drinking from the difficult 2008 vintage. Can still develop a bit more over the next 3-4 years.
The kind of wine for lovers of Brett and open-minded individuals.
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4/16/2015 - sleepyhaus wrote:
My first Pegau, and I thought it was stellar. Normally I despise CdP for being overripe, bitter, and laden with cough medicine qualities, or, if not, then it tends towards simple and boring. This was none of that. I will be honest, there was a ton of brett. A lot. But it added interest for me, not the opposite. The fruit was sweet, pure and vibrant. I liked it a lot and will be a buyer in the future.
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4/13/2015 - Trorer wrote: 87 Points
a little old and flat
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4/5/2015 - arthrovine wrote:
the 2 and 3rd bottles of this wine opened in a fist of fury for a party.
These 2 mirrored my May 2013 experience. Fantastic wine; olive briny savagery in a bottle.
So much damn bottle variation in 1 case sourced from same place at same time....
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4/5/2015 - arthrovine wrote: flawed
Absolutely undrinkable brett bomb. Way more than anything I've ever experienced outside of a micro lab.
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4/5/2015 - jerhardt wrote: 91 Points
A nice Pegau. Riper and denser than I was expecting. Yes, there is some Brett, but no more than in other years. I find this very attractive and a steal,at the closeout price.
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4/3/2015 - jazzb wrote:
Rubinröd m tegelkant
Ganska stor doft av körsbär o blå plommon, garrigue, fat och en aning plåster
Drygt medelfyllig ännu ganska outvecklad, kärbär, plommon, sval syra, markerade tanniner, grillkol, ett stänk brett, örter i eftersmaken,
8,5p+
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3/10/2015 - dke Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cherries, strawberries, meat and earth. Very pretty nose, tasty and full bodied palate. Nice bitter earth notes and hints of stems complement the fruit. Medium tannins, nice acidity. This bottle was very tasty, not much barnyard on this one. Equally good on first and second night.
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3/8/2015 - pilot360 wrote:
Olive tampenade , charred smoking ember, dill, a good bit of funkiness.
Fantastic palate, lush, integrated, full finish.
I could drink this every day.
Outstanding .
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2/25/2015 - king-bing wrote: 90 Points
Lovely on opening. Real sense of place; baked earth, black olive notes tell you where you are. Light on it's feet. After about 2 hours, this had faded a little: a touch watery and a shortish finish. Maybe a little closed too. Drink sooner I'd say.
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2/15/2015 - gregg g wrote:
Another very good bottle. I have trouble detecting any over powering brett so far in 5 of 6 btls I've drank of this stuff. I am somewhat tolerant of brett but not if it overpowers. What I do notice is lovely bright red fruit with garrigue. Not as horsey or animal as older vintages of Pegau (95-99). Lively acid keeps this fresh and helps carry the finish. As I said in my first TN in 2013, wish I bought a case.
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2/8/2015 - Outplaying wrote:
My last of four bottles. I wish I had bought more when I had the chance at $30 each as they have helped me keep my hands of the other vintages. This bottle showed much like the first few. Smells nice with soy, mineral, bloody meat juices and dark fruit. Leaner than most vintages, the fruit is dark in tone. More black than red. Lighter bodied and very dry. Shows better after being open for a few hours so give it a some air. Not a blockbuster, but very solid.
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1/31/2015 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 89 Points
Big, bold cdp tonight.
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1/24/2015 - Nutty08 wrote: 89 Points
Quite spritzy upon opening, needed a good shake to get out the fizz. This left the bottle a little flabby, but nice red fruits, barnyard funk, and tons of spice cake. Typical Pegau in a lighter, accessible style. Tons of bottle variation here, which in my experience may be due to importer.
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1/14/2015 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points
Drank over 6 days (vacu-sealed) Kept improving during the whole time!
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1/9/2015 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 90 Points
This has fleshed out really well over the past few years and has developed good depth and complexity, especially for the vintage. This is a full bodied, old world style cdp that's drinking very well today. It's earthy, barnyardy, full bodied and still abit tannic. I think this is one to drink up while some of the bigger vintages come of age.
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12/29/2014 - KVM wrote:
Dark. Deep cherry and raw meat. Pencil lead flavour predominates but underneath is cherry and cherry pie filling. Med length.
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12/21/2014 - RichardP wrote: 91 Points
Iodine and camphor on the nose. On the palate, raspberry and iodine, with white pepper and herbs on the medium to long finish. For me, this tastes more like a Gigondas from a good year than a Chateauneuf from a poor one. Excellent value for money at $25.
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12/14/2014 - MicHtical Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very good example that lesser years don't always result in a lesser wine.
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12/6/2014 - farinas Likes this wine: 92 Points
Maneur and musty cork and neck. Classical profile of musky oak with lots of graphite and camphor and forward raspberries laced with plum, bouquet of garrigues quite delicious. Acidity is dialed up and the palate is soft with some tannins and flesh, but leaves a medium finish of garrigues, charred oak and a kiss of fruit. Bravo, if this is '08 then can't wait to try '09 or '12.
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11/21/2014 - Rezy13 wrote:
Friday Night Double Blind Tasting $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with lighter dull violet rim; leather, game, funky, Brett, horsey, dark wild berry, slight vegetal note, black pepper; rich palate, slight tinny character, dark wild berry, horsey, black pepper, garrigue, vegetal; very characteristic- nailed it, even called where it was purchased.
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11/1/2014 - studleytrey Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep and slightly cloudy crimson color (I decanted, but might have missed a little). Aromas of red fruits, cinnamon, herbs, and mossy forest floor. Medium body, medium+ acid, and long and somewhat explosive finish, with red and dark red fruits, cinnamon, orange peel, leather, and herbs. There was a bit of brett as mentioned previously on the pop when I tasted, but that was gone when we started drinking with dinner 2-3 hrs. later. This was great. Worked well with a banging pot roast that's been braising since noon.
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10/14/2014 - KVM wrote:
Leather, Brett. Red fruit palate, very expressive.
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10/12/2014 - AllRed wrote: 88 Points
Second Sunday Group: 2010 California Merlot (Our house): Notes of spice and red fruit and no brett in the bouquet; very nice aromatically. Medium-bodied, showing lovely red fruit and spice qualities, however, the brett rears its ugly head on the finish with notes of rotten vegetation (wet hay)/horse blanket.
I have two more 750s and 2 1.5Ls of this, and I'll not wait too long to open them.
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10/6/2014 - dchoo077 wrote: 90 Points
PnP and drank over 2hrs. Rather effervescent with a bit of brett. Not your typical full bodied CNDP due to the nature of the vintage. More on the elegant side. Fine tannins with good freshness. Cherries and strawberries overlaid with spice and some gaminess. Medium finish. Ready to drink now but should hold at this level for a couple of years.
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9/26/2014 - chatters wrote:
Medium minus intensity aromas of red berries and currant, sweet tobacco, slight leather, barynard, slight spice In the mouth the wine has flavours of red currant over red berries, herbaceoues notes, quite juicy as well…talc like tannic grip. The finish introduces a savoury/meaty quality, spice and some alcoholic warmth. The wine gains weight over time. very pleasant.
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9/20/2014 - pifcho Likes this wine: 92 Points
Thought it was drinking better than my bottle from the winter. Love the purity and elegance here which unveils honest, unextracted Grenache goodness underneath. This might be the perfect CdP for burgundy fans.
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9/20/2014 - Sheila62 Likes this wine:
This was a good bottle..good clean dark fruit with soil tones. However, i would not hold these for the mid term. Put in rotation and start drinking!
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9/19/2014 - Bob in NC Likes this wine: 89 Points
We have had bottle variation with this wine - this is bottle is a good one. Attractive nose of plum, autumn leaves, wooden attic, tobacco and black pepper. Flavors of black raspberry and plum fruit, mossy forest floor, black pepper and a little black ink. A spicy medium length finish.
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9/12/2014 - vinole wrote: 92 Points
Consistent with my previous TN's.
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9/6/2014 - Rezy13 wrote:
Old World Blind Tasting Group $40+ (Bin 75): Dark core with medium extraction, lighter garnet rim; peppery, velvet, leather, game, wild berry, warm stone, Brett but not dominating like other bottles; good.
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9/5/2014 - williamturck wrote:
Irony and red fruits. But the alcohol sticks out.
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9/3/2014 - mdefreitas wrote: 91 Points
A very good bottle, showing iodine, raspberry and spice. Just a hint of funk and animal fur notes to add interest. Smooth, accessible and balanced. Got even better with air.
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9/2/2014 - Matt T Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Another gamey, oddly effervescent bottle of 2008.
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8/18/2014 - ccn wrote: 89 Points
Closed/light at first. Opened up and built over 2 hours. Still settling down and finding its balance; some interesting aromatic complexity. Not as good as the Beaucastel 2008, but likely to improve over 5-10 years while being approachable young
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8/17/2014 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 91 Points
A beauty. Nose of red cherry, garrigue and iron. Expansive on the palate. Drying tannins. Close to Brett-free. Most enjoyable.
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8/11/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Light, early drinking, fresh, bright cherry and wild strawberry, spicy character driven wine that will be best in its youth.
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8/8/2014 - zscheiner Likes this wine: 91 Points
Savory, olive and black pepper with black plum lurking. Doesn't seem to have changed much from my last note a year and a half ago. Brett is subtle and definitely not offensive. Improves with air but drinking well now.
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8/6/2014 - PJRONeill wrote: 89 Points
Opened with some trepidation following my last unsatisfactory bottle however this is entirely better. Not entirely brett free, but its the right side of the line; it is still a little spritzy, which is calmed down after a spell in the decanter
Leather, meat and red fruits (mostly plums but a bit of strawberry) on the nose, decent structure and acidity on the palate with some grainy tannins which keep things rustic. Its a little unexciting but I'm just grateful I don't have another dud on my hands. The law of low expectations, I suppose.
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8/6/2014 - Dale B. wrote: 91 Points
Just the right amount of brett to make this interesting. Medium bodied with red fruit, leather, fur, bretty funk with a solid acid core. In a good place right now, but can easily go another 5-7 years.
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7/28/2014 - hkm520240 wrote: 91 Points
HWZ Southern Rhone tasting (Asia Grand Restaurant, Odeon Tower): Double decanted for 1+ hours before I brought this bottle to the wine lunch.
Red #6 tasted blind. Nose shows plenty for developed secondary notes, animal, fur, barnyard, funk and sweet leather. A nice elegant nose with perfume edge and it does slowly grow on me.
On palate, earth, barnyard, sweet leather and savoury notes. A supple wine with good mid-palate and acidity backbone. Firm chewy tannins with strong finish.
Afterthought: I was quite surprised when the label unveiled as I thought this taste like an aged CDP. It was so evolved and show classic old school style. Tasted 08 few years back during a Pégaü vertical and indeed 08 was more for early drinking among 04, 05 and 06. The bretty taste also seems common from notes of other CT taster.
