WTN: Chave, Pegau, Greywacke

[Jenise]

Last night friends dropped by around five-ish so I opened this to share:

2024 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Very different from Margot's '23 tasted two weeks ago--rounder, fleshier. Plenty of acidity, sure, but more fruit than minerals where the dusty, precise, green bell peppery '23 was the other way around and more to my tastes. But it was productive, the visitors invited me to join them in Portugal in September.

And on Sunday, other friends invited me to join them for dinner at a local restaurant. I brought this wine:

2020 J.L. Chave Sélection Hermitage Blanche Marsanne
Very, very nice wine. Lots of body like you expect from the grape but not overly so with orchard fruit, some secondary nuances and a mouthfilling, dry finish. We were surprised to notice, and we only did because the bottle was sitting in front of us on the table, that it's 15% alcohol. Neither I nor my dinner companions--all of us sensitive to high abv--detected it.

Meanwhile, the wine-geek owner of the best local deli was at another table, and we sent him a glass. In exchange, he sent us a glass of this:

2010 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée Red Rhone Blend
From a 500 ml bottle, not decanted in advance. Dark, lots of black fruit, with grippy tannins. Very backwards compared to some recent notes on CT, definitely needs more time. Was surprised by the bottle size--I recall years ago finding the Pegau Pink in 500 ml bottles, but I've never seen the red. Why do they do this size, does anyone know?

2010 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée Red Rhone Blend
From a 500 ml bottle, not decanted in advance. Dark, lots of black fruit, with grippy tannins. Very backwards compared to some recent notes on CT, definitely needs more time. Was surprised by the bottle size--I recall years ago finding the Pegau Pink in 500 ml bottles, but I've never seen the red. Why do they do this size, does anyone know?

That's news to me, too, Jenise, and I'm a bit of a Pegau fanboi. In all honesty, I wish more wineries bottled 500s, as that size is more appropriate for a dinner for two than a 750, at least in our household.

Tokay seems to be sold exclusively in 500ml bottles.

-Paul W.

I have seen the Pegau in 500 ml size too - all my 2004 is in that size (well, all except the bottle that someone - OK, it was SWMBO - dropped during the grand cellar move. Of course it hit another bottle and smashed but it was the only victim among 4,000+ other bottles,, so I couldn't cry about it very much.

I have no idea why they do 500 ml., except that it may possibly be viewed as a suitable luncheon size for a solitary diner?

They aren't the only ones that do that size - Anselme does it (the bottle that looks like a hunchback, dusted with fake cellar dust) and I also have some Loire Coteaux du Layon done in that size.

Oddly, that size is called a 'Jennie' and I haven't been able to track down why. Does anyone know?

[David M. Bueker]

I used to have a few 500s of Pegau. Long gone. Years ago there was a thread on eBob where the importer at the time provided the explanation. Sadly that info is gone. If I remember when I see the importer this fall I will ask.

Rhys in California has done 500ml bottles as part of their futures program. I still have a bunch.