I know I'm cheating. But I'm cheating to be in the spirit of the Winecask by sticking to the inexpensive end of the scale instead of going for the big guns. The troubling part of this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday was trying to pick wines that I actually wanted to drink, something I could get excited about. Fact is, the reserve term is used by two factions, the first is the old guard Napa crowd, like Mondavi, Martini, and Beringer. They make both plonk and perfection, but perfection is very pricey indeed, the "regular" being $15 or so, the "reserve" between $80 and $135. I had an $80 2002 Martini Monte Rosso cabernet at a tasting last week, and I would think it's a great $30 bottle, but a pretty poor $80 bottle. So when I went to my local wine shops, the only wines to choose from were the extreme variety. And I'm not going to pass up any old Mondavi reserve Cabernet! Some of those are very rare treats. The second faction is the Kendall Jackson set where the difference between the two may only be a few dollars and I don't want either one.
Which brings me to my choice of the month, something I can get excited about, with the same basic grapes, from the same basic part of the world, for very basic prices.
Long time readers know that I have a special place in my heart for Domaine du Pégau. 
When I visited Laurence Féraud (as seen at the right), her father Paul, and her husband, Mark Fincham at their estate in January of 2004 it seemed that they were on the cusp greatness. With what would turn out to be a 100-point wine in the foudres (the huge old oak barrels used in Chateauneuf du Pape) and a growing association with Andre Brunel and other wine sources, Laurence was excited about expanding her "Sélectionné par Laurence Féraud" line of table wines. The "regular" Pegau wine is marked "reserve" and is around $80 new, the "reserve" is the Da Capo (featuring a little song by the Corkdork on the label), which after Mr. Parker's 100 point rating, is fetching around $700 a bottle.
Though Laurence's Plan Pégau is a house wine chez Corkdork ($11.99), I had never seen her "Plume Bleue" until last weekend at the Wine Thieves in Lafayette. I couldn't believe that anyone in the U.S. could be selling a wine made by Laurence Féraud and Mark Fincham for $8.99 --no misprint. So I bought a bunch of it! So for this tasting, let's call the 2004 Plume Bleue the regular wine and 2004 Plan Pégau the reserve. This seems appropriate for the strata of wine that my friends at the WineCask blog are all about. 
What's the excitement about with these two wines? They are both so much better than the average Aussie chug for the same price, both with distinctive varietal character and a sense of place --terroir. And, the difference between the two are very similar to other "reserve" vs. "regular" bottlings. Typically, the regular bottling of an average wine is more approachable and the reserve is more complex --or the reserve is simply more of what the regular gives you, i.e., more aromas, more acid, bigger wood, etc.
The Tasting: 2004 Plume Bleue vs. 2004 Plan Pégau
The Plume Bleue 2004 is a smooth wine, immediately likable and approachable, especially if you're looking for something for a burger, or little chop. It's a blend of Syrah and Grenache and has a very Rhone-ish feel to it. The nose is clean and very lovely for a wine of this price. The wine has a very New-World flavor, and distinctly newer oak. For the Aussie loving set, it seems to have a more forward Syrah flavor than Grenache flavor. The wine is dark and round, with few edges to it --clearly made for "now" drinking. I think this is an unbeatable value for $8.99.
One step up gets you more. The Plan Pégau 2004 has more stones and soil in the nose, more distinct Rhone funk on the nose, and a lighter, more elegant body that is closer to that of a Pinot. The Rhone character comes out from the touch of 2002 Pégau reserve that is blended in, I assume in small enough amounts to be still considered a 2004. The acids are bright and piquant and the flavor is reminiscent of a real Chateauneuf du Pape, with the tiny price-tag of only around $17.
My recommendation is that you should pick up some of any of this you can find, and don't sit on it, drink it up with something casual and be thankful that you picked it instead of some boring Rosemont Shiraz!
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