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7/28/2014 - tkoby11 wrote:
In a great drinking window now with an easy 5 more years to go. Old school aromas and flavors of stems, peppercorns, meat, and crushed blueberries with a good old school funk. #pegau #chateuneuf
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7/27/2014 - Sijan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Good dark & red fruit, cherry, meaty/funky notes, some spice, leather. Medium bodied. Drinking well now.
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7/21/2014 - Matt T Does not like this wine: 85 Points
I love Pegau and I know this was a tough vintage, but this bottle was subpar even given the heavy discount. This had a lot of barnyard and other minerally, oxidative notes that were distracting and unpleasant.
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7/18/2014 - CWilliam wrote:
Continues to drink well. meat / dirt / funk /cherry / black raspberry on nose - similar palate ex. dirt / funk. Medium body, long finish. Great with grilled pork chops. Not bad for an "off" vintage. 91-92+
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7/8/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
CDP Offline at Heyday (Donjon Vertical; Clos des Pape, Charvin, plus Whites) (Heyday, Mpls, MN): Medium dark red color. PNP, Drank 1 glass voer 60 minutes. Lots of very barnyardy brett initially that later evens out fairly nicely, savory, roast meat, red fruits, . The palate is consistent, spicy, a fair bit of heat, intense and long finish. Not as good as the last 2 bottles. 90+pts.
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7/7/2014 - Simply Wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Best showing of the four bottles that I have opened. This bottle showed with richer and denser fruit than past bottles - more expressive as well, with a nice garrigue and spice profile. Overall pretty clean and fresh (no brett issues).
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7/4/2014 - the godfather wrote:
Delicious as it ever was
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7/2/2014 - PJRONeill wrote: 85 Points
Two bottles from my second case in recent weeks both of which have been a big disappointment compared with those from my first. Both bottles have been bretty and spritzy (and I do have a reasonable tolerance for brett) with more poop than a hospital maternity ward. The second bottle was vigorously double decanted back into bottle and left in the fridge overnight, after which it had calmed itself down, but I seem to have stumbled on a less than pristine batch.
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6/15/2014 - mmcdds Likes this wine:
This was drinking really well today
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6/14/2014 - allencbk wrote: 90 Points
Delicious !
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6/13/2014 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
Fruitier than the prior bottle and better balance. Points deducted for a juicy edginess suggesting heat. Overall, a good showing with lamb chops.
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6/1/2014 - KVM wrote: 90 Points
Dark red. Earthy, pencil lead,dark fruit. Dark fruit and savoury notes, including smoke. Concentrated, full bodied but not terribly fresh or long. Drink over next couple years
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5/24/2014 - grapist Likes this wine: 91 Points
By far my least fave of recent vintages of Pegau, but still a fine wine.
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5/23/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 89 Points
SonkinCellars Partners Meeting (The Barn): My first time trying this wine. Others may like it more than I. Its nice, but, for me, lacked something. Ruby in color. The nose is good, just a bit of stink along with cherries, and spices. On the palate, medium bodied. Nice cherry fruit. Good acidity. Its a very good wine, just not at that top level. Tom W. paid the PC price of $25 for the bottle and that is a nice value for sure.
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5/18/2014 - ekenneth wrote: 93 Points
Great young chateauneuf; black tea, blackberry fruit, good acid, great freshness.
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5/14/2014 - weingutwilhelm wrote: 91 Points
Like sniffing into a mysterious dank humid cave with aromas of warm loamy soil, dusty earth, plum, barnyard, earthy spice, leather, clove, baked underbrush. Really dry and plummy, and again with earth, spice and a soft sour acidity. Not the gooey style, more old school.
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5/10/2014 - DRS-Inc wrote: 86 Points
Loads of brett that took some time to lessen, yet only slightly so (note to self: best to decant for at least 8+ hours or slow ox'd overnight next time). Considerable barnyard funk, and underneath picked up notes of red cherry, plum, garrigue, spice, dark anise, lavendar, & roasted herbs. Mid:full bodied with fine grainy tannins, moderate acidity with spritziness, and a moderately lingering finish. Too bad, just too much brett for my liking.
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5/10/2014 - Rob MacKay wrote: 91 Points
Needs about 2 hours in the decanter. Then shows some nice savory, meatiness with a touch of plum. A little funky on the nose but not off-putting. Good stuff.
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5/6/2014 - Finare Vinare wrote: 92 Points
A complete delivery, with enough development and complexity of aromas and flavours. Brownish red visuals. Meaty and savoury on the nose, with a puff of forest fire, old strawberries, italian sweet/sour cherries, dried cranberries and plums, roast beef juices, polypody fern and liquorice, garrigue undergrowth, truffles, tar, and a hint of bretty farmyard oak foudres. Mature and generous on the palate, where the acids and tannins already are softened by age. Good midpalate concentration and nice length, with sensations of the sweet, salty and meaty, only moderately warming. A solid companion to our grilled vegetables and meat à la provençale. To be drunk soon, while the structure lasts. We're still happy to have a few of these relative bargains left.
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4/19/2014 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 92 Points
A lovely and very approachable Cuvée Réservée, this 2008 exhibits the classy gaminess, herbal tones and lovely dark Grenache kirsch we all long for in a wine from this "institution". The other side of its Janus face is a brett monster - but air for 3-4 hours certainly does it justice. Still the fruit seems a bit flat and there is not the "oohmpf" you would find in the better vintages of this effort. The palate is balanced and integrated. With a very nice acidity and a 40 second length on the finish this is a lovely effort. My guesstimate is it will drink well for another 5-7 years.
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4/14/2014 - David J Cooper wrote: 89 Points
Light red. The nose opens with a note of ketchup which becomes nice raspberry fruit. Later there are notes of wood smoke and pepper. Not at all lush or ripe, which worlks for me. There is some really nice things in the mouth and a soft dry finish.
A nice wine but not really any earthiness or complexity. I would have liked even a hint of brett.
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3/26/2014 - theRealPepe Likes this wine:
Started as a pop and pour, then some wild stuff (below) and ended up drunk mostly over two days. Barnyard and spice on the nose. Palate is fizzy and hard? A little difficult to get into. Then see on Wine Berserkers someone else opened a bottle in secondary fermentation. They vigorously shook it three times, as did I. Result is spicy, full of garrigue, kirsch, seaweed (isn't that supposed to be VT?) with some backbone. A friend sipped the improved version and wanted to get a bottle. Pre-shake: Below Average. Post-shake: Excellent
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3/21/2014 - jdp2109 wrote: 91 Points
90 minute decant. Meaty, funky (and awesome) nose. Good structure and length on finish. I was really enjoying this... but by the 2.5 hour mark or so in the decanter, to my surprise, this wine fell apart. It was thin and without any structure on the palate. Possible bottle variation? I am not going to decant for so long next time.
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3/17/2014 - pbaek wrote:
Slightly maderized, could be a damaged bottle. The lightness of the vintage shines through and this is not at heavy hitter thankfully. I recognize the funk and barnyard that others do, this is old school Chateauneuf. Too bad with obvious impact from oxidation.
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3/15/2014 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points
Very meaty!
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2/23/2014 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
Consistent with previous notes.
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2/22/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
CDP Tasting (Irene's House, St. Paul): Medium dark red color. PNP, drank 1 glass over 60 minutes and re-tasted 3 hours later. Nose shows lots of barnyard, funk and damp earth, leather, becomes nicely perfumed, cherry fruit and spices. The palate has medium body, garrigue, spices, floral, berries, with some fine grained but firm tannins on a medium finish. Held up very well at 3 hours and was probably even better. One person held this in glass for the full 3 hours and it really was delightful.
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2/22/2014 - bags wrote:
merely 45 minutes to blow off the Brett. continues to be an excellent purchase
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2/21/2014 - mdefreitas wrote: 92 Points
Quite clean, with just a hint of barnyard goodness. fresh fruit, damp earth and stones all wrapped in a soft, easy drinking textural package. Quite nice.
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2/14/2014 - Outplaying wrote:
The comments have been all over the place on this wine. This is the third bottle we have had, and we've enjoyed them. While not as dense or complex as other vintages there is some classic Pegau funk, black pepper, iodine and meaty notes along with a mix of tart black and red fruits. The wine is dry with good acidity and medium tannin. At 30 each, this was a good deal. Drink over the next few years.
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2/7/2014 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark crimson core with larger dull crimson rim; meaty floral, little horsey, cranberry, leather, radish; harder Brettier palate with fruit shutting the wine down at first but it opened with more air, a certain elegance on the front, Burgundian, leather; drinks like it has 10 years of age on it; this bottle drank more like a normal Pegau but the vintage was evident on the initial impression; nailed it double blind; amazing the way the Brett reacts and makes every bottle different though [more expensive] bottles from a local retail source have proven to drink much better than the [ridiculously low priced] ones from a source in CA...curious.
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2/5/2014 - Nutty08 wrote: 88 Points
Very aromatic, with iron and blood, iodine, spice, and an animal quality. Palate adds a little cherry fruit to the spice and meat notes, but is on the flabby side--smooth and round without much energy. Moderate length spicy finish. not terribly complex despite the typical Pegau flavor profile. Bottle variation is crazy, as it seems I haven't had the same experience twice. This one is just ok.
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2/4/2014 - wythes wrote: 91 Points
The 2008 is considered an "off vintage" and Pegau Reservee can be found for a reasonable price. Some friends thought we'd give it a try with the hopes that we'd be excited and buy more.
I really liked the nose. It makes one feel like they walked into an old library - worn leather and musty smells with some barnyard, wet sheep scents. The palate was good, but felt like there was a hint of carbonation which detracted the overall taste. It also lacked depth which I would expect from Pegau. I liked this wine, I did not love it.
I will be holding off before I buy more of the '08.
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1/20/2014 - dkstar1 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Perhaps best of the four I've had and unfortunately my last one. Much less brett than 2 of the previous bottles and on par with one of the others. Animal funk (to a lesser degree this time), though enjoyable. I enjoy the off years just fine. Might have to stock up on some reasonably priced '11s
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1/18/2014 - mdefreitas wrote: 91 Points
Funky in a good way. It took a while to accept the horsey, animal fur quality of this wine. Interesting blood, iodine, raw meat notes. Good acidity and crispness. Not especially deep or age worthy, but this offers enjoyment with a good amount of intellectual appeal. For the closeout price of about $28, this was a great deal.
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1/14/2014 - Lessthanzero wrote: 88 Points
Tannic, tight and bretty. Could get better with age, but will never be a great P.
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1/12/2014 - manny651 Likes this wine: 91 Points
uopn opening wow, brett! decanted for 4 hours, and this calms down significantly. Palate is super smooth, earthy, licorice, leather, dark berry.
