Château Pesquié, Côtes du Ventoux

Château Pesquié, Côtes du Ventoux

A winery that I have been following for many years, over which time I have developed a bit of a love-dislike (hate would be too strong) / frustrating relationship with. Putting to one side the fact that I think the Chateau and estate are some of the most beautiful spots in the region, this is always a slightly complicated wine – and not always in a good way. Over the years of drinking quite a lot of wines from this producer (since late 1990's) I have come to see something of a house-style, and it is one that will divide many. Perhaps it’s the cellar-style, but they (and by this I mean the red wines) can be a little idiosyncratic. This comes through in the whole range of reds from top to bottom. On opening you can taste they all come from the same winery – the same distinctive Brett, the same distinctive prickle of dissolved CO2 in the wines. Sometimes (usually) it lifts to let the wine show itself, other times I’ve ended up pouring the wine away when its just been overwhelming.

My advice would always be: don’t avoid these wines, but open the reds wines and decant at least 6-hours before drinking to open them up and shed a little of that funkiness.

In increasing order of depth, the wines (white and red) are branded: ‘Terasses’, ‘Quintessence’ and Artemia (the latter from old vines and made only in small quantities).

There follows an assorted tasting of wines and vintages purchased direct from the winery a few years previously:

Château Pesquié “Quintessence” 2003 rouge (Côtes du Ventoux, Rhône, France)

Old label looks a little backward on this now. This current bottle is a good example of the ‘house style’ I refer too. “Quintessence” is one of their top bottlings, but stylistically this is very similar to the “Terrasses”, even given the big differences in vintages. Deep in colour, the nose hurtles out of the glass at you. Startling levels of Brett with a whiff of something that makes you wonder whether there’s actually a fault. Standard for these wines. On tasting immediately after opening there is such a striking attack that it is not uncommon to start coughing. Standard for these wines. Once you’re past that you notice a slight prickle on the tongue of dissolved carbon dioxide suggestive of secondary fermentation in the bottle. Standard for these wines. Undoubtedly bottled without filtering. The palate is screamingly full-throttle with almost choking levels of smoky Brett, and yes, rustic appeal. BBQ wine second to none - this needs chargrilled food or strong hard cheeses and it will do them proud. As it happens, the initial funkiness and prickle in this wine dissipated over 24-hours. This has not been the case with some previous bottles. The problem is that whereas this bottle has got the balance right (although I dare say many would still disagree) for every few bottles like this one may have been poured away for just taking it too far. More than I care to remember have had some degree of dissolved CO2 almost hinting of secondary fermentation in them. This particular wine is from a difficult year and early-ish in the winemaking history of Château Pesquié. Was it clumsy wine making? Is it a statement? Is the winemaker still trying to find their expression? Your guess is as good as mine, but put this particular bottle with a BBQ steak burger or some particularly noxious French cheese and you won’t be disappointed so long as you can cope with a lot of Brett and a bit of funkiness. Drink now. 14% alc.

Château Pesquié “Terasses” 2005 rouge (Côtes du Ventoux, Rhône, France)

Following on from the Quintessence, this is stylistically very similar and despite being from the successful 2005 vintage there is not as much variation as I would have expected. Even more Brett on the nose of this – almost just mucky. Plate is a little lighter in body than the Quintessence, despite being two-years younger. It is still pretty fierce though. Drink now with bleeding red meat. Will probably drink well for another couple of years without deteriorating, although I note the bottle gives a 5-year drinking window (and this is now 7-years old). 15-16/20.

Château Pesquié “Quintessence” 2004 blanc (Côtes du Ventoux, Rhône, France)

Heavyweight bottle designed for body-pump training, much like the rouge, and same modern-design label. Rousanne / clairette blend. Back label advice of 5-year aging. This is now touching 8-years! Deep yellow in colour. Open nose of a very typical southern-Rhone white. Pears and blossom. Very full and rich in the mouth. Certainly not tasting old in any way. Heavyweight and fresh, this could pass for a white Chateauneuf. Really rounded and a little oily on the palate. Strong, bold, oxidative flavours. Acidity a little lacking. Tastes like the 13% alc that it is (in fact I suspect it is higher than this). Drink now. No idea what food to partner this with – this would overwhelm most common partners. Not to everyone's taste but again, personally I like it. 16/20.

Château Pesquié “Artemia” 2005 rouge (Côtes du Ventoux, Rhône, France)

Similar weight-lifting style bottle, and same design label. Decanted an hour in advance – probably should have been at least 12-hours in retrospect! Deposit thrown in bottom and tannin welded to the glass inside the bottle. 'Flagship' Grenache-Syrah blend: old vines, tiny quantities, big prices. Back label advice: 15 years ageing. Opaque, deep red. Open nose very much in the line of previous reds – house style you could almost say – heavy Brett nose. Palate has similar prickle of dissolved CO2. As with the other wines, this only got a fair showing the following day after 24-hours in the decanter. Brett and CO2 prickle completely lifted. Nose now much more primary red fruits and touch of vanilla. Classy and youthful. Chocolate and a little stewed-fruit there too. Palate extremely rich and smooth. Full bodied, but not overpoweringly so, fine tannins. This tastes really young still. Copious concentrated red fruits, cherries, there’s certainly a bit of ‘garrigue’ in there too, very much balanced with the tannin and acidity. This is indeed a wine for the long haul. Needs rich red beef and wild dishes to do it justice currently. Great stuff. 14% alc. Drinking beautifully now but will easily keep and develop depending on the style you like. The best of the Chateau's wines without any doubt, and the best wine I have tasted from them period. 16-17/20.