Dinner at William and Gina's

Elsa and I popped over for a nice beef dinner

• 2004 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  A really nice wine, constantly evolving in the glass - I somehow could not shake the feeling that it is in a rather awkward stage though. It smelt really funky on first pour, full of muddy earth and meaty, barnyardy notes, but these opened up very nicely with time into a lovely ripe nose with almost roasted tones of blackberries, blackcurrants and dark cherries chased with a little spice and fragrant bursts of garrigue, lavender and wild flowers. Really something. The palate was very strong as well - full and fruity, it showed deep draws of ripe black fruit laced with earth and spice and mineral. Very satisfying, and really nicely balanced. There was still a primary edge to the fruit, but there were already a lot of little complexities coming up, especially at the great long finish, which was full of spice and cocoa, garrigue and earthy mineral. With time though, the fruit receded slightly, and a stern underlying structure of fine but mouthcoating tannins and more of that grippy minerality came to the fore, making the wine seem a little austere, maybe even grumpy. Perhaps still in a rather awkward stage I thought. It was a great pairing with grilled beef on the night, but I would still put it aside for 3-4 years, perhaps even more. It is clearly a wine of great quality and character though. Very good. 92+

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• 2001 Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  Not bad, but not great either - this was really austere. The wine was really, really tight at first - classic NSG, all structure and acid and mineral. With 2-3 hours in the decanter, the nose at least bloomed into a wonderfully floral bouquet, with roses and violets and sweet blue fruited aromas lined with a little herb and earth and the last vestiges of toasty oak. Very nice, and such a change from the stubbornly shut wine that was first poured into the glass. The palate, on the other hand, always remained a little tight and mean though, with high acid and firm structure dominant, and the otherwise clear expression of slightly sweet blue fruit showing a bit thin over the midpalate. The finish seemed a bit empty too, just structure and high acidity with any fruit buried way below. There was a pretty nice shape and style to the wine, but it is very, very tight and needs a lot of time yet. One wonders whether the structure will outlive the fruit though.

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