2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Da Capo

Laurence Féraud greeted me at Domaine Pegau while she was busy selecting label colors for her new Vin de Table, Pegauvino. Domaine de Pegau currently has 24 hectares of vineyards in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with three dedicated to white grape varieties. Apart from these holdings, the Pegau family owns 35 hectares in Côtes du Rhône and another 11 outside of these appellations to produce the Plan Pegau, Pin Pegau and the new Pegauvino labels. For her Châteauneuf-du-Pape Sélection Laurence Féraud, she selects and buys finished wines from other producers. This year I tasted two brand new wines from Domaine Pegau: the 2019 Cuvée P.O.L., a name derived from the first letters of Féraud’s father, Paul, her mother, Odette and Laurence herself. It is made with equal proportions of Grenache and Cinsault and aged in used barriques from Guigal’s Château d’Ampuis. To celebrate the arrival of her first grandchild Ella, there will be a Cuvée Ella in 2020, a selection of the finest barrels of the Cuvée Da Capo from the same vintage. The 2019 Cuvée P.O.L. wears a modern and refined dress, while the 2020 Cuvée Ella displays mesmerizing complexity and finesse. Due to their tiny production, obtaining either of those wines will be challenging. Such eccentric Cuvées made by Féraud can taste spectacular, but unfortunately, they aren’t inexpensive. In my opinion, their red Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée delivers the best value: a traditional, complex and spicy offering that can be cellared for up to 25 or more years. And the gap in quality to the pricier special bottlings is usually negligible.