1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

"I love the old style of Chateauneuf, with some residual sugar and a bit of volatile acidity to carry the aromas," says Paul Feraud, who with his daughter Laurence makes one of the true throwback wines of the appellation. The Ferauds whacked the ball out of the park in '98, picking superripe fruit at precisely the right moment. New in '98 is the super-cuvee Da Capo, which is obviously from the last foudre I tasted a year ago. This larger-than-life wine is about four times the price of the estate basic cuvee at the cellar door, but the roughly 3,000-bottle production will be strictly allocated. (Dan Kravitz/Hand-Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; J&R Selections, Mt. Pleasant, MI; Martine's Wines, San Rafael, CA)

Laurence Feraud, who is developing a website that will illustrate the various cepages and soils of Chateauneuf du Pape, is quite adamant that no single parcel in the appellation can possibly possess the balance, power and elegance to make a complete wine. "Our multiple parcels bring different characteristics, each with strengths and shortcomings," she explained, as she hopped like a lemur across the tops of her large foudres drawing samples. "As good as our piece of La Crau is, for example, we can't really vinify it by itself because the wild yeasts on the grapes can't really chew through all the sugar." Domaine du Pegau did not finish harvesting until October 8 and the end of the harvest was an adventure, as their student pickers, who comprised half the team, had gone back to school. I tasted enough foudres to predict that 1998 will be a great vintage for this property. (Dan Kravitz/Hand-Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; J&R Selections, Mt. Pleasant, MI)