Character and a cool head: Laurence Feraud at her best
Laurence Feraud is without doubt one of Chateauneuf's living legends. A tireless champion of the village, she adds considerable lustre to the appellation with her own range of brilliant wines. She works in her own way and her use of whole cluster fermentation and longer than typical cask ageing for the Cuvée Reservée in a powerful vintage like 2016 exemplifies her individual approach. During our visits we've seen how the wines gain complexity through their second summer in barrel. Cuvée Reservée is one of the most rewarding wines of the area.
Since that extra ageing means that Pegau is a late release, I'll remind you that 2016 is a beautiful and structured vintage in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The warm days produced powerful wines with rounded and ripe tannins, while the cool nights helped the fruit retain its acidity. While the cruel Mistral wind does blow for nearly a third of a normal year, in 2016 its influence was entirely beneficial. Fruit was kept healthy and the fruit flavours pure and focussed.
Domaine du Pegau has a well-earned reputation for producing wines with lovely balance and the 2016 more than lives up to it. At the same time, in keeping with Laurence Feraud and 2016, this is not a shy wine. But it is as fresh as it is assertive and will drink very well over the next twenty years. /CW