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1/9/2014 - Dbmoos01 wrote: 88 Points
Soft nose, ruby turning brick. Thin slightly sour but long finish. I should have opened the '06
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1/5/2014 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Nose: This shows off as a classic styled Pegau from the outset. The nose is more nuanced with red cherries, spices, violets, roses, lavender, funk, and some tobacco tones. There is medium depth to this with a real open quality to it.
Taste: Medium bodied with silky tannins. While medium bodied, it is on the lighter side with tobacco, red cherries, violets, tobacco, leather, white and black pepper, with a touch of leathery notes.
Overall: This is far from a long term Pegau. But, this is one that acts like it has proper age on it from the beginning and is certainly one for earlier drinking.
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1/5/2014 - Wali183 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Unspektakuläre Farbe. Reife Kirschen, Waldbeeren, aber wenig primärfruchtig. Erdig, würzig, mineralisch, am Gaumen kräftige Tannine und hohe Säure, braucht zeit und Luft, vollmundig, extrem lang. Großer Wein mit Zukunft.
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12/31/2013 - Merengue wrote: 88 Points
Bretty and lots of barnyard at the start. It took two and half hours to come around and reveal some blackberry fruit, lavanda, leather, musty wet earth but the barnyard persists on the finish. Plenty of grip on the finish and acidity has toned down as this has gained weight. Will drink second half tomorrow. Flavia still hates it.
Better on day 2, the barnyard nose has blown off and evolved into saddle leather. Much better fruit presence and still quite tannic. Next bottle will be drank in a couple of years and will decant for 4-5 hours.
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12/25/2013 - pifcho Likes this wine: 92 Points
I really need to stick with "off vintage" CDP. This is Burgundian in texture yet with all the rich Grenache fruit, herbal and earthy profile. Super fresh and tasty. No alcohol sticking out, no overextraction - love it. Very developed and complex nose. Glad I have more.
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12/23/2013 - JOsgood wrote: 88 Points
More one dimensional and muted compared to several very good bottles of this wine. Precious little of the savage character I love in Pegau. There has been significant bottle variation with this vintage but overall it delivered great QPR.
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12/20/2013 - jreynolds3 wrote: 90 Points
Tough to rate. I didn't mind the more subtle notes typical of 08s. The rustic funk on night one was just a bit more than I typically care for. Night two it blew off quickly and was more enjoyable. First try with Pegau and excited to tap into more in different vintages.
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12/8/2013 - Todd French Likes this wine:
There definitely is brett in this wine, but not offensive to those who don't mind it - oddly enough, the brett seemed to lessen over the course of 2-3 hours, so either it was diminishing (not sure how it could) or the structure and fruit of the wine was emerging further, covering it up a bit. A lighter style of Pegau, likely due to vintage, but still pleasant.
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11/30/2013 - rsbeck wrote: 92 Points
Each bottle shares a core of similarity and yet each is slightly different. However, all have been fascinating. This one had big notes of dark chocolate and roasted coffee along with sweet tobacco, savory herbs and truffle.
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11/27/2013 - mdefreitas wrote: 92 Points
Seems to be a bit of bottle variation here. This bottle is the best yet; cleaner, with less brett. Nice raw meat notes, stones and just a hint of horsey funkiness. Lengthy and layered.
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11/24/2013 - fdub wrote: flawed
This has so much brett it is unappealing and really undrinkable.
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11/23/2013 - SimonJohnson wrote: 92 Points
Originally discovered Pegau in St Tropez, this bottle howerever was enjoyed in simpler surroundings. Nose has a thick, slightly sweet concentrated oak and earth character, followed by beautifully balanced spices and fruits. The pallete is slightly sweet also, I got liquorice current flavours with old oak. Wonderful wine, wonderful memories :)
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11/9/2013 - salil wrote: 88 Points
Cleaner and less funky/leathery than my last bottle, but also a lot less interesting - there's bright red fruit here and some earthy/herbal accents, but this is a bit of a one-note wine with not a whole of depth - it's pleasant, but not particularly exciting.
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10/31/2013 - cadamson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Not going to get any better than this, even though it has years to live. From a marginal vintage, but I think I like it better because of that (does not have the 'bigness'). Bright, red fruits, lighter than normal Pegau funk, very good acidity. Easy, fun drinker.
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10/28/2013 - Charlie Pendejo wrote:
This is agreeably light for a CdP. First day, brett dominated even after a couple hours. Funny: I really could've mistaken this for the cheap (~$35 at the restaurant) bretty Canonnau we'd drunk the night before. It was all horse's ass and cranberry, and fairly disappointing. Day two, with popcorn (or is that papecorn?), it was way classier and more interesting. The brett dial was turned down from 8 to 4 (perfect for me: I like some funk in a contributing role where it adds complexity, just not in a dominating role where it precludes complexity), and while the fruit was thereby a little more pronounced, what really came to the fore were wet stone and ashes, with maybe a little garrigue. A lot of texture and interest. Nice! If I had more bottles, I might open them say 12-24 hours in advance.
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10/18/2013 - winemaker Likes this wine: 87 Points
Solid, but not up to the standards of the usual releases from Pegau.
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10/12/2013 - blakel Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was another mellow bottle; just a hint of barnyard to accompany the herbs and fruit. Drinks so easily and was a great accompaniment to roast duck at Mountain Bird in Harlem.
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10/4/2013 - mdefreitas wrote: 90 Points
Slightly better than my last bottle. Still some funk, but not as pronounced as my last sample. Cool-toned fruits, spices and leather with a balsamic note. The structure is more acidic than tannic. Nice wine for the sub-$30 price tag. A wine to have with food rather than by itself.
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9/30/2013 - farinas Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium body red color with pinkish hue. Got notes of barnyard brett but it blew off within minutes. Effusive perfume of spice box, fresh cut flowers (some lavender), garrigue, old and new oak, sweet red fruit confit, and a hint of orange rind. Entry has beautifully correct acidity and supple round tannins, however the body is thin for a CDP (vintage stamp) with some raspberries and garrigue. Finish is medium in length with plummy spicy fruit and new oak. Not bad for this challenging vintage, very food friendly and grows on your palate. On day 3, acidity and tannins remain but the fruit has faded to some extent, so I would not keep this for much longer. 92-
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9/27/2013 - fdub wrote: 89 Points
A bit bretty for my tastes.
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9/18/2013 - mdefreitas wrote: 89 Points
I can see this as a polarizing wine as it does have a healthy amount of funkiness to it; a bit horsey. However there is a nice, cool-toned, crisp red-fruitiness to it. Light, airy and elegant... but again, funky. The structure seems to rely more on acids and tannins in this vintage. It should be noted that this is less funky on the palate than on the nose. Seems to have gotten a bit better on day 2 and 3.
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9/16/2013 - the godfather wrote:
beautiful nose, drinking great
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9/13/2013 - blakel Likes this wine: 91 Points
The bottle variation on this vintage is remarkable; each bottle is like its own ecosystem of funk, spices and fruit. This bottle was a little more mellow, but still delicious.
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9/13/2013 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
Picked these up a couple of days ago after waiting a year to arrive. Didn't ask when they arrived. Perhaps some bottle shock. Not a bad drink but not offering much. At times hinted at TCA. After about an hour it put on considerable weight , became lush and showed provocative herbal and spice notes. Not much fruit but very impressive.
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9/5/2013 - SpoochMan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Agree with most of the notes and scores here. This is definitely more dirt-forward than fruit-forward, especially upon opening. With some air time, the red fruits come out a bit more and some of the funk flows off. After an hour or so, it works its way into a pretty nice balance, but is still an earthy wine overall. Nice velvety texture and acid balance, with a good finish. I really liked it, the wife not so much. If you like CdP and are not super brett-sensitive, this is a very nice wine for the price (I paid only $28 since it was a weak vintage). Drinking well now with some air but I think maybe even better in a couple more years. Should have several years of life left.
UPDATE: Upon tasting on subsequent days from the Enomatic, this starts out extremely earthy/dirty/bretty each time. But after an hour or so of air, it really starts to shine. The fruit comes out and the balance is nice; mouthwatering acidity. Definitely recommend decanting for 1-2 hours if you are cracking a bottle soon. Remarkable transformation in the glass. Upgrading score to 92
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9/4/2013 - salil wrote: 91 Points
Light on its feet, but incredibly fragrant with layers of damp earth, leather, spice, fresh herbs, and red fruits all coming together into a lovely scent. It's not particularly powerful but very refreshing and drinking wonderfully now with very little noticeable tannin and bright acids.
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9/2/2013 - wineberg Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted 6+ hours, leftovers rebottled and recorked overnight. TN is from next afternoon. 14.5% ABV
Instantly recognizable Pegau brettiness with yeasty bread and barnyard. Raspberry, cherry, mushrooms, pepper, sappy herbacious garrigue of thyme, rosemary, and florals.
Drinks pretty well for an off year. Needs some air to show its best, or leave it alone for a few more years.
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9/1/2013 - Donjcorleone wrote: 92 Points
Aromas of blackberry licorice, musky garrigue and some wet horse (which diminished with more air) leads way to a medium to full bodied wine with some tangy red fruit, some earth, some spice and a distinct meatiness. Not for the brett averse.
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8/29/2013 - blakel Likes this wine: 92 Points
I've been waiting six months for delivery on a half case of this from Crush Wine in NY, and it finally arrived yesterday. Thought I should let it rest, but that idea only held up for 24 hours. Deep plum red in the glass. Pnp, and the deeply satisfying nose of grass, slate, and barnyard blooms from the glass, only slightly less funky and distinctive than I remember from the bottles I drank last year direct from the winery. The palate on this bottle is not as singular as the nose; tangy red fruit, earth, mushroom, and a touch of barnyard, but relatively subdued compared to some other bottles of this I've had. A nice, long finish with red fruit and grass lingering for quite a while. This wine has a sauvage quality which I adore, but which in all honesty might be had in almost equal amounts in a much cheaper, less prestigious wine - for example, the best from Christophe Foucher and other small organic producers who's wines can be had for half the price of this. And be aware, this funky, individualistic juice seems to have a ton of bottle variation. But this wine is sublime; seek it out.
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8/23/2013 - kanjimoti wrote: 89 Points
If there's such a thing as a pretty Chateauneuf being made these days, this is it. Probably the vintage as there was a ton of rain but as I smell the '08 Pegau I find it charming and feminine with plenty of fruit, glycerin, and character which includes some bret. After reading other reviews I thought this would just smell like a cow pattie, but for me the bret doesn't detract at all. A bit acrid on the palate like a viognier, I think it's the mouthfeel that was really affected by the rain as this doesn't have much of a finish. There's a nice weight on the mid palate with a note of creosote but the fruit in the mouth just isn't there at all. The tannins are a bit abrasive, this almost has an under ripe cab franc feel. Perhaps giving this two years would soften things a bit but don't wait any longer as the fruit will have vanished. Drink by late November, 2015.
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8/17/2013 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 90 Points
Teeny, tiny Pegau vertical: The dark and red fruit, while quite nice, was abit on the reserved side. There's still characteristic earth and garrigue, and this is very Pegau. The tannins are very soft and reserved. All in all, this is drinking very well tonight.
