My visit to Domaine du Pégau (TN: 2000-2003 CnDP and more...)
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, France
Tasted Monday, June 14, 2004 - Wednesday, June 16, 2004 by Eric with 2,351 views
Introduction
On my recent trip to Provence I had the very good fortune to reflect twice on the wonderful wines of Domaine du Pégau. First, I was able to participate in a very small tasting on 14-Jun-2004 with Mark Fincham. (Mark is a former Londoner who ended up meeting and marrying Laurence Feraud, and he has been involved with the winery since 1994.) We ended up chatting for about two hours, and I learned a ton from him. Two days later I was able to visit the winery and talk to Laurence for about 90 minutes while tasting a variety of wines from barrel and bottle. I was amazed at their hospitality and their willingness to spend time with me. Looking back, a few things really stuck out for me:
- Pégau is a remarkably small, family-run operation. I haven't visited a lot of wineries, but of the ones I have visited this one was one of the more humble locations. There is no glitz here, just focus on a great product.
- I am amazed at how traditional and non-interventionist the winemaking philosophy is. Yeast is rarely ever added. With the exception of Syrah, the other 12 Rhône varietals grow together in the same fields (albeit dominated by Grenache). Whole clusters of all these varietals are picked and fermented together relying on natural strains of yeast. When these are moved to barrel, there is no new wood to be seen anywhere. We are talking about some seriously old and crusty looking foudres and demi-muids.
- What typified this for me was their story about how the 1998 Cuvée da Capo came to be. The 'last' barrel contained juice from the oldest vines that had hung by far the longest. The alcohol was remarkably ripe at 16.6% with ample residual sugar. They kept tasting it and didn't know what to do with it, as this one barrel defied belief. Finally, they decided to bottle it separately. My presumption going into the conversation was that they had simply yielded to capitalism and were doing what everyone else was with a higher end cuvee. Heck, why not? However, the way they describe it, it was more an accident of nature that they happened to notice and capture separately. To support this point, in 2001 they *could* have released a Cuvée da Capo, and in fact they clearly debated that. Ultimately, they were so proud of the Cuvée Réservée they thought they should put their best foot forward for the entire production. Well done!
Flight 1 - Tasting with Mark Fincham at Château des Alpilles (4 Notes)
Anyway, I captured a few terse notes from each of the two tastings. Two things about the wine really stuck out for me. First of all, the 2001 Cuvée Réservée is a stunning wine that is still wide open and screaming with pleasure. My last taste in April (93pts) had convinced me that the wine was going to sleep, as it didn’t compare to my first two tastes from last Fall (each at 97pts). Well, I was wrong. This baby is wide open for business. Mark and Laurence each mentioned that they had several bottles over the winter with spicy curries and loved them. Second, the 2003 is going to be a crazy freak-show of a wine with over the top alcohol and power. Frankly, I am not qualified to taste from barrel, but oh my goodness this is crazy stuff. I for one can’t wait to see how it turns out. Anyway, onto the notes, first the ones from my June 14th tasting with Mark.
Flight 2 - Tasting at Domaine du Pégaü with Laurence Feraud (6 Notes)
And here are the notes from my June 16th tasting with Laurence.
Closing
A fun conclusion to this second tasting was asking Laurence what else she likes to drink. She proceeded to rattle off a long list of California wines. We also both oohed and aahed over the 1996 Quilceda (and when I hopefully return I will bring her a bottle of the 1994). It is clear that both she and Mark are passionate and excited about wine to an amazing degree.
In conclusion, thanks to both Mark and Laurence for their generosity in spending so much time with me. I hope that many other folks here get a chance to do the same in time!
NV Plan Pégau Vin de Table Français Lot 2002 84 Points
France, Vin de Table Français
(6/14/2004)
This wine consists of declassified 2002 Domaine du Pégau as well as some "nice Syrah from the Costieres-de-Nimes." Light color. The nose shows some nice garrigue with some slightly off-putting stemminess or weediness. On the palate this is medium in weight and quite spicy. The finish is medium-short. All in all, the wine is fresh and interesting far beyond the rating. A solid effort.
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2001 Féraud-Brunel Cairanne 88 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Cairanne
(6/14/2004)
50% Grenache and 50% Syrah. This wine is purchased from one specific vintner in Cairanne who simple doesn't want to be troubled with bottling it. They are looking for a young and ripe wine. On the nose there is some cherry (Mark calls it "light and airy") followed by smokey notes that grow with air. The barrel toast and Syrah seem to take over with time. On the palate this is peppery and vibrant with very pure fruit, yet the tannins are fairly chunky and a bit rough. This is still a rather admirable effort.
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2002 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(6/14/2004)
This wine hasn't been bottled yet, but Mark drew a sample off into a pail and then bottled it. I found the nose to be off-putting with a clear scent of latex or plastic and a chemical edge. Mark noticed the smell as well and was worried that perhaps it was an artifact of an unclean bucket. All that said, on the palate the wine was clearly Châteauneuf with reasonable concentration and spiciness. It was indeed lighter in weight yet interesting with reasonable potential. Not rated due to the odd nature of the sample.
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2001 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 97 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(6/14/2004)
To think that I thought this wine was closing down the last time I had it. Not this bottle! Popped, poured and wowed. This wine is monstrous with oodles of brawny depth on the nose, licorice and waves of briary garrigue with time to air. On the palate this is wide open, wow! White pepper and explosive, sweet fruit with unreal depth and purity. The finish is long and harmonious. We took this bottle to dinner after the tasting and it only continued to open over a four hour period. Unbelievable!
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