2014 Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Reservee 750 ml

One of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Most Majestic Wines

“The 50-acre estate of the Féraud family produces one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s most majestic, old-style, robust, super-concentrated, blockbuster wines” wrote Robert Parker in his assessment of Domaine du Pegau. Under the brilliant stewardship of Paul Féraud and his daughter Laurence, the estate stands among the region’s strongest bastions of traditional CdP winemaking, a legacy that has earned them cult status and five 100-point reviews from Parker’s Wine Advocate. The 2014 Domaine du Pegau Cuvée Réservée is a silky, garrigue-scented, textbook Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a must-have addition to any Southern Rhône collection. “Rock-solid and unabashedly old-school,” says Wine Spectator, awarding 93 points. “It’s almost impossible to have too much Pegau in the cellar!” advises Jeb Dunnuck. Incredible value: just $44.99.

Lovers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape tend to fall into two camps: those who favor the modern style, big, rich, and bursting with jammy fruit, and those who swear by CdP made in the old-school fashion, wild, savory, and rustic, full of Provençal herbs and baked fruits. For those in the latter camp, Domaine du Pegau is a legend, their bottles among the most coveted and treasured in the world.

The Féraud family has been making wine since the 17th century, but the estate’s history begins in 1987, founded by Paul Féraud (a classmate of Henri Bonneau), who dedicated himself to winemaking using the methods and techniques honed by his ancestors. His hard-headed devotion to regional tradition was adopted by his daughter, Laurence, who runs the winery today and told Vinous that they like making “wild wines that have their own personality.”

That uncompromising approach has earned them a mountain of critical praise and a cult following. Robert Parker has written that they produce “one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s most majestic, old-style, robust, super-concentrated, blockbuster wines,” with Parker’s Wine Advocate bestowing a perfect 100-point score on five of their releases. An earlier vintage of this Cuvée Réservée landed at #7 in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2013.

The estate holds 11 parcels throughout Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The main lieux-dit include prized sites like Rayas and Monpertuis, but the biggest source of their fruit is La Crau, CdP’s most famous site, where wineries like Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe produce powerful, broad-shouldered wines that age for decades.

Grapes are hand-picked and fermented in cement vats without destemming. Aging occurs in large, old oak foudres for 18 months, with no fining or filtration. The result in 2014 was another gem that is an absolutely textbook expression of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, combining power and silky elegance. Issuing 93 points, Wine Spectator called it “rock-solid and unabashedly old-school.”

Take the advice of Jeb Dunnuck, who declared “it’s almost impossible to have too much Pegau in the cellar!” and lay into as many of these coveted bottles as you can while they last.