2003 Domaine du Pegau Cuvée de Capo

[TheEngineer]

It's the second time I've been lucky enough to try this wine in as many months. This is my wine of the year!!!!

Intoxicating not because of the 16.1% abc, but that the wine is able to live with this in total balance. Never once did i think of the alcohol. Massive a wine it is, meaty, peppery, herby with loads of fruit and dried fruit. Yet,it was not the size that impressed but the balance. It was a thought provoking wine. Insane and worth the price of entry....which is also sizeable.

[Drew]

[quote='TheEngineer' pid='104180' dateline='1353388590'] This is my wine of the year!!!![/quote]

And the 2003 vintage no less. How did they produce such a wine in a difficult vintage?

[TheEngineer]

I've got no idea. I was given this blind to taste the first time and I was floored. I knew it was an immaculately made Rhone right away but I had no hint of the vintage. It frankly tastes very young at this point in its life. There is enough acidity for this wine but it is well hidden. i really had a stupid smile on my face. Here is the crazy part. the wines I had BEFORE this wine were no slouches either. Yet this was several notches above those. Those other wines were

(1) Pol Rogers vintage 1996
(2) Vertical of Beaucastel from 1994 to 2000....
(3) Beaucastel 2001 Hommage a Jacque Perrin
(4) Domaine du Pegau 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007.

As I said, each of of the above wines alone would have been a good night. The fact that this one so clearly for me stood up above the rest blew my mind and the $400 a bottle entry fee seem to become a really good price at that point in time.......Nuts wine.

[Drew]

Wine Searcher shows an average of $700 to $800 per bottle and the Spectator gave it 99 pts with Tanzer giving it 95-97 pts.
Sounds like a WOW bottle for sure.

[TheEngineer]

Ouchy, ouchym,...glad to have generous friends who don't mind popping a few.

[TheEngineer]

I've been very lucky with this wine this year. We popped one for Christmas night so I had much more time with this wine this time. First of all, I should say this, as a 2003, you might have expected an overtly massive wine, overtly superripe and massive in density. While this is a massive wine, it is not a jam fest and it's insane experience comes from the parts that could be descibed as nothing but ethereal.

On the nose, extrememly explosive, yet completely elegant expression. So much is in there, berries, cherries, earth, forest, floral, savoury notes, meaty, herbs, coco, and it goes on. On the palate, the same but very complex, and just compelling. Very difficult to explain this experience other than to say that this about a complete a wine as it comes, combo if a mature hermitage, with an elegant CDP, plus bits and piece of a powerful burgundy. Good grip, firm, mineral, balanced, very long and extreme persistence. Jsut so delicious that it is very hard to ignore now but always interested in seeing what this will be like in 5 years. It could be just mind blowing.