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8/4/2013 - MindMuse wrote:
Not so bretty as the last one. Came around nicely a few minutes after PnP. Pretty, not as complex as previous.
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8/4/2013 - mpmullic wrote:
Yeah baby. Like sticking your face in a big huge cowpie. All the classic CDP barnyardery lives strong in this dude.
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8/3/2013 - JOsgood wrote: 91 Points
Not as explosive as some other bottles I've had as this was on the elegant side instead of the typical savage Pegau. Good nose, nice acids on the palate and attractive barnyard notes on the palate. Tasty+
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7/18/2013 - Shiaxonna wrote: 91 Points
Dark red and shows strong notes of garrique and canned bamboo shots. After an hour in the glass this lessens a bit and it becomes more fruity. Lots of nicely integrated tannins show a long future for this wine. Powerful and concentrated with a real "one track mind". This is a racecar going with explosive power. Fruit, fruit and fruit!
50+5+12+16+8 (91p)
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7/7/2013 - Darkhorn Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still going strong. Lots of barnyard funk, but as the wine breaths this dissipates and blends nicely with deep dark fruits and spiciness. Long integrated finish with firm tannins. Excellent. Just really an interesting wine.
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7/5/2013 - Rechrom wrote: flawed
No excessive brett nose but very fizzy. First bad one of three.
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6/28/2013 - EhrlichDY wrote: 90 Points
A tolerable amount of brett. mid weight. classic pegau kirsch and dark fruit
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6/27/2013 - rsbeck wrote: 92 Points
Popped, poured, breathed for an hour, followed over next 90 minutes. A little bit volatile on the pop, but settled down quite nicely after an hour in the glass. Perfect with grilled lamb!
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6/14/2013 - Rezy13 wrote:
Opaque blackish red core with crimson rim; holy horse manure on the nose!, Brett is overpowering out of the bottle and never resolves, there are some floral and red fruit notes underneath but you need a hazmat suit to get down there; not sure what happened to this vintage, were they trying to make a weak vintage more interesting or do they need to overhaul the cellar.
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6/12/2013 - peternelson wrote: 90 Points
Dry rub herbs, dry weeds, Funky brett in the form of band-aid and potting soil; stewed fruits and pot-pouri; soft and silky and a medium bodied; concentrated herbal notes (sage), dense cooked fruits at its core; some cured meats, anise with fine tannins and medium finish. Went back and forth on this. does seem to be trying to find its character. Classic, but a bit funky, lighter vintage. Will be interesting to see if this improves with time, or goes down hill. Try in 2-3 years. 90-91
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6/1/2013 - grayfont wrote:
DC/Northern Virginia Off-Line II - "Blind Reds: Favorites vs. Underdogs" (My home, Falls Church, VA): tasted blind. Other than the obvious brett/earthiness, I found the nose on this inexpressive and thought it might be a bit shut down right now. very tannic for the body, and some interesting spicy/salami notes on the palate. I liked it, but wonder if it won't be a whole lot better with a livelier nose a few years from now.
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6/1/2013 - Pierre-Yves wrote: flawed
It was bound to happen. I got my first Brett ridden bottle.
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5/30/2013 - twelch wrote: 89 Points
Rustic old world yet not as horse filled manure as previous bottle. In the mouth nice and tart bursting with raspberries and strawberry rhubarb along with a rustic iodine and fig to it. Overall nice just a bit short on the finish and a tad offputting on the nose.
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5/28/2013 - arthrovine wrote: 93 Points
Spontaneous Blind Tuesday night Rhone Varietals (Portland, Oregon): aromas were pruney, stems, stewed red currant, soy, eucalyptus, hoisin sauce meaty. Palate showed smooth surprisingly soft tannin with savory saucey flavors and stemmy braised fruit and meats. Finished long and savory. No heat
Guessed correctly 08 Pegau. The first bottle of my case that wasn't flawed. A top wine of the night for many of us.
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5/27/2013 - gregg g wrote:
Wow, this is really nice stuff. It's young but already shows plenty of complexity. Reminds me of '99 with less funk. One can't help but notice the intensity and palate persistence. Really a Pegau I adore. Ready to drink, I would be very surprised should this wine shut down. First of a 6-pack. Should have bought a case. Served with a mixed grill of chicken & quail (J. Waxman's asian marinade) and lamb chops.
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5/12/2013 - Outplaying wrote: 88 Points
Similar to the bottle we opened three months ago. Masculine, lots of black pepper, iodine, bloody/meaty notes, mesquite and ripe black fruits. A little alcohol poking through. The wine puts on a little weight after a opening up but it still lacks the depth and richness of better vintages. The wine has character though. Day 2: this is has smoothed out some and put on weight. Less black pepper but still lots of meat. Maybe less interesting than day one but I think more enjoyable. This paired really well with braised short ribs from Brandywine Prime both last night and with leftovers today.
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5/4/2013 - drwine2001 wrote:
Another K&L Rhone Tasting (San Francisco): Medium center, light rim. Stalky, vegetal aromas. Light, green and dry on the palate with ungenerous texture and high acidity. Not particularly attractive and I wouldn't wait to drink if I owned it since there is modest fruit to begin with. Once that is gone, there will be nothing left.
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4/29/2013 - the godfather wrote:
this stuff is fantastic
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4/26/2013 - Vino Me wrote: 93 Points
Opened by Allred. An integrated and smooth wine for only being 5 years old. Notes of cherry and cola. Moderate to firm tannins. I've had the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 before (some on multiple occasions) and this is a consistently fine wine. The 2008 falls into the middle of my scores for this wine. 93 points.
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4/26/2013 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Anniversary Dinner (The Anvil Club, East Dundee, IL): Crimson color with aromas of red currants, violets, lavender, garrigue and earth. Medium- to full-bodied, with very pretty red fruit, earth and garrigue qualities on the palate. Long finish with spice and garrigue nuances. Lovely. 93+ pts.
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4/26/2013 - thelostverse wrote: 91 Points
Opened by Allred at Anvil for 5th anniversary. Mocha and figs notes with a slight touch of brett, but not overpowering.
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4/21/2013 - EGunderson wrote: flawed
This wine is a complete crap shoot. I've had bottles from from two different retailers and it's about 50/50 as to whether or not the wine is flawed (it's usually fizzy).
When it's not flawed, it's really nice. Given that it's 50/50, the 'apparent' low price is no longer worth it.
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4/20/2013 - EGunderson wrote: flawed
Flawed again.
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4/20/2013 - whitmanlholt Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Color is a darker-leaning red, which is surprising for a CdP of this vintage. On the nose, there is sweet raspberry, garrigue, and a bit of smoke on the backend. The nose is very enjoyable and complex, carrying classic CdP overtones, albeit on the slightly riper end of the spectrum. In the mouth, this wine is rich and flavorful, with the primary attributes being fruity red berries with a touch of ripe figs. The fruit lingers on the finish, along with a bit of tannin. Overall, this is a very nice wine for the vintage that highlights the joys of good Grenache. The QPR on this wine ($29 from Premier Cru) is amazing, and this bottle had zero of the Brett Monster that has apparently affected other 2008 Pegaus. I would buy more, particularly for around $30. 93+ points.
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4/18/2013 - derek.hara@sbcglobal.net Likes this wine: 91 Points
Again...delicious. Young Cdp that is showing well in its youth. Considered an off vintage, probably because it is lean for a Chateauneuf. But its acidity and lack of complete roundness make for great drinking now. Elegant and racy. I would drink this three times a week!! Love Pegau.
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4/14/2013 - argento007 Likes this wine:
This wine is not for the faint at heart. Very herbaceous with tastes of iron and iodine that complement the fruit that comes through. Paired very will with Osso Bucco.
Overall good but i wouldnt consider this great.
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4/14/2013 - Nutty08 wrote: flawed
This was fizzy upon opening. It blew off in an hour, and the wine was definitely Pegau, with tons of iron, iodine, meat and blood notes. Palate lacked a little structure, but still had plenty of dark spicy fruit. Moderate length. Never seemed to recover from the initial "effervescence phase" as it was rather muddled and lacking structure compared to other bottles.Clearly not up to the first 4 and was from a different source. This is the second bottle in a row that was a bit "off" 86-87 if grading.
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4/13/2013 - EGunderson wrote: flawed
Flawed again.
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4/12/2013 - KPB wrote: 89 Points
A good wine, not remotely at the level of the best vintages but rather nicely built with tobacco, licorice aromas and flavorful fruit wrapped by soft tannins and sound acidity. A boîre...
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4/11/2013 - rsbeck wrote: 93 Points
Pop and pour, consumed over three days. Pretty barnyard/stinky and unsettled at first. After an hour of air, it began to sing and just got better and better until it was gone. Complex with notes of sweet tobacco, cedar, roasted savory herbs, leather and more, showing lots of personality and a refreshing core of acidity.
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4/9/2013 - derek.hara@sbcglobal.net Likes this wine: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Young but already showing secondary flavors of garrigue, leather and cured meats though not completely integrated with primary fruit flavors. Very racy acidity for Cdp. Leaner and more elegant, consistent with Pegaus that I have had in the past. Not the most ponderous wine but delicious. Have three more and it will interesting to see how they develop.
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4/7/2013 - moonmountain wrote: 85 Points
Mixed bag. Positives: interesting flavor profile with black plum and spice dominating. Surprisingly well structured wine in terms of acid and tannin for an '08. The issue is just an overwhelming dose of brett. Personally, a bit of subtle funk makes a wine more interesitng. This is brett to a distraction. It's simply poor winemaking.
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4/3/2013 - tewino Likes this wine: 92 Points
Delicious. Pretty and earthy. Nice drinking now. Not ripe or stewed at all. Fresh.
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3/28/2013 - jackaroo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Let breath four hours. No brett. Nice value for an "off" year.
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3/26/2013 - EhrlichDY wrote:
First bottle of four. Dominated by brett on day one. Proceed with caution. Recorked and put in the fridge and retasted on day two. On day two, the brett had blown off revealing the Pegau I've come to know and love. The 2008 is a mid weight example with medium concentration. Classic notes of Kirsch and dark fruit on the palate.
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3/23/2013 - vinole wrote: 92 Points
Consistent with my TN of 1/5/13, except I did not get the sweet edge on the finish. Unlike others' bottles, I did not find the brett excessive, rather the leather, earth, and slight barnyard notes I expect from Pegau. If you are not a fan of that style, then don't buy Pegau. Shared with my wife and in laws who are not serious about wine, yet they really enjoyed. So that should give an idea that there was not excessive brett with this bottle (but of course variation does happen).
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3/22/2013 - Merengue wrote: flawed
Totally flawed. Bretty as hell, the barnyard, leather horse saddle and manure nose says it all. Overpowers and mutes everything else. Undrinkable. My wife was ticked off and i made the mistake of not bringing a plan B.
