Casual get together with some of the guys for wine and meat (lamb chps & steak...even the salad had meat in it). We ate and drank quite well, but the following was the height of geekiness for the evening, a side-by-side comparison of the two releases of 1999 Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape.
1999 Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape (Original release)
Deep ruby red. Herbs, earth, a touch of funk and then deep black fruit on the nose. A touch rustic and tannic, but fantastic depth of fruit that carries the day through a long herb-tinged finish. Enjoythis now if you like some rusticity, but do not be afraid to age this longer. The leathery notes have not even started to come out.
1999 Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape (Late release)
Similar but just a touch darker in color. Less herb and earht on the nose and even more depth of fruit. I actually found it a touch closed on the nose. But it was on tasting that this wine really stood out. The depth of fruit is even greater, and while there is a tannic spine, the wine is as much like drinking velvet as a Chateauneuf can be. Astonishingly different from its sister bottling, with more immediate appeal, but also better balance for long aging. Fantastic.
The stellar performances by these bottles was even enough to wash the horror of the 2003 Alban Reva Syrah from my mind.