Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Reservee 2020
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Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James - Vinous
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Jeb
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Spicy aromas of ripe red fruit, cassis, toasted herbs, pepper and roasted meat on the nose. Big, rich and full-bodied on the palate, with a long, lingering finish.
Excellent with strong cheeses and grilled/roasted meats.
Blend: 80% Grenache, 6% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre, 10% Other Varieties
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was even more impressed by the 2020 Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Réservée than the 2019. Boasting crazily complex floral scents, garrigue, raspberries and cherries, this is one incredibly perfumed example of Pegau. Medium to full-bodied, silky, elegant and long, this is quintessential Pegau.
Barrel Sample: 96-98
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James Suckling
A layered and well-balanced Chateauneuf-du-Pape with aromas of wild berries, dried herbs, leather, roasted meat and stones. It’s full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Lots of layers and poise with a restrained character on the palate, despite the generous nature of the vintage. Complex and velvety with lots of cherry character and dried herbs towards the finish. Funnelled and structured with great focus and length.
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Vinous
The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée is one of the strongest vintages for this wine in recent history. It is magnificent, soaring from the glass with pungent aromas of crème de cassis, ripe raspberry and strawberry, cured meat, tobacco, licorice, iodine and garrigue. Full-bodied, vibrant to the core and offering a multidimensional profile, this wine is really, really good. The Féraud family and the entire team deserve a round of applause for this sublime Cuvée Réservée.
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Decanter
Decidedly stemmy, this has lots of white pepper and a slightly vegetal note. Full-bodied, very savoury, this ends on fibrous stems - they're not very well-integrated yet, but they rarely are at this stage; give it time. Good purity and freshness of fruit, however, with juicy raspberry and plum, which helps to smooth over the stems. Very fresh, good acidity, moderate alcohol - this could be a great Pegau in time. The remaining 10% of the blend contains a further 10 minor Châteauneuf varieties. Whole-bunch fermented in concrete, aged in old foudres.
Barrel Sample: 94
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Jeb Dunnuck
Looking at the classic 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Réservée, it shows the ripe, round, opulent side to the vintage as well as classic Pegau notes of gorgeous black cherries, Provençal garrigue, sandalwood, and ground pepper, with some background meaty nuances. Medium to full-bodied, it has a layered, seamless mouthfeel, plenty of ripe tannins, and outstanding length. It's a more forward style of Pegau, not far off the style of the 2018, but it will nevertheless keep for two decades.
Other Vintages
2019-
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Ancestors of father and daughter team Paul and Laurence Féraud farmed olives, cherries and grapes in Chateauneuf-du-Pape dating back to the 17th century. The methods established centuries ago carry on in the current vintages, creating robust, concentrated, traditional red and white wines. For many years the winery was known as Domaine Feraud fils and they made traditional Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
In 1987 Domaine du Pegau was formed as we know it today, when Laurence Feraud returned from her winemaking studies and she teamed up with her father Paul to create the winery. Complementing each other they have conserved the authenticity and quality of their Chateauneuf-du-Pape whilst bringing it to the attention of wine lovers around the world.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.