I DRANK a lovely bottle of Domaine Pegau's Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1999 recently which reminded me that I have been neglecting for too long the wines of the Rhone Valley, in particular the wines of southern Rhone.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1999, Domaine du Pegau Feb 14, 2017, dinner at home S$123, FOB London

A surprisingly youthful deep red, with the barest suggestion of a pale rim at the edge. Similarly, a surprisingly youthful bouquet of fully ripe red and black berry fruit preceded a lovely, full, well balanced, deeply fruity palate, finishing clean and long. A joy to drink. Remarkably, the wine still retained vestiges of youthfulness at this age.