Domaine du Pégau

The Féraud family had been established in Châteauneuf-du-Pape for several generations before the estate was formally created. Paul Féraud became fully involved in the family's vineyard work from the age of fourteen, when the holding ran to roughly twenty hectares and most of the crop was sold in bulk to wine merchants. In 1964, wanting to reveal the identity of his own wines, Paul began producing and marketing a cuvée under his own name, at about 2,000 bottles a year. His daughter, Laurence Féraud, studied viticulture and wine and added business and marketing training in Paris before returning to Châteauneuf-du-Pape to work alongside her parents. In 1987 she proposed creating an independent family estate, and she, Paul, and her mother, Odette Féraud, registered the name Pégau on an initial 5 hectares. "Pégau" refers to a 14th-century Provençal pitcher used during the popes' presence in nearby Avignon, a symbol linking the estate's history to its terroir. Over the following years the family gradually acquired additional plots, particularly of old vines, which enriched and structured the vineyard.

• Féraud family established in Châteauneuf-du-Pape for several generations before the domaine's founding
• Paul Féraud worked the family vineyard from age 14, when it totaled around 20 hectares mostly sold in bulk to merchants
• 1964: Paul Féraud began bottling and marketing his own wine under his own name, about 2,000 bottles a year
• 1987: Laurence Féraud, with parents Paul and Odette Féraud, registered the independent Domaine du Pégau on an initial 5 hectares; the name comes from a 14th-century Provençal pitcher tied to the papal era in Avignon

In January 2012, Domaine du Pégau added a single-block 41-hectare property to its holdings, which the family named Château Pegau. The property sits along the banks of the Rhône at Sorgues, between Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Avignon, on a terroir dotted with rolled pebbles that the domaine calls exceptional. Its 1,200-square-meter building was formerly a boatmen's relay. The vineyard lies within the Côtes-du-Rhône, Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, and Vin de France appellations, and the Château Pegau range includes Côtes-du-Rhône and Côtes-du-Rhône Villages cuvées as well as Vin de France bottlings such as a rosé (Pink Pegau) and Plan Pegau.

• January 2012: acquisition of a single 41-hectare block at Sorgues, between Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Avignon, along the Rhône
• The property's 1,200 m2 building was formerly a boatmen's relay; the surrounding vineyard is dotted with rolled pebbles
• Wines produced under the Château Pegau name fall in the Côtes-du-Rhône, Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, and Vin de France appellations
• Château Pegau lineup: Côtes-du-Rhône Cuvée Lône and Cuvée Maclura, Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Cuvée Sétier, and Vin de France bottlings Pink Pegau, Plan Pegau, and Pegovino

Domaine and Château Pegau together hold 21 hectares of Châteauneuf-du-Pape red vines and 2 hectares of Châteauneuf-du-Pape white vines, alongside 5 hectares of Côtes-du-Rhône Villages red, 23 hectares of Côtes-du-Rhône red, 3 hectares of Côtes-du-Rhône white, and 17 hectares classified as Vin de France. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard has three principal soil types: rolled pebbles (quartz stones carried from the Alps by the ancient Rhône, with origins in the Quaternary era, which store heat by day and release it at night; the ideal terrain for Grenache), sandy soils (finer, more elegant wines with silky tannins), and clay-and-sandstone soils rich in iron oxide (deep, complex wines). Named plots include La Crau, Pignan, Les Bosquets, Le Grand Pierre, La Solitude, Les Relagnes/Coste Froide, Mount Pertuis, Font de Michelle, Cabanes Saint Jean, and Les Escondudes, and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard is divided across about 11 parcels. The climate is Mediterranean; the vineyards sit in the driest sector of the Côtes-du-Rhône, and the frequent Mistral limits vine disease, concentrates sugars ahead of harvest, and protects against spring frost. Tradition holds that Châteauneuf-du-Pape is born from a blend of thirteen grape varieties; the domaine keeps up interplanting (complantation) of all thirteen on some historic plots, notably La Crau and Les Bosquets, a field-blend approach it calls the Symphony of the Thirteen Grape Varieties. Grenache noir accounts for close to 80% of the vineyard, with Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault.

• Holdings: 21 ha Châteauneuf-du-Pape red, 2 ha Châteauneuf-du-Pape white, 5 ha Côtes-du-Rhône Villages red, 23 ha Côtes-du-Rhône red, 3 ha Côtes-du-Rhône white, 17 ha Vin de France
• Three soil types in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard: rolled pebbles (linked to Grenache), sands (finer, more elegant wines), and iron-rich clays and sandstones (deep, complex wines)
• Named plots include La Crau, Pignan, Les Bosquets, Le Grand Pierre, La Solitude, Les Relagnes/Coste Froide, Mount Pertuis, Font de Michelle, Cabanes Saint Jean, and Les Escondudes; about 11 parcels in total
• All thirteen Châteauneuf-du-Pape grape varieties are interplanted on select historic plots (La Crau, Les Bosquets); Grenache noir is close to 80% of the vineyard, with Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault

The cellar work follows the same traditional approach as the vineyard. All wines, red, white, and rosé, from every appellation the family produces, are vinified in whole bunches. The red Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines ferment in concrete tanks, where the grape varieties are co-fermented together. For Cuvée Réservée and Cuvée Da Capo, the grapes are harvested by hand and not destemmed, then ferment spontaneously with native yeasts in concrete tanks over a 12-day vatting period. Both age 2 years in large 50-hectoliter foudres; Cuvée Laurence, made from the same blend as Cuvée Réservée, ages 4 years in the same type of vessel. The large old casks in use range in age from about twenty to more than a hundred years. For the white and rosé wines, whole bunches are pressed directly on arrival at the cellar and fermented on the juice, then aged either in stainless steel tanks or, for Cuvée A Tempo Blanc, in concrete and sandstone eggs with barrels.