Seriously, how can there be so much bottle variation? Notes on this wine are totally polarizing.
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3/19/2013 - Shiaxonna wrote: 91 Points
An initial whiff of canned bamboo blows away and leaves a concentrated and balanced wine with character and charm. A different style than other CdP-wines tasted earlier. Notes of barnyard and horse-stables, some sweetness, and a little bit canned green vegetables. Enjoyable!
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3/15/2013 - dke Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lots of iodine and white pepper on the nose. On the palate this has some cherries, leather, iodine, green veggies, hint of barnyard and another does of white pepper. Tasty and savory, good acidity, mild tannins, good dinner companion. This bottle was less expressive and seemed less deep that the previous one. (90-91pts; I re-corked a small amount and tried it the next night, but this fell apart overnight).
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3/14/2013 - theRealPepe Likes this wine:
Another delicious bottle. Hint of brett on the nose along with spice, leather, garrigue, and kirsch. Lovely mix of spice and kirsch on the palate. Excellent.
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3/10/2013 - zscheiner Likes this wine:
Black olive, black fruit, black pepper and green veggies on the nose. Savory palate with plum fruit and allspice. Plenty of acidity, bordering on volatile. Yes, there's brett here but it's integrated and not of the offensive variety.
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3/7/2013 - Sheila62 wrote:
This bottle is off..lacking fruit oomph..FLAW
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3/2/2013 - MattTM wrote:
Tons of funk and horse on the nose, showing rich black plums, dark dried fruits, saddle leather, brett, and spicy black pepper. The funk carries through to the palate, with more horse, dirty diaper, leather, spicy black pepper and clove, black cherries, and black plums. Good acid, with a medium+ length finish ending on notes of leather and black pepper. This isn't for the faint of heart, incredibly stinky even for Pegau with tons of brett. This is either a "love it" or "hate it" wine. Put me in the "love it" camp. Very good.
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3/1/2013 - europat55 wrote: 90 Points
Slight improvement from the previous bottle a few months ago. Not sure yet about how this Pegau will age, but it is certainly enjoyable right now.
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2/25/2013 - Thirsty1 Does not like this wine:
Not doing it for me. Great color and high water table. Great scent of kirsch, red liquorish. Mouth feel is thin and highly acidic, out of balance and hot. Not very good.
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2/22/2013 - JOsgood wrote: 90 Points
This was not as good as the other bottles that I have had. It was very tight and took a long time to open up. Once it did it was not as complex as the other bottles. It was much less funky. Dark fruits with olives and herbs. Still nice and enjoyable with braised veal.
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2/21/2013 - TheBosWineGuy Likes this wine: 93 Points
It took about 30 minutes in the decanter for the funk to blow off. Once it did I found two of my favorite things: gamey red meats and cranberry juice. Wonderful stuff from start to finish. Drink now or wait 10. How many wines can you say that about??
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2/15/2013 - michal Likes this wine:
I've never understood why people complain about brett in wines that are traditionally known for having brett. I personally enjoy it which is why I love Pegau. Especially Pegau at $30 a bottle because its considered an "off vintage". Its drinking beautifully now and its the perfect distraction from my other vintages of Pegau while they rest. Lighter bodied that other wintages. Almost like the pinot of Pegau. Still has loads of Kirchs, cherry, garrigue, and yes....brett.
Delicious now and will continue to drink well for a least a few more years.
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2/12/2013 - Rezy13 wrote: 90 Points
Classic dark red core with cloudy red rim; earnest nose of earth, stone, radish and other vegetation, red fruit including cranberry and pomegranate, bandaid and classic grenache notes, meaty, latent tannin, and a finish like red hot candies. This bottle was very much more grenache like than past bottles that could have been confused with syrah. This bottle may be entering a different phase. A good wine but poor vintage which was confirmed when compared to some others at the tasting coming after this.
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2/10/2013 - andtheodor wrote:
This bottle was on the cusp on unenjoyable for me. Fur, smelly soil, rosemary, horsey raspberry nose. Somewhat fresher palate showing savory tones, iron, rust. Hope my others are better.
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2/10/2013 - Outplaying wrote:
Chateauneuf Du Pape at The Orchard (The Orchard, Kennet Square, PA): Meaty/bloody, masculine, black pepper, spicey, chewy, mesquite, bay leaf, complex nose. This bottle was complex but not particularly deep or dense. Overall pretty solid though I think this was the groups least favorite. Of the 08 CdPs I've had, the Vieux Donjon is the best so far.
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2/9/2013 - d'Yquembe Mutombo wrote: 91 Points
Start with the purest and most perfectly-ripe red cherry fruit imaginable. Next, dial up the Brett level just to the point of becoming undrinkable, and subtract 1. Great stuff.
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2/3/2013 - MindMuse Likes this wine: 92 Points
My Super Bowl party contribution. Opens with some horse stable nose, but matches that with loads of sexy lavender, garrigue, blueberry, raspberry, herb sack, iodine, soft leather. A early drinker, and delicious.
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2/2/2013 - mterheijden Likes this wine: 92 Points
Not the most powerful Pegau ever, but really pleased me with its charming Elements next to the typical Pegau tastes of earthiness and meat. Great wine, underestimated vintage.
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1/29/2013 - Fantasio Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent, épicé, long. Giroffle, tabac, écurie et cerise. Petite ammertume en fin de bouche, pas désagréable. Un must!
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1/24/2013 - Garyko wrote:
Really good stuff, love cdp
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1/22/2013 - Matthew B Likes this wine: 90 Points
Brett was heavy on this bottle, but cleared off after a couple hours. Second day was even better. 5 bottles left...hope I have a couple that are "cleaner."
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1/20/2013 - Champagneinhand wrote:
Great nose on this wine. Dark, dark wine. The nose was full of Blackberry, Dark Fig, Hoisin Sauce, Smoked Bacon and lots of violets. Nice on the palate, and could see why some complained of brett, but I didn't find any more than other Southern Rhones. The meatiness and the bacon flavors, don't translate well to the palate, but the wine drink much better a little cooler than room temperature. Nice full wine, good finish and I hope it gets better with age. When the wine gets too wartm, it isn't bad, but loses much of its great nose.
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1/20/2013 - JOsgood wrote: 92 Points
Consitent with prior bottles. This is excellent juice. Firing off right from the moment the cork was pulled. Deep and layered. So complex, the commoners do not get it. Much love for this bottle and the fantastic price I bought it for.
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1/19/2013 - AllRed wrote: 91 Points
Dinner with Friends (Oswego): Popped & poured just before dinner and followed over four+ hours. Immediately better than the last bottle- no brettanomyces or overly vegetal qualities here. Dark fruit, plum and roasted game aromas at first. Develops lovely garrigue and violet notes as it opens. Medium-bodied, with plum, meat, iron, earth and garrigue flavors. Finishes quite nicely.
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1/14/2013 - CWilliam wrote:
Consistent with prior notes - iron & earthy elements very prevalent on nose & very nice. 92+/-
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1/9/2013 - galewskj wrote: 90 Points
Drank over 2 nights. Consistent with previous note, but -1 point for a little more brett on this bottle.
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1/6/2013 - BradA Likes this wine: 88 Points
New Year---old friend
This is a wine that I have been drinking since arrival. It is very mature, has a zesty flavor and was just a great bargain at $28. Would I buy more---yes. However, this wine is not going to cellar well; I will drink mine by the end of 2013.
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1/5/2013 - vinole wrote: 92 Points
PnP at a restaurant and did not change much over 1.5hrs, so little decanting needed for this. Got the leather and barnyard I expect from Pegau, but not overbearing on the palate. Red fruit of strawberry and raspberry that was surprisingly lush and even came across with a little sweetness on the finish. Medium body and acidity. Lacking the complexity and concentration of better vintages, but still a very enjoyable wine that is a knockout value at under $30. I intend to drink my remaining bottles over the next 1-2 years to enjoy the freshness of this vintage as I don't expect it to improve going forward.
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1/1/2013 - the godfather wrote:
Delish
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12/30/2012 - tyvoodoo wrote:
Third bottle from a case purchased from PC. I guess I'm lucky as all my bottles from this case have been super clean. Nose is full of round and rich red fruits, spice, earth, fragrant and polished. Medium concentration, integrated tannins and easy drinking. Hard not to enjoy now or in a few years when it might pick up a bit more complexity.
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12/30/2012 - Finare Vinare wrote: 93 Points
Even better than the bottle we had last week, with a slightly different set of aromas: more sweet strawberries and sweet liquorice. Super enjoyable!
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12/27/2012 - rsbeck wrote: 93 Points
Continues to impress.
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12/26/2012 - David_T wrote: 92 Points
This took about four hours in the decanter for the brett to blow off. It never entirely tames; the nose has brett, tea, vinegar (but not in an oxidative/flawed way) and a touch of fruit. The palate is textured and complex, with tea, earth, leaf/twigs, sour cherry and spice. Tons of acidity, medium tannins and a long finish.
I would have never predicted the pairing but this becomes magical with the Jasper Hill Farms Bayley Hazen Blue. The Penicilium roqueforti must go well with the brett is this intensifies the earthiness and funk in a very good way, and makes the finish as long as any I've ever tasted. 92pts for the wine itself but with the cheese it's easily a 95+pt combo.
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12/26/2012 - the godfather wrote:
What an absolute beauty
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12/24/2012 - Finare Vinare wrote: 92 Points
Meaty mineral nose, bit reductive at first, with a nicely rustic expression of dried dark cherries, cherry pits, cranberries, currants, beef juices, black pepper, bouquet de garrigue and wet stones. Good density on the dry palate, tart fruit with a dried component, long spicy finish without any heat. Constantly showing new aspects as it opens up, this beast is definitely alive and extremely interesting/rewarding to follow over the evening. We get some similarities aromatically to Le Ragose Amarone (also an old-school botti/foudre wine)
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12/24/2012 - dke Likes this wine: 92 Points
Initially some cool, raw bloody steak on the nose, but this opens up into some barnyard, meat and cherries after ~2 hours of decant, when we started drinking it. Really tasty mixture of cherries, iodine, rust and bitter note on the finish. Very good acidity and tannins, not overpowering but extremely smooth. After further decanting this clears up into more sweet cherry and blueberry tasting wine. Smooth and enjoyable with grilled lamb chops and lasagna bolognese. Will age nicely but ready to drink now with few hours in a decanter.
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12/24/2012 - DdB wrote: flawed
Turpentine and burnt rubber. Hope the other btls are not the same.
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12/21/2012 - rsbeck wrote: 93 Points
Drinking fabulously.
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12/16/2012 - Dale M wrote: flawed
Brett City and toally undrinkable.
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12/14/2012 - europat55 wrote: 88 Points
A strong wine. A lot of leather on the nose and palate. But this bottle had a strange feel on the tongue... almost like a small effervescence!
