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CDP Cuvée Réservée, Domaine de Pégau 2005

Tasting Notes

The three lots of 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee (again, no Cuvee da Capo was produced in this vintage) had not yet been blended. Tasting through all of them, they scored between 91 and 94, so I suspect this offering will be similar, qualitatively, to the 2006. But, it is a very different style of wine. It reveals a dark ruby/purple hue along with notes of tar, roasted meats, and Provencal herbs, which give it a certain savage/animal character. The wine is ruggedly constructed, concentrated, full-bodied, tannic, and firm in the finish. For comparison purposes, it comes closest to 1995. The 2005 will need time to come around, and the Ferauds were leaning toward bottling it in late 2007 or early 2008. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025. P.S. A wine that is not to be missed is Laurence’s partner’s Costieres di Nimes. Mark Fincham produces a beautiful blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache called Red Note. The 2006 may be the finest yet made. It is an exuberant, flamboyant, richly fruity wine with loads of Provencal character. 2006 looks to be a very strong vintage for this region, even superior to 2005. The 2005 Red Note is more restrained, tannic, and closed, but quite good. One further note, I do not know what Laurence Feraud’s intention is, but she insisted that I taste two wines from Crete that she may or may not represent in France. One was the 2006 Nostos, a 100% Syrah, and the other was a Syrah/Grenache blend, the 2005 Nostos Cuvee Alexandra. Both were outrageously good wines that merit plenty of attention from adventurous wine consumers. I would buy them in a nanosecond if they were available in America! Importers: Dan Kravitz, Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347-9400; Martine’s Wine, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400; and J and R Selections, Mt. Pleasant, MI; tel. (734) 662-3753 The effervescent/dynamic Laurence Feraud continues to expand her family’s business, branching out into two negociant lines, one called Selection Laurence Feraud and the other Feraud-Brunel. The latter wines are made in conjunction with her friend (and proprietor of Les Cailloux), Andre Brunel. This is generally a very strong line-up of wines, with, ironically, the Chateauneuf du Pape cuvees perhaps weaker than the Cotes du Rhones, which is somewhat unusual. I think it is because there is much better fruit available in the Cotes du Rhone-Villages than in Chateauneuf du Pape, where the estates are holding back more and more of their best material for their own bottlings.

92/94
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (173), October 2007
95
Josh Raynolds, International Wine Cellar, February 2007

The 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee, which I tasted in three separate components all scoring between 92 and 95 points, is a tannic, backward style for Domaine de Pegau with saturated color, huge tannins, high acidity, and powerful, muscular, full-bodied flavors. The wine has all the essence of Provence from its meatiness, aromas of roasted herbes de Provence, and sweet licorice, blackberry, and kirsch liqueur notes, but it is formidably tannic, dense, as well as fresh and lively. This wine will no doubt need 4-8 years of bottle age and should be uncommonly long-lived, lasting for at least two or more decades.

I did taste a cuvee of approximately 4,000 bottles that Laurence thought had the potential to be Cuvee da Capo, but when I saw her she had decided to just blend it with the Cuvee Reservee. It is very tannic, much like the Cuvee Reservee, and not nearly the elixir that the 2003, 2000, and 1998 Cuvee da Capos were. In short, she made a good decision.

As a postscript, I did a vertical for some friends of some of Domaine de Pegau’s older vintages and to their amazement (not mine) we had one fabulous wine after another, including the 1981, 1983, 1985, 1989, and 1990. All of these wines were seemingly mature with the 1989 and 1990 obviously the two deepest and most concentrated, but all of them classic Chateauneuf du Papes with fabulous character, complexity, and richness. Life is too short not to drink abundant quantities of Pegau.

These are some of my favorite wines in the world, and also some of my favorite visits, largely because of the charismatic Feraud family, from the daughter Laurence to the father Paul. While the estate in Chateauneuf du Pape is approximately 47 acres, there are some other projects including their vin de pays, their vin de table, and new negociant label of Laurence Feraud, mostly Cotes du Rhones. Also, her long-standing partner, Mark Fincham, produces lovely wine from the Costieres de Nimes called Red Note.

92/95
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (169), February 2007

Deep ruby. Seductive dark berry and kirsch aromas are complicated by musky garrigue, black olive and dark chocolate. Dense blackberry and bitter cherry flavors stain the palate and develop a licorice character with air. Tightens up on the long, chewy finish, which is dominated by tangy red berry fruit. This hugely concentrated wine deftly combines liveliness and power.

Josh Raynolds, International Wine Cellar
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.