• All wines (red, white, rosé, every appellation) are whole-bunch vinified; red Châteauneuf-du-Pape ferments in concrete tanks with co-fermented varieties
• Cuvée Réservée and Cuvée Da Capo: manual harvest, no destemming, native yeasts, concrete tank, 12-day vatting, 2 years in 50-hectoliter foudres
• Cuvée Laurence: identical blend to Cuvée Réservée, aged 4 years (versus 2 years for Réservée) in the same 50-hectoliter foudres
• Casks in use range from about 20 to over 100 years old; whites and rosé are pressed directly and fermented on the juice, aged in stainless steel or, for Cuvée A Tempo, in concrete/sandstone eggs plus barrel

Cuvée Réservée Rouge is the domaine's emblematic red: 80% Grenache, 6% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre, and 10% other permitted varieties, grown on pebbles over argilo-calcareous soils with iron and sand. It is dark red with purple highlights, with ripe red fruit, juniper, pepper, and garrigue that evolve toward stone fruit, leather, and undergrowth, and an estimated cellaring of 5 to 20 years. Cuvée Da Capo is a single-vineyard selection from La Crau, blended from 70% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre, and 20% other varieties grown on Crau sands, pebbles, and red clay; it is released only in exceptional years and has been produced eight times, in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2020. Cuvée Laurence Rouge shares the Cuvée Réservée blend but spends twice as long in foudre, developing cinnamon, pepper, and cured-meat notes, with an estimated cellaring of 5 to 15 years. On the white side, Cuvée Réservée Blanc (60% Clairette, 20% Grenache Blanc, 10% Bourboulenc, 10% Roussanne, aged 8 months in stainless steel) is a small production of about 4,000 bottles, while Cuvée A Tempo Blanc, which the domaine presents as Da Capo's little sister, comes from biodynamically farmed vines and blends equal parts Clairette, Roussanne, and Grenache Blanc, aged 18 months in concrete and stoneware eggs and a 3-year-old barrel; 2014 was its first vintage. Under the Château Pegau label, Plan Pegau is a Vin de France blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Merlot, and 20% other varieties, drawn from three vintages and aged in 5-year-old barrels.

• Cuvée Réservée Rouge: 80% Grenache, 6% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre, 10% other; 2 years in foudre; estimated cellaring 5-20 years
• Cuvée Da Capo: 70% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre, 20% other; single-vineyard La Crau selection; produced in 8 vintages to date (1998, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2020); estimated cellaring 10-25 years
• Cuvée Laurence Rouge: same blend as Cuvée Réservée, aged 4 years in foudre; estimated cellaring 5-15 years
• Whites: Cuvée Réservée Blanc (Clairette-led, about 4,000 bottles, stainless steel aged) and Cuvée A Tempo Blanc (biodynamic vines, equal Clairette/Roussanne/Grenache Blanc, first vintage 2014, concrete/stoneware egg and barrel aging)

Wine Advocate scored the 1998 Cuvée Da Capo, the first vintage, at 99, and the 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2010 each received a perfect 100. Robert Parker called the 2000 "a monument to old vine Grenache as well as traditionally made Chateauneuf du Pape," and of the 2003 he wrote that the cuvée had been produced for the fourth time and had received a perfect score for the fourth time. For 2015 and 2016, Jeb Dunnuck rated the wine 98+ and 100 ("traditional, classic Châteauneuf Du Pape doesn't get better," he wrote of the 2016), Wine Advocate scored the same vintages 98 and 99, and the 2016 drew 97 from Wine Spectator and 95-97 from Vinous. Wine Advocate scored Cuvée Réservée Rouge 96 for 2009, 98 for 2010, and 93 for 2011, with Parker calling 2010 "a brilliant vintage for Laurence" and pointing to "a blockbuster finish."

• Cuvée Da Capo: four vintages (2000, 2003, 2007, 2010) received a perfect 100, Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)
• 1998 Cuvée Da Capo (first vintage): 99/100, Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)
• 2015 and 2016 Cuvée Da Capo: Jeb Dunnuck 98+ and 100, Wine Advocate 98 and 99; Wine Spectator 97 and Vinous 95-97 for 2016
• Cuvée Réservée Rouge: Wine Advocate scores of 96 (2009), 98 (2010), and 93 (2011)

Primary sources (the domaine's own site, pegau.com): home, history, terroir, traditional know-how, our wines (index), and individual wine pages for Cuvée Réservée Rouge, Cuvée Da Capo, Cuvée Laurence Rouge, Cuvée Réservée Blanc, Cuvée A Tempo Blanc, and Plan Pegau. Secondary sources: en.chateauneuf.com (the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation body's own site, for appellation-level context and the domaine's listing) and The Wine Cellar Insider (producer profile, for production-volume figures and the count of vineyard parcels, where the domaine's own site is silent). Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the domaine's own site and a secondary source disagree, the domaine's own site governs; see conflicts.json.