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12/3/2012 - GalvezGuy wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Nose of black raspberry, leather, herbs, smoke, and a slight hint of barnyard. On the palate, dark berries, garrigue, leather, earth, with a hint of anise. Balanced finish, but lacks the oomph of better vintages.
Two hour update. This has filled in nicely. More funk and game are apparent. Bump the score to 92.
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12/2/2012 - JOsgood wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic! Lots of barnyard - yes, I very much like it. Super old school on the palate. So many layers here and nothing over the top. Flawless balance. This is a can't miss wine and way underrated by the critics.
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12/1/2012 - blakel Likes this wine: 93 Points
The last bottle was very funky, but came together on the second day. This one was fantastic and well balanced from the get go. Fantastic stuff.
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11/28/2012 - gblacave wrote: 89 Points
From memory: Moderate weight, well-balanced. Fruit is not overtly ripe and there is a good amount of earth funk. Best after a 30 minute decant.
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11/27/2012 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
Nose is strong and pleasant fruit. Full ripe red fruit on the taste. Plush. An acidic bite on the mid-palate. Then the funk comes. Tannins are fairly strong and rather grippy at this time. Accessible now, great fruit and funk combo. The tannins make me want to try the wine in 3-5 years, and I hope the funk does not completely take over by that time. I would not hesitate to open one now if you're curious.
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11/24/2012 - theRealPepe Likes this wine:
An excellent bottle. Chateauneuf but still fresh and fruity. with a very spicy palate. I got no brett with this.
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11/17/2012 - David J Cooper wrote: 88 Points
Fairly dark red. Very open nose at first with lots of bramble, earth and boysenberry. No brett or ass like others have noted. In fact the wine is dissapointingly clean and fruit driven. The flavours are dark fruit and spice and the finish is very soft. Later it seemed to close up a bit. so I'm not sure what to do with my remaining bottles. The acid should keep everything in check while the nose develops but 5 years would be the longest I would hold a bottle.
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11/17/2012 - mtaczak wrote:
my first pegau. definitely some weird volatility for the first hour or two. even after extended decanting it was still just too funky and bretty to truly enjoy.
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11/16/2012 - Saint Stephen wrote: 91 Points
Oh, that smells like ass. Delicious.
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11/16/2012 - wkkan wrote: 91 Points
Complex, very long aftertaste. Still young but drink well now
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11/14/2012 - Lessthanzero wrote: 90 Points
Slightly spritzy and high toned acidic upon pnp. Quieted down over a 2 hour journey in the glass to become quite enjoyable, if still a tad on the acidic side. Still a classic Pegau, though.
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11/13/2012 - grapist wrote: 92 Points
Pretty good wine for a difficult vintage. Tasting of pepper, leather and spices with dark cherry fruit, this is not the best from Laurence by a longshot, but it is typical of the rustic Pegau style, and I'm not sorry I've got more. Perhaps 92 is a bit generous, but I'm a big Pegau fan. I don't think this is going to age well, drink up.
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11/11/2012 - arthrovine wrote: flawed
Overwhelming Brett. Undrinkable.
2 days later, Brett dissipated somewhat and left with an only slightly oxidized wine that seems to have nice fruit and mouth feel.
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11/7/2012 - Matt T wrote: 91 Points
Excellent. Lots of earth, truffle oil, and blackberry. Good complexity with high toned acid and a medium length finish. Less tannin than other recent vintages. Ready to go now and doubt there is any upside to holding this.
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11/3/2012 - sterin wrote: 91 Points
A little closed now but still delicious. Smoke and meat notes on the nose, with nice fruit on the palate. I imagine this will only get better over the next 5 years. If this bottle had brett in it, it didn't bother me at all.
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10/31/2012 - tthomas wrote:
As expected with Pegau, some barnyard on the nose with smoke, meat and dark fruit. Nice mouthful of ripe dark fruit balanced with good acidity and a long pleasing finish where the tannins assert themselves but they are smooth and rounded, and for me, enhance the overall package. Nice wine that is really good now, but has the structure to last a while.
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10/27/2012 - cabwiz wrote: 93 Points
No brainier for the price, not as much aging potential as other vintages, but great now over short term cellaring. I'll let the other vintages age and consume these. Bret was there but didn't bother me, it's pegau and that's what I expect. Drinking great out of the bottle, even better at hour 3. Glad i picked up a bunch.
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10/26/2012 - blakel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep plum color. Strong grassy barnyard, brett, and a little black pepper on the nose. Deep dark fruits and barnyard on the palate, with no sweetness and mild tannins. Long finish.
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10/13/2012 - Bob in NC wrote: 86 Points
Don't care for the brett; at first we thought it might be the bottle, but after reading tasting notes of others we realized that is what we can expect from this wine. Good CdP flavors if you can get past the brett.
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10/7/2012 - bags wrote:
3-4 hours until the Bret blew off, and then a very, very nice wine for the price.
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10/5/2012 - Christoffer78 wrote: 92 Points
Very nice and truly very Pégaü, this 2008 shows the better sides of this producer in such a difficult year. There is plenty of the rustic barnyard in the nose but not too much and tonight it actually helps bring the fruit forward. The fruit, as in many wines from this vintage, is more restrained and less flirtatous. The palate is medium-bodied, integrated and shows few, if any hard edges. Compared to the 2003 Cuvée Réservée tasted a few weeks ago, this bottle shows few, if any, signs of oak. A great wine to drink now or in the coming 5-8 years.
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9/26/2012 - linserge wrote:
A bit young of course, but hinting at a restrained power.
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9/16/2012 - mmcdds wrote: 87 Points
Young Pegau Vertical with Warso: Double decanted for 3 1/2 hours. The final Pegau of the evening. All the usual Pegau characteristics were present, but like previous bottles of 08 Pegau, this lacked depth and concentration. This is not a bad bottle of wine, just not up to expectations, but since I was able to get this lot for under $30 a bottle I find it to have quite a good qpr and if I could get more at the same price, I think I would. I think its a very nice, early drinking CdP.
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9/14/2012 - Nutty08 wrote: 89 Points
The most disappointing bottle of this I’ve had. Lots of brett on the nose, off-putting and I’m usually rather tolerant to brett. Later this turned to more iodine, iron/blood character, but just wasn’t doing it for me. Palate was cleaner, a bit of spice with a red cherry pit character. Course tannins and a moderate length finish with sandalwood. Still had good poise and polish for the vintage. A more nuanced wine, seemed thin on the palate compared to the Janasse. I still love this as a wine to drink while waiting on other years, but this bottle was not at good as previous. Not from my stash, so hopefully not representative of where this is going.
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9/11/2012 - Eric wrote: 91 Points
This has been a fairly variable wine, but this was an interesting bottle. Spicy, almost raspy, rustic and lively. Licorice, pepper, and cherry. Vibrant and explosive. A bit thin in the mid-palate and dry on the finish, but this is wild and delicious nonetheless.
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9/3/2012 - rsbeck wrote: 93 Points
Same as previous notes. Remarkably consistent.
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8/17/2012 - rsbeck wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with previous notes.
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8/9/2012 - EGunderson wrote: 92 Points
Consistent notes, great wine for the price.
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8/9/2012 - EGunderson wrote: 92 Points
Good right out of the shoot, no decant needed. Great meaty and funky nose. Earth and more meat on the palate. Finish is a bit light, but for less than $30 this is an absolute steal. Delicious.
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8/7/2012 - daniel.jay wrote: 91 Points
Opened and consumed over 2 hours - strong brett at first open, gradually blowing off. Nose - earthy, mushroom, musty. Palate - old world style, complex, spice, leather, tobacco, dark fruits, hint of sweetness, no alcohol. Palate is certainly more earth/savory than fruity sweetness. Good acidity keeping in balance. Grippy finish. At $29 from PC this is a steal. 91+, will update on night two.
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8/2/2012 - sachsen wrote: 92 Points
Definitely needed 60+ minutes of decanting to open to the 92 point level for me. $29 for a bottle in stock @ Premier Cru is a STEAL for this wine.
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8/1/2012 - strad wrote: 90 Points
Cloudy blackberry robe with a blackberry nose showing good forest floor earthiness, herbes de provence & beef. The palate showing similar qualities is soft with balanced acidity and tannins. Currently drinking quite well, this should improve with 3-5 more years in cellar.
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7/29/2012 - rsbeck wrote: 93 Points
Pop and pour, wonderful nose, layers of dark fruit, cedar, sweet tobacco, leather, pencil lead, lavender, roasted savory herbs. A little more flesh than my last bottle, fabulous balance, even more impressive.
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7/28/2012 - AllRed wrote: 89 Points
4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Rich & Dana's): Garnet color. Red and black fruit notes, also herbs/garrigue, with an earthy undertone. Develops a subtle vegetal quality as it sits. Medium-bodied with herbs, red fruit and pepper flavors. Guessed S. Rhone.
The vegetal note does have that wet hay/horse blanket quality (brettanomyces), though it wasn't too distracting here.
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7/28/2012 - manny651 wrote: 94 Points
Delicious! earthy, stoney, with spice and berries. Glad this was considered by someone to be an "off" vintage so we could land such a great wine for a great price.
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7/28/2012 - twelch wrote: 90 Points
Here horsey horsey, here horsey horsey. Hmm can you say Brett? I still enjoyed it as a little brett appeals to me on some levels but this bottle was a brett bomb that blew off somewhat after a few hours. The underlying fruit in this wine is great and exceptional for the vintage. Pretty typical Pegau flavors dominate this but as said a little more barnyard than the last few I've had.
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7/27/2012 - tyvoodoo wrote:
Clean bottle, zero brett but I also don't consider myself that sensitive. Lots of stone, mineral, gaurige, spice and berry elements. It didn't seem overly tannic but was still closed and a bit shy. The decanter helped and after a few hours it did become a bit more fleshy. Maybe longer air time or sideways sleep in the cellar.
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7/27/2012 - Itriolo wrote: flawed
Just because a wine has traditionally tasted of horses__t doesn't mean that it SHOULD taste like that. You'd think that for the prices that Pegau charges they could find a solution to their brett bomb problem. This could have been a much better wine...
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7/21/2012 - zovizule wrote:
On opening, big, dark meaty, leather and a bit hot. Came together with air to be really very nice. Great nose on this, and around 3-4 hours was beautiful. Felt like it was starting to get a touch oxidized after 5 hours, but who knows? A great deal.
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7/19/2012 - keithgg wrote: 93 Points
Drinking beautifully now. Off vintages of Pegau are now my favorites. An old style CDP.
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7/15/2012 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
opened after a previous bottle was corked. purposely chosen because i had an 08 vieux telegraph la crau the night before, and i was sampling some 08 CdPs. this clearly trumps the VT. not the best vintage, but this had enough in the tank to be pleasing. consistent with the pegau ethos, which i favor, but it's clearly an off vintage for them. some mild brett which i can tolerate, somewhat chewy and meaty. i don't see the point in aging this wine much.
