2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Da Capo
By Domaine de Pegau
2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Da Capo from Domaine de Pegau, Rhone
In the pantheon of esteemed Rhone wines, the 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Da Capo from Domaine de Pegau holds a special reverence. This giant of a climate, the sun-drenched year of 2003, gave rise to wines of immense stature and inimitable character - they are truly the result of a once-in-a-lifetime astral aligning.
Harvesting Heat: The Scorching Summer of 2003
Undeniably, the oppressive heat and drought-stricken conditions of 2003 would be a challenge for any viticulturist. But Domaine de Pegau harnessed this adversity to produce a Chateauneuf-du-Pape vintage with unprecedented depths of formidable fruit concentration.
The resultant wine is intriguing and dense, boasting an overwhelming emphasis on black fruits - think crushed blackberries and simmering bramble jam. They sit alongside rich Asian spices, enlivened further by an undercurrent of garrigue herbs and well-matured leather.
Aging Gracefully: The Investment Potential
The 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Da Capo underscores Domaine de Pegau's assured mastery over their terroir. With an endearing capacity to age graciously, the 2003 vintage could easily serve as one of your cellar's most coveted cornerstones.
Keeping in mind that fine wine investment potentials lie in a combination of prestige, rarity and ageing ability, this near mythical vintage undoubtedly ticks all the right boxes. Over time, the robust tannins have mellowed, allowing the wine to shed its youthful exuberance to evolve into a more composed and nuanced iteration of itself.
And So, We Toast...
In summation, the 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Da Capo from Domaine de Pegau, with its intoxicating medley of dramatic dark fruits, compelling complexity and formidable longevity, makes it an intriguingly investable wine. Its ability to both capture and echo the character of the extraordinary 2003 vintage only reinforces its importance in your fine wine portfolio.
This is a perfect moment in history captured within a bottle - an urbanely eloquent shout from the hills of Rhone.
Market price (CAD)
$9,440.00
12x75cl
Highest score
100
POP score
283.5
Scores and tasting notes
For the fourth time, the Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has been produced, and for the fourth time, it has received a perfect score although I might back off the 2000's perfect score based on the fact that it seems to be more of an upper-ninety point wine than pure perfection these days. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has distanced itself ever so slightly from the 2003 Cuvee Reservee. Before bottling and immediately after bottling, these two wines’ differences were not as evident. At present the Capo reveals that extra level of flavor, power, complexity and richness. It is a big wine (16.1% alcohol – less than in the 1998, but more than in the 2000 and 2007) boasting a dark plum/garnet color as well as a stunning bouquet of aged beef intermixed with pepper, herbes de Provence, and steak au poivre. This unctuously textured, full-bodied Chateauneuf possesses enormous body, huge flavors and sweet, velvety tannins. Still youthful, it has not yet begun to close down, and I’m not sure it ever will given this unusual vintage. It is a modern day classic that should continue to provide provocative as well as compelling drinking for 20-30+ years. Always one of my favorite places to visit, Laurence Feraud and her father, Paul (a speed fanatic who raced in on a motorcycle during my visit), conducted a fascinating tasting in their cellars. As value hunters know, several of the low end offerings here are wonderful expressions of Provence that deserve to be taken seriously. Under the family’s negociant label, Selection Laurence Feraud, there are some noteworthy efforts that are well worth checking out. As for the Domaine du Pegau estate wines, I had not yet tasted the 2007 Cuvee Reservee or 2007 Cuvee da Capo from bottle, and when I did, they lived up to all my previous accolades. Here are some in-the-bottle reports on recent vintages of Domaine du Pegau’s Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee, Cuvee Laurence and Cuvee da Capo. I have been buying the Cuvee Reservees since 1979 and the greatest examples include the 1981, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 2003 and the 2007. Not that the other offerings are not high quality, but as Shakespeare said, “Comparisons are odious.” Importers: Dan Kravitz, Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347-9400; Martine’s Wine, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400; and J & R Selections, Lansing, MI; tel. (517) 393-4441
Robert Parker Jr - The Wine Advocate, 30 October 2010