Domaine du Pegau is a well-respected producer, though it’s much newer than a lot of people would think. The family started producing wine grapes in the mid-1900s, but it mostly sold grapes and a little wine to negociants, and only became what we know in the late 1980s: in 1987, Paul Feraud’s daughter, Laurence, convinced him to start a wine domaine, and the winery was completed in 1989. Today, it’s one of the most respected names in the Southern Rhône.
The company produces a range of regional and VdF wines under the “Chateau du Pegau” label, but the “Domaine” label is reserved for its red and white Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
This ‘Cuvee da Capo’ is Pegau’s top red wine, sitting above the not-so-basic ‘Reserve’ and premium ‘Laurence’ cuvées — it’s only produced in select vintages (only 7 editions this century) and is made of 70% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre, and 20% a blend of the remaining 10 permitted CdP grape varieties. Winemaking is fairly low-intervention, using whole clusters and natural yeasts with spontaneous fermentation. Elevage took place for 2 years in old oak casks.
The 2003 vintage is considered a good, but not all-time great Southern Rhône vintage, though Pegau considered it a great year for its vineyards. This specific bottling comes in at a whopping 16.1% ABV and retails around $400-500 USD. Robert Parker and Wine Cellar Insider rated it a perfect 100 points, while Wine Spectator gave it 99 points, making it the highest-rated ‘Capo’ ever.
**Tasting Notes:** Double-decanted for over an hour before tasting. Deep ruby color. Intense nose of black and red berries, herbs, leather, black pepper, and licorice. Palate is perhaps a bit more shy but still expressive, and I was surprised by how well-balanced it tastes given the high alcohol content. Long finish that almost leaves a sweet taste behind. Impressive and easily one of the top 5 CdPs I’ve ever tasted, but not particularly my style of wine (I tend to go for daintier reds), so I’m having a hard time assessing value.
TroutFearMe
Guilty pleasure
carcarbuhlarbar
Bang on write up with no scores or ratings. Well done! Thanks for sharing
BelgianBillie
Great wine ugly label
Feels like you could buy this wine at any Express clothing store in the USA lol.
00cha
That label is awful, looks like free wine hotels give out
HotNubsOfSteel
Hell yeah
FoTweezy
Whoa ho ho!
YosefSum
What a perfectly early 00s looking label. Heinous.
MaceWinnoob
Pegau CdR is one of the highest QPRs in the all of wine
11 Comments
Domaine du Pegau is a well-respected producer, though it’s much newer than a lot of people would think. The family started producing wine grapes in the mid-1900s, but it mostly sold grapes and a little wine to negociants, and only became what we know in the late 1980s: in 1987, Paul Feraud’s daughter, Laurence, convinced him to start a wine domaine, and the winery was completed in 1989. Today, it’s one of the most respected names in the Southern Rhône.
The company produces a range of regional and VdF wines under the “Chateau du Pegau” label, but the “Domaine” label is reserved for its red and white Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
This ‘Cuvee da Capo’ is Pegau’s top red wine, sitting above the not-so-basic ‘Reserve’ and premium ‘Laurence’ cuvées — it’s only produced in select vintages (only 7 editions this century) and is made of 70% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre, and 20% a blend of the remaining 10 permitted CdP grape varieties. Winemaking is fairly low-intervention, using whole clusters and natural yeasts with spontaneous fermentation. Elevage took place for 2 years in old oak casks.
The 2003 vintage is considered a good, but not all-time great Southern Rhône vintage, though Pegau considered it a great year for its vineyards. This specific bottling comes in at a whopping 16.1% ABV and retails around $400-500 USD. Robert Parker and Wine Cellar Insider rated it a perfect 100 points, while Wine Spectator gave it 99 points, making it the highest-rated ‘Capo’ ever.
**Tasting Notes:** Double-decanted for over an hour before tasting. Deep ruby color. Intense nose of black and red berries, herbs, leather, black pepper, and licorice. Palate is perhaps a bit more shy but still expressive, and I was surprised by how well-balanced it tastes given the high alcohol content. Long finish that almost leaves a sweet taste behind. Impressive and easily one of the top 5 CdPs I’ve ever tasted, but not particularly my style of wine (I tend to go for daintier reds), so I’m having a hard time assessing value.
Guilty pleasure
Bang on write up with no scores or ratings. Well done! Thanks for sharing
Great wine ugly label
Feels like you could buy this wine at any Express clothing store in the USA lol.
That label is awful, looks like free wine hotels give out
Hell yeah
Whoa ho ho!
What a perfectly early 00s looking label. Heinous.
Pegau CdR is one of the highest QPRs in the all of wine
One of the bests
Shoot de noofy de poopie