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7/15/2012 - jeff nowak wrote: flawed
corked.
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7/5/2012 - JOsgood wrote: 94 Points
Awesome wine. This business about this being an off vintage is total bs, this wine rocks big time. Terrific nose. Earthy and complex palate that is medium in weight. Nothing lean about it. Wish I bought more.
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6/29/2012 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 92 Points
A beautiful mix of red berries, raspberry, smoke, lavender, chocolate, pepper, exotic spices, and game notes. Medium-full body with a beautiful velvety texture and a long chewy finish. The Cuvée is 100% hand picked from vines averaging 60+ years in age and composed of about 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre, and 6% other authorized varietals including Counoise, Cinsault, Vaccarèse, and others. (Drink 2012-2022)
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6/17/2012 - alr6767 wrote: 90 Points
Bought this bottle to see if it makes any sense to pull the trigger on some low pre-arrival prices ex chateau. Nice, simple Pegau, correct for the variety and the domiane. Raspberry, sous bois, medium- acidity and tannin with a medium length finish. Nothing offensive, nothing terribly memorable compared to other recent vintages. Went well with grilled lamb. Ready to go right now, and have some doubts as to long term ageability.
Day 2: savory elements remain with just a smattering of red fruit. The trademark Pegau terroir is there among other meaty elements, sort of a delicious broth flavor. This is actually pretty darn good at this stage, and is worth another point as a result of better than expected holding potential. 14%
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6/15/2012 - Eric wrote: 89 Points
This bottle was very tasty but considerably weaker than the prior two bottles. Somewhat raspy and thin when first opened, this did blossom in a gamey, spicy, mid-weight Châteauneuf. For what it's worth, this bottle was a replacement for a corked bottle and had been sitting on a store shelf for an extra six months. There is no doubt that the Brett population in these is significant, and this bottle seemed more overwhelmed and showed much less character.
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6/8/2012 - king-bing wrote:
Fabulous right now. Classic baked earth and herbs nose that run through its Grenacheyness. Simar palate but with black olive too. While powerful this was never beastly. It retains its sense of balance with a great lightness on its feet. Savoury finish helped it avoid the sweet and alcoholic pitfall of some. Much liked by the non CdPers.
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5/27/2012 - Dale M wrote: 92 Points
And Decanted 3 hrs. Purchased at PC for $24.95. Aromatically this had a lot of kick to it, multidimensional scents of dark, roasted plums and fig preserves, traces of black pepper on the edges, and while lacking the traditional scent of Garrigue, it still had quite a pop of fresh herbs and underbrush. The most immediate and obvious descriptor of the palate was of a clean, pure driven Grenache dominated cuvee, medium weight, but never veering off course of its satisfying destination. Staying within the red fruit spectrum, added touches asphalt and a moderate tannic backbone lent this to early drinking enjoyment. Off vintage, under-priced Pegau, yes please, back up the truck!
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5/24/2012 - MotoMannequin wrote:
Pop-n-pour, medium purple/garnet and light bodied. Tart red fruit, spice, some smokiness, saddle leather and horse stable... Definitely Pegau, if a little lacking in concentration. None of the vegetal notes that have turned me off of other '08 S. Rhônes. A good buy at the going rate and early drinker. I strategically opened this on a night my wife wasn't home. She would not have been happy with this level of brett, but exactly what I'd expect from Pegau.
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5/22/2012 - xtian wrote: 88 Points
Really delightful wine. Medium bodied with no green notes - lovely fruit and acidity. Nice upside given the negative press on the vintage and value pricing on the wine.
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5/13/2012 - Matsutake wrote: 91 Points
Ready to drink, fantastic despite off year.
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5/12/2012 - strad wrote: 90 Points
Pegau lite. Drink now or hold for a few more years.
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5/6/2012 - mukden Likes this wine: 91 Points
YES-avec surpris. First i have opened from the case, did not expect a lot seeing the advertised price and what a surprise. Lovely fruit and acidity, dark colour but very light taste for a pegau. Less rustic, in time may not be complex or very intellectual but a lovely wine. Really good value at its current stated price.
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5/5/2012 - Dbrane wrote: 84 Points
Opaque but bright purple-ish. Gaminess, pepper and herbs aroma. On the mid-palate this was rather thin and uninspiring. Perhaps in a closed phase? Even the finish seemed kinda clipped.
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4/28/2012 - Eric wrote:
I opened one of these last week, and it was drinking so well I decided to kill another. Alas, the first one I opened was so corked it was scary, but the second one is glorious. As Pegau goes, this is medium weight, very spicy, vibrant, loaded with pepper, hints of sandalwood, and then vibrant and somewhat tart red fruit. There is no shortage of funk, but what makes the wine is the rusticity, energy and overall vibrancy.
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4/28/2012 - gorm wrote: 92 Points
While this still not is the most concentrated of Pegaus it has definitely improved in last year. The green note is gone and it now shows great balance together with the classic Pegau aromas. Very enjoyable.
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4/21/2012 - Nutty08 wrote: 93 Points
Best bottle yet, with Asian spices, kirsch, and sandalwood. Palate has some fine tannins. No, not especially concentrated, but drinking so well now.
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4/20/2012 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
This is supposed to be a weak vintage? Yum, I love 'weak' vintages of Pegau like 1994, 1999, 2004, 2006 etc. This 2008 is already strutting, in fact exploding. It is nowhere near as concentrated as vintages like 98, 00, 03, and 07, but it makes up for it with loads of white pepper, spice, garrigue and pure ZING. Like most Pegau, it is certainly heavy on the blood and iodine and shows some brett, but the wine is very energetic, spicy, complex and just downright enjoyable. I doubt this will make VERY old bones, but I suspect there is a great decade of drinking. It is already pretty darned ready to go, so dig in and enjoy!
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4/9/2012 - santosh wrote: 93 Points
Supreme! Had always been wary of the distinct horse manure bouquet, but once you get acclimatized, it is just a stupendous bottle of wine.
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4/5/2012 - Christoffer78 wrote: 93 Points
After opening the bottle there was a strong scent of burnt wood and smoke. After an hour in the decanter the nose showed the very Pégaü typical elements of dark mature fruits, garrigue and thyme combined with a whiff of stable and wet horse. The palate is medium- to full-bodied and is certainly nicely integrated. I recommend an hour or so of aeration. There is no reason to hold off drinking your 08's, they are just perfect right now.
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3/18/2012 - PDX-S wrote: 92 Points
A clear dark ruby in the glass, the nose barely extends above the rim. Initially, the nose is quite tight and restrained, yielding only garrigue, mineral, and what comes across as a dusty dryness. Over time, the wine opens, and while the garrigue remains front and center, a dark raspberry begins to show up amongst the mineral notes and I begin to detect the raw meat that others have alluded to. Over more time, the raspberry notes take center stage, hint at sweetness, and the garrigue disperses into some separate herbs, with the scent of fresh tarragon at the last. On the palate, the medium body feels lean and taut, the acid, fine grained tannins, and oak influence all blending nicely. Initially, it tasted all of minerally earth and herbs, with only a hint of fruit. Over time, the palate evolved with the nose to reveal black raspberry tartness, tea leaves, and just a touch of minerally funk that I keep wanting another chance to identify. All in all, the wine comes across as both young, elegant, and restrained, as well as suggesting the gaminess of a barnyard brawler. A beguiling combination that has me looking forward to checking in again after a couple of years have elapsed. Who knows who we'll meet then? 91/92+, likely to get much better.
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3/17/2012 - The Tourist wrote: 89 Points
Very very earthy.... Drank like a aged geverey chambertin
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3/10/2012 - johbev wrote: 93 Points
It reminds me of the 2004 vintage. Smells of raw meat, horse stables, herbs. Really nice at this point.
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3/7/2012 - strad wrote: 90 Points
Dense, rich and drinking quite well on P&P. Day 2 and it's toned down significantly and is now more enjoyable. The nose, although shy, is pure perfume. Palate shows well both days with dusty tannins and ample acidity. 3-5 more years & this will be drinking as well as the 2004.
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3/2/2012 - europat55 wrote:
This is obviously an infantile wine, but I wanted to see how this Pegau vintage is at this point before ordering more. Generous nose with spices and leather. Rich concentrated palate with long and bitter tannins. A bright future ahead. I will buy more.
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2/19/2012 - rsbeck wrote: 92 Points
Pop and pour, ready to go, but still improves in the glass. Beguiling and restrained in body yet nicely intense and succulent due to the refreshing acidity. Very satisfying CdP. 92+.
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2/11/2012 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Beautifull nose of ripe strawberries, musc, cep de Bordeaux, animal... taste of pure fruit, very sweet, oriental spices, less concentrated than the 2009, but beautifull finesse
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1/26/2012 - Christoffer78 wrote: 92 Points
A wonderful wine, the 2008 Cuvée Réservée is drinking superbly at present. The nose at first exhibits huge amounts of Earl Grey tea, herbs, wet stable/hay and dark brooding fruit. After an hour in the glass the Earl Grey tea is replaced by vivid and very expressive raspberry. Of course the classical rustic and rough Pégaü character is there as well. Some 'blame' it on brett but I actually like the tones of wet stable. The palate is medium-bodied and is rather short on the finish. Tannins, acidity and oak are nicely balanced. This is a very nice wine and it is open for business without too extensive aeration.
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1/16/2012 - Socrates wrote: 94 Points
A Dense, dark ruby color and full in body, this wine is BIG. I opened and decanted to let the wine breathe a bit since earlier notes said this was young and tight; sure enough, young and tight but bursting with complexity in the bouquet. Warm raspberry, black pepper, cinnamon, tons of garrigue, and an earthy/mushroom aroma assault and arrest the nostrils; seriously, I couldn't pull my nose out of the glass all night. Olfactory orgasm.
Once the wine opens up it is bright and playful in the mouth with great structure and grip and a cool velvety texture that belies the full body. Although the tannins and acid are abundant, they are not overpowering or unpleasant but instead suggest great aging potential; this wine is begging to be left alone for years and promising to reward those who can.
Bright raspberry hits on the front of the palate while the mid palate is dominated by dry herbs and dusty minerals. The finish is still a little veiled although, chocolate and pomegranate seem to come to mind and there is a slight oakiness just before the astringency of the tannins wipe the palate clean. There is also just a playful hint at sweetness that is reminiscent of anise but it's covered by the tanic finish before it truly develops. (Near the end of the bottle, 5 hours in the decanter, the finish really began to show a beautiful creamy, exotic mushroom and the nose reflected it as well). All that being said, the finish lingers for nearly two minutes, developing all the while and promising good things to come.
While young and big, this is definitely enjoyable now and worth the $50 price-tag but, if you have the diligence to lay this down for at least a couple years you will be very happy you did so. While I never put a number to my notes, I feel the 91 this has in the CT community is low so, I will go against my normal routine and give this a 93-94++.
