Féraud “Domaine du Pégau” 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Réservée” (Rhône) – As this comes from the cellar of a friend that I’ve usually described as “glacial,” I expect it – like previous versions of this same wine from the same cellar – to be unready. It’s not; in fact, it’s beautifully mature, and I express some surprise. Of course, it turns out that the wine spent most of its life in said friend’s brother’s cellar, which explains things. Well, it’s nice to know that I can spot the difference. So, from normal cellars: drink nowish. What you’ll get is the usual aged-Châteauneuf meat juice, a little buffed up and muscular, with more polish than usual and a weight that was, once, expressed as heat but has now mostly integrated in a fashion I can’t quite (chemically) grasp…or maybe this is a transient pairing effect of the cheese with which we drank it. In any case, it’s as supple and sophisticated as any aged Châteauneuf of my experience, and while it doesn’t have a whole lot of complexity to show for its maturity, what it has is extremely nice. (9/11)

Féraud “Domaine du Pégau” 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – From an arctic cellar. Raw musculature, flexed and buffed. There’s a deep, dark, Rhône-ish throb of black earth and smoked heart, but it’s still very structured. Heavy without being overweighted, and from this particular source it has many years left to unclench before it’s a genial party guest. (7/10)

Féraud “Domaine du Pégau” 1994 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Réservée” (Rhône) – From a very cold cellar, so read what follows in that context. Rounding into form, but not yet done describing that arc. Classic earth, underbrush, meat, and antique funk – heavy on the meat, with just a little bit of stink; only the truly brett-averse will cavil – in a somewhat heavy-handed but not leaden package. The weight of the hand comes from an overabundance of structure, and I don’t know that the wine’s other elements will outlast that structure. But it’s enjoyable enough to drink now, so if this is an anxiety, why wait? Otherwise…wait. Not too long. (1/10)

Féraud “Domaine du Pégau” 1998 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Laurence” (Rhône) – Gorgeous, if shockingly young, with thickly-layered tannin. Needs to return to its rest for a while. (6/08)

Féraud “Domaine du Pégau” 1995 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Réservée” (Rhône) – The entire meat case (everything’s quite fresh, though), served thick, long, and complex. Wait, maybe I’d better walk back that comparison. It’s, uh, tumescent with Southern Rhônishness? Is that better? (2/08)