2000 Chateauneuf du Pape

While two bottles of the 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve were corked at this tasting, importer Dan Kravitz came to the rescue and provided a bottle (tasted in Colorado) that showed nicely. Fully mature, with a ruby/amber color that shows some lightening at the rim, it offers classic Pegau garrigue, olive tapenade, beef blood and wild herbs to go with a medium to full-bodied, seamless and resolved profile on the palate. It still has a core of sweet fruit and is drinking nicely now, so don’t make the mistake of waiting too long on this. It should be consumed over the coming couple of years. Created in 1987 (although there were some earlier bottling released) Domaine du Pegau is run today by the father/daughter team of Paul and Laurence Feraud. When setting up this retrospective, I was shocked when Laurence Feraud told me she had never done a vertical tasting like this. While I know they drink their older cuvees often, I think the idea of opening so many wines for one tasting could be seen as wasteful, and in reality, it is. However, it’s also incredibly educational, and as Laurence commented, shows the story of the domaine. I was thrilled to take part in this tasting, which also included Laurence’s parents, Paul and Odette. Importers: Dan Kravitz, Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347-9400

This bottle of 2000 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée was drunk over two days and really took some time to unwind but when it did, yaazow, it’s some killer juice. Garrigue, garrigue and more garrigue show up on the nose and mix with spice, licorice, pepper and tree bark notes. The palate really shines and has gobs of rich fruit overlaying some serious structure. Rich, deep and amazingly long, this is an outstanding bottle of wine.