2001 Chateauneuf du Pape
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Also brilliant, the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve is full-bodied and concentrated, with classic Pegau wildness, beef blood, saddle leather and garrigue all emerging from the glass. Slightly lighter in color and weight when compared to the 2003, it’s showing some maturity and can be consumed anytime, but will without a doubt continue to evolve gracefully for another decade or more. 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
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Aged for 18 months in old foudres and fermented with stems, the 2001 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservé, a blend of 85% Grenache, 9% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre, and 2% other varieties, is a spectacular wine that should have a very long drink window. It’s meaty and wild bouquet of wild herb, tobacco, meat, roasted herb, and Pégaü spice is followed by a brutally structured, medium to full bodied wine that possesses solid concentration, a firm, precise texture, and a long, tannic finish. Tasted from two separate bottles and showing relatively consistently, this is a rugged, burly wine that while drinking well now, needs 3-5 additional years of bottle age to really shine.
The 2001 Pegau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Reservée (magnum) was by far the most reticent and shut down bottle in this flight. Clearly a wine of tremendous potential, it needs time – and lots of it. Hints of smoke, leather, licorice and black olives lingered on the deep, powerful finish. (AG)
About the producer
Product details
Grenache/ Garnacha , Syrah / Shiraz, Mourvedre/Monastrell/Mataro, Cinsault
Red
Dry