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1/13/2012 - Pierre-Yves wrote: 88 Points
More acidic, ending taning almost disjoint. Very different from previous bottle. No sweetness.wondering if first one got more air. Nonetheless it is still very good bottle but needed more time.
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12/25/2011 - dxpian Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark ruby hue, a very young wine indeed, needs time to unlock its true aromas and flavors. Opened 23 hours ago, it is showing abundant black cherry, raspberry, strawberry and blueberry aromas with elements of black pepper, anise, cedar, graphite, orange peel and an undertone of herbal bouquet showing Asian spice and eucalyptus. Very complex nose. Full bodied. An attack of black cherry, red currant and raspberry leads into a well-structured mid-palate of gritty, velvety tannin and fresh acidity. Very long aftertaste, balanced and complex, with black cherry, blueberry and orange peel lingering, finishing with anise, cedar and coffee. Extremely age-worthy wine that will be enjoyable after 2013. 92 PLUS.
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12/25/2011 - bpaulsen wrote: 90 Points
Red currant initial taste. Earthy finish (mushrooms?) followed by floral notes. Long bitter tannins. Will try another bottle in 1-2 years.
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12/23/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
Remains a great wine in a rough year. See prior notes for details.
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11/28/2011 - JOsgood wrote: 92 Points
Like this a lot. Lean and sexy. Great balance with that savage and earthy notes that I love in Pegau wines.
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11/27/2011 - the godfather wrote:
great balance. on the leaner side which is perfectly fine with me, interesting to see what this will do with age.
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11/14/2011 - Pierre-Yves wrote: 92 Points
Very good. Drinking nice now.Old style Chateauneuf, sweet green olives, herbs.Complex palate. Medium finish. Not sure it has the material to have long term cellaring.
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11/12/2011 - strad wrote: 91 Points
This is a good example of Pegau Reservee. The acidity remains in balance with the tannins and ample fruit.
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10/26/2011 - Samsara Likes this wine: 89 Points
Formation lors du rendez-vous des conseillers
Centre Renaissance
26 octobre 2011
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10/22/2011 - MuseMaven wrote:
Had to try this before cellaring the rest. P&P, a little reticent at first. Color is beautiful dark ruby red & translucent - easy to see through. Nice on the nose, complex. Creosote, tar, a little funk, rubber tire - some fruit hiding in there, but not out front. On the palate, soft fruit, floral (violets), good acidity, long finish with strong green olives carrying over (I like these). Lots going on here, gotta love it. Opened up quite a bit after a time. There's lots of good in this wine. Reserving score.
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10/20/2011 - KVM wrote: 89 Points
Dark red. Intense raspberry jam and roasted meat, hint of reduction. The palate is broad and unfocused. Firm finish with menthol. Short. Left 6 ounces in the bottle 'til next day and it was tired. Not recommended
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10/16/2011 - CWilliam wrote:
Consistent with prior tastings - iron / minerality more apparent on nose. Impeccable balance & elegant. 91-92. Great food wine or on its own.
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10/9/2011 - Darkhorn wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful!! Such a well made wine.. and in an off vintage, just a real treat.. the balance is nice between dark fruits (including plum and prunes) and the barnyard funk... I love it.. the mouth feel is silky and the finish just lasts and lasts.. Perfect accompaniment to a traditional french meal!!
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10/9/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured at DOCG in Las Vegas (my bottle). Nose just oozes iron and blood. Palate is still quite tannic and acidic, with lovely spice and energy, with plenty of currant and cherry notes. Medium to long finish with iron, thyme, and earth. Lovely contrast to the Janasse VV the night before, as this is a sensational food wine with plenty of complexity for an "off" vintage.
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9/17/2011 - Engelund wrote: 89 Points
Rhonefestival 2011 Danmark (Dansk Vincenter i Avedøre): Intet ekstraordinært over denne vin, og dyr. Pris 400DKK.
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9/10/2011 - jcsf420 wrote: 91 Points
The 08 CdP's are ready to drink now so I figured why not start with a Pegau. This sets the bar pretty high for an off vintage CdP. Very slight earthy funk on the nose along with leather and dark fruit. the nose developed nicely as the earthiness wore off and the fruit intensified. Light tannins on the palate with raspberry and cherry coming through. This went very well with food. It is well made, nicely balanced.
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9/5/2011 - HBvino wrote: 91 Points
Nice ripe red fruity texture w undertones of tar/smoke. Excellent progression to mild tannins. Tasted at winery w Laurence.
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9/5/2011 - IAMVLAD wrote: 78 Points
nothing like the last bottle. compleytely devoid of fruit.
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8/19/2011 - mmcdds wrote: 86 Points
This is my first 08 Cdp and this is a very lightweight Pegau. It still has all the usual Pegau characteristics, the garrigue, the earthiness, the dark fruit, but they're all very subdued and it needed a couple of hours of air for these flavors to develop. I'm glad I was able to purchase this for half the usual going rate for Pegau, otherwise this would have been a big disappointment. As it is, its a nice early drinking 08 CdP. I wonder if it will ever get any better. I tasted it side by side with their 07 Plan Pegau and there wasn't a huge difference between the two, even though the CdP was double the price.
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7/17/2011 - Rechrom wrote: 92 Points
I like 'off' vintage CdP. Lighter, so accessible young, and with some panache. This is a great example. Interesting nose of leather, cherry, full palate with more cherry, licorice notes, some sift tannins, medium plus finish. Complements food well, drinks well on its own, a very nice bottle to enjoy while waiting on 2007.
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6/23/2011 - KimBot Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is slightly lighter version of the Pegau, but very nice and balanced and drinkable now
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6/17/2011 - Miceri wrote: 90 Points
Medium slightly brown red; staple, sherry, animal tones, raspberry; spice box, fresh, pointed, not heavy at all, some tannin, where's the fruit?; very special compared to other CdP 08s tasted, unique, special; whether you like it is individual I guess; I like it, just wondering how it will develop
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5/27/2011 - gorm wrote: 91 Points
Unmistakeable Pegau aromas of leather, cherry, game and herbs du provence. Lighter than usual due to vintage and with a slightly greenish afrettedes. Still a pleséira to drink.
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5/21/2011 - KimBot Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is the first bottle of 2008 I taste. Very nice and balanced
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5/14/2011 - CWilliam wrote:
Consistent with prior notes - 92 range +/- excellent with grilled ny strips - as prior tasters noted this is fine on pop & pour but did improve with airtime.
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4/26/2011 - IAMVLAD wrote: 90 Points
VERY PLEASANT AND PRETTY MUCH READY TO DRINK. OF COURSE IT DOESN'T COMPARE WITH OLDER, READY BOTTLES FROM STRONGER VINTAGES [98 AND 99 COME TO MIND] BUT IT IS A FUN WINE TO DRINK WHILE WAITING FOR THE 2000 AND SUBSEQUENT VINTAGES TO COME AROUND. IT WAS CONSUMED RIGHT AFTER OPENING SO A BIT OF BREATHING MAY HAVE SOFTENED IT FURTHER.
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4/26/2011 - gorm wrote: 91 Points
consistent
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4/25/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
Expressive nose with a floral character, showing dried red fruits, iron, blood, sandlewood and kirsch. Intense palate with raspberry, plums and spice. Soft mouthfeel with fine tannins and bright acidity, turns slightly bitter with a cherry pit character with >2hrs of air. Does lack the concentration of Pegau in the better years, but the flavor profile and complexity are there. Lengthy finish with a saline quality and adding a hint of mocha/tar. Great wine. This should peak in the next 5 years and drink for 10. A great Pegau to have around waiting on the more concentrated/intense wines to open up.
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4/16/2011 - troutmonster wrote: 93 Points
Complex, savory nose packed with garrigue, smokey charcoal, raw steak and red fruit. The savory aspects carry over to the palate, with the elegant, red fruit Grenache character up front, firm tannins and a smokey ember flavor that lingers on the finish. Very approachable right now and far exceeded my expectations for the vintage.
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4/15/2011 - Vinacull wrote:
{GVHwtb} Opened less than an hour earlier, no decant. Color not noted. Bouquet is tight, showing most obviously barnyard, as well as lavender, garrigue, kirsch, and pepper. On the palate, flavors of animal, lavender, garrigue, red and black currants, and black pepper. Excellent depth of fruit and savory characteristics extending into quite a long finish. Medium-plus acid and full, very drying tannins. Distinctive characteristics remind me of how much I love Pegau, especially after 7 to 10 years of age (eg., the 2000 is drinking so well right now!) depending on the vintage. Low 90's range but no score given as this was tasted among 40 other wines and not given proper air or attention.
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4/14/2011 - MindMuse wrote: 93 Points
Dan Kravitz and Hand Picked Selections (Hinton's Wine Store, Atlanta, GA): 85% Grenache, 9% Syrah, and 4% Mourvedre, with other authorized varietals including Counoise, Cinsault, and Vaccarèse.
Kirsch, fennel, herbs, raspberry, Asian spices,smoke/incense, oiled leather. A beauty, finely supple, with great balance and finish.
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4/6/2011 - gorm wrote: 91 Points
Lighter yet unmistakenly Pegau
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3/12/2011 - xpensivewino wrote: 93 Points
A great example of a tremendous producer making a delicious wine in an off vintage.
Classic cdp similar to the 2000 pegau.
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3/8/2011 - PJRONeill wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for two hours, needed much more. Seriously tight on first tasting, but gradually opened up to reveal some serious potential. By the end it was reasonably generous for such a young wine but it needs to be kept. Classic CDP aromas and flavors, I continue to be a huge fan of this house.
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3/6/2011 - canan wrote: 91 Points
Needed about 30 min in a decanter to open up.
Great nose with forest floor, raspberry and meat.
The palate is fresh with raspberry and animalistic flavors with hints of earth.
Excellent in a poor vintage.
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2/24/2011 - CWilliam wrote: 92 Points
Helga's 7th Annual CDP Tasting (2008 Vintage CDPs Semi-Blind) (Atlanta, GA): Leather / black raspberry/ black cherry / garrigue / meat (palate consistent with nose). Medium+ body / great balance / long finish - old world style CDP and I loved it. I bought six bottles of this wine. Good value & quality in a supposedly poor vintage. This got 3 votes (including mine) out of 14 for WOTN. 92++
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11/18/2010 - Yagil wrote: 88 Points
fruity young aroma but not great wine
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6/4/2010 - Matt T wrote: 93 Points
Visit to Pegau (Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France): Another great treat from Laurence. This was a barrel sample, but I believe it will be bottled fairly soon. Really nice wine with good structure and a bit more restrained fruit than the 07 and 05. Some mineral elements and really excellent balance. Laurence again proves her skill with a slightly more difficult vintage.
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2/21/2010 - Philippe_C wrote: 92 Points
Animal nose, grilled mushrooms, ripe strawberries... in the month, red fruit, mushrooms, light integrated tanins... to my taste close to the style of the 2006 Pegau vintage
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