Domaine du Pegau Tasting at Wild Ginger with Laurence Féraud

Seattle, WA
Tasted Friday, February 16, 2007 by Eric with 1,089 views

Introduction

Laurence Féraud from Domaine du Pegau came to Seattle, and Ole Thompson put together a terrific winemaker's dinner at Wild Ginger.

Flight 1 - Meet & Greet (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Appetizer (2 Notes)

Master Sauce Chicken
Cambodian Pork
Duck Bebek

  • 2006 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

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

    Foudre sample. A very brambly nose, showing a little stem and a slightly leesy character, as this has just finished malolactic fermentation. The Grenache stood out quite clearly on the nose but not much else. Mmm, the palate is primary, again with some nice bramble and rather tart, noticeable acidity. While interesting to try, I can’t hazard a score, as I lack the experience to evaluate a wine at this early stage.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2005 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 96 Points

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

    Foudre sample. Oh baby, what a nose! Surprisingly complex for such an infant of a wine. Spicy, meaty, definite brett character, and some ripe raspberries. Mmm, what a palate, peppery with fantastic structure, a very spicy wine that reminds me a fair amount of the 2001 on release. The structure here is stunning though, and you can sense the huge amount of glycerin and alcohol as well. A big wine ala the 2003 but without the overt sweetness and nearly over the top character. This will be quite special in time.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 3 - 1st Course (2 Notes)

Lamb chop with fragrant rice

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

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

    Laurence declared this wine has having a string "licorice" element. OK, I can see that. What I found was a spicy, peppery and intense young wine that showed a nice, bloody, sanguine note and a lot of Grenache personality. Of all the wines served tonight, this was the only one where I felt that I never got a great read on where it was going and rated conservatively as a result. That said, Laurence was so excited about this vintage, comparing it very favorably to the 2001, that I simply need to pop a whole bottle at home soon and follow this one for a day or two. Interestingly, there was no Blanc produced this year, and all of the white juice was co-fermented with the red to make this 2004.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2000 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 96 Points

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

    In terms of sheer pleasure, this was the wine of the night. Wowza, what a nose, just a little horsey and then ripe with soy, hoisin, and an emerging smoky, roasted personality. Sultry stuff! The palate is RIPE!!!! Screaming of Grenache, this is packing loads of pleasure right now, a fantastic showing!

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 4 - 2nd Course (2 Notes)

Burmese Pork Curry

  • 2003 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 97 Points

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

    A huge, sweet wine with nearly searing tannic structure. Very da Capo-like in personality, this has "more of everything" (fruit, sugar, tannin) than pretty much any vintage of the Cuvée Réservée. A toothsome, blockbuster of a wine that is simply off the charts and will be a joy to follow over the next two decades. Right now it's just fun to revel in the tooth-kicking structure and incredibly ripe fruit.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2001 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 95 Points

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

    This is usually one of my favorite vintages, and this showed an intensely spicy, white pepper personality on the nose. However, on the whole it was largely closed and offering nowhere near its real potential. I saved most of my glass for 2 extra hours, and it did open up past the intense spice to show a nice bit of pine and garrigue with incredible poise. However, it's pretty closed right now. Hands off for several years, as this will be back and much better in time. My score represents current drinking and understates the true potential of this wine.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 5 - 3rd Course (2 Notes)

Black Pepper Beef

  • 1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 94 Points

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

    This bottle was more closed and less impressive than two I had last summer (pop-and-pour might be better to grab this one right now versus decanting for a few hours which seems to have shut it down). Still, a really nice wine. Mmm, melted licorice, soy and spice. This wine is just flexing and stretching as it burns off the last of the primary elements and is starting to get a little bit secondary. I love the tooth-coating tannin and the emergence of some iodine. Gorgeous.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1995 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 91 Points

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

    I have never tasted this vintage before, as the general advice is that it remains very tannic and closed, a somewhat off vintage. I don't fully concur. This was the first really secondary wine we tasted tonight with a nice nose of black olive, soy and a lightly oxidized, funky note. This was tight but also enjoyable. Perhaps my score is generous, but I did enjoy this one quite a bit.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 6 - 4th Course (1 Note)

Red Curry Lobster with Lychee

Flight 7 - 5th Course (2 Notes)

Peking Duck

  • 1999 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 2nd Release 93 Points

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

    (2nd release) In the context of so many great vintages of Pegau, the 1999 is always deemed as a "lesser" wine, but I always love it. This was a screaming example of the 1999. Cherry and pine, very sappy, just perfect to drink right now. It does lack the weight and intensity of other vintages, but it makes up for it with beautiful purity, palate energy and flavor delineation. Darned delicious!!!

    By the way, to identify the 2nd release from the initial, the lot # of the late-bottled '99 Pegau is: L: 03-06-24. This is printed on the bottle in purple ink, just under the capsule. Hold the bottle up to a reasonably strong light, rotate it slowly and it should appear.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 1994 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée Flawed

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

    This was a madeirized example showing lots of soy and clearly over the hill.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Closing

Dessert

A fantastic sorbet served with a couple of chocolate truffles. The sorbet was a perfect way to cleanse the palate and finish up.

×
×