Pineau is a Punk Rocker (and other unavoidable puns)

I'm not talking about Pineau de la Loire (aka, Chenin Blanc). That’s more classical, across the range. Not Menu Pineau, either. I haven’t drunk enough wines based on it to slot it into a genre – acid jazz perhaps. Pineau d’Aunis? Now you’ve got it. Punk rock all the way. Pineau d’Aunis is energetic, nervy, sometimes clumsy, usually direct and almost always a little edgy. It’s loud but not without subtlety. It wears its heart on its sleeve.

It’s also the darling of both natural winemakers and natural wine afficionados. While there are approximately 500 hectares planted to Pineau d’Aunis (aka, Chenin Noir) throughout the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine, most of it ends up blended into regional reds and rosés. Nearly all of the handful of producers who make varietal Pineau d’Aunis, though, can be counted among the top ranks of the Loire’s independent, adventurous, natural wine growers. I think it’s not too much of a stretch, too, to call it the poster child for fans of small farm, idiosyncratic Loire wines. It’s an ancient vine championed by those that strive to make the voices on the fringe be heard. Here are a couple of recent cuts from two of its more renowned producers.


Touraine Pineau d’Aunis “La Tesnière,” Thierry Puzelat 2007
$20. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
Another piece in the Puzelat…. “La Tesnière” is varietal Pineau d’Aunis, farmed organically and biodymically on clay and flint soils, aged in 600-800 liter oak demi-muids and bottled without filtration. It pours the exact color of the strawberry jam that comes in those little plasti-sealed containers served at diners and greasy spoons across America. It’s a portentous hue, as sweet strawberry jam is the first scent registered by the olfactory nerves – spiked, as so typical with Pineau d’Aunis, with an assertive streak of ground white pepper. Bright acidity dances in the far reaches of the mouth. This is uncomplicated and delicious, a wine I could drink all day. It’s quite similar in style to the Pd’A from Clos Roche Blance, just a touch gentler and simpler. Says my wife, “It smells like when you’re in France and tasting in the cellars.”

As it opened a bit in the glass, rhubarb and clove emerged, the sweet fruited aspects of the wine hit right up front but quickly shifted to drier, leaner flavors. Something about its crunchy, fresh but slightly two-dimensional character makes me wonder if this might see partial carbonic fermentation. Anyone out there know for sure? In any event, the wine lost a bit of its nerve on day two but kept every bit of its ripe, strawberry driven fruit and kicked up a notch on the peppery scale. Chilling the wine down a few degrees muted the spicier side of the wine’s aromatic profile but brought out a much more refreshing texture. Very mutable, easily enjoyable juice.

Coteaux du Loir “Rouge-Gorge,” Domaine de Bellivière (Eric Nicolas) 2006
$25. 13.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
It might be fair to call Domaine de Bellivière the standard bearer for Pineau d’Aunis… makes sense to me at any rate. Their cuvée “Rouge-Gorge” is what got Cory started down the path of natural wine enjoyment, and it’s what kick started my own minor infatuation with Pineau d’Aunis a mere vintage back. The 2006 “Rouge-Gorge,” however, is not nearly as intense and provocative as that 2005, not is it as bright and immediate as Puzelat’s “La Tesnière” (though it should be noted that I’m comparing two different wines in three different vintages).

Muted aromas; muted on the palate, too. But this still has that signature prickly texture I associate with Pineau d’Aunis, like rolling a firm and particularly hairy strawberry around in your mouth. With coaxing, the nose did deliver some overripe strawberry, charcoal and light peppery character. 48 hours later, it actually showed much finer focus, along with more interesting scents and flavors of lime peel, dried cherries and thyme, though its fruit had begun to fade. Pleasant enough wine but really not all that compelling in the ’06 vintage, especially given the higher than average tariff on the d’Aunis scale.

The Bellivière back label talker (printed in a font so tiny and cramped that I had a damn hard time reading it) is colorful enough that I though it worthwhile to transcribe:

“Sheltered in the clay soil around the river Sarthe is the very natural red local varietal: the Pineau d’Aunis. It was introduced in the days when monasteries were common. Thanks to its uncanny similarity to its cousin the Chenin grape, it creates multi-faceted wines, showing off its richly varied aromatic palette, and its subtlety.

This is our red grape, therefore, which needs careful looking after. It produces age worthy wines in the best years, which hint at all the characteristics of the terroir. In doing this, it is a worthy addition to the list of great local gastronomic products. It makes for unexpected marriages with food, some of which can be quite exotic.”

And just in case the titular pun wasn't obvious enough....

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Notes from a Sunday

Just a few notes today, from a casual get together with the usual suspects. In this edition, we started off with a couple of beauties from 2005 in the Loire before moving on to a Bourgogne Passetoutgarin, which I already wrote up under separate cover earlier this week. With dinner, an older Bordeaux seemed in order. Finally, my buddy Bill begrudgingly admitted to a Syrah epiphany.

Jasnières “Les Rosiers,” Domaine de Bellivière (Eric Nicolas) 2005
“Les Rosiers” is Eric Nicolas’ young vine cuvée of Jasnières, 100% Chenin Blanc fermented and aged primarily in barrels of 1-3 years with a small percentage of new oak. Though usually sec-tendre in style, this seems closer to demi-sec richness, no doubt due to the concentration provided by the 2005 vintage. It also happens to be showing as well if not better than any whites I’ve had from Bellivière in the past. Its richness is well bridled, thanks to the good acidity bound up in the wine’s creamy texture. There’s an unmistakable essence of pear nectar right up front, followed by classic notes of clover flowers and honey-glazed minerals. After aeration, some botrytis driven and vegetal funk sneaks through on the mid-palate but there’s still excellent upper and rear palate feel. Pears galore on the finish. $25. 13.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.


Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale,” Château d’Epiré 2005
The “Cuvée Spéciale” from Château d’Epiré represents a selection of the best fruit from the property, mostly from a plot located adjacent to Nicolas Joly’s “Coullée de Serrant.” The version handled by d’Epiré’s US importer, Kermit Lynch, differs from that sold in France, as Kermit gives strict instruction that the wine be bottled without filtration. As opposed to the Jasnières above, this is a bone-dry expression of Chenin. Vintage derived concentration plays a role here as well, resulting in a slightly aggressive frontal attack, the result of intense physiological extract and slightly high alcohol. The wine bristles with mineral density. Flavors of gooseberry and white grapes are followed by dried floral and herbal elements, subtle on the nose, magnified on the palate. After a couple hours of airtime, a scent of spearmint emerges, something I think of as a signature element of dry Savennières. Very good wine that could definitely benefit from cellaring to allow integration and development. $23. 14% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA.

Haut-Médoc, Château Guittot-Fellonneau 1997
Guy Constantin produces real, old-fashioned Bordeaux from a whopping four hectares of property on the outskirts of the town of Macau. His estate is just a stone throw – on the wrong side of the road, essentially – from falling within the borders of Margaux. Lucky for us, as the wines could still be had for under $20 only a few years ago; unlucky for him as a more privileged address might have made him a slightly wealthier man by now. 1997 was universally panned by the big critics – proof “embottled” that points don’t mean a thing, as I’ve enjoyed several delicious ‘97s from a number of small-to-medium Châteaux over the last year or two. This has a long way to go but is starting to show some lovely bottle development. The nose is loaded with graphite/lead pencil aromas along with black and red currant fruit, a touch of bay leaf and really savory earthiness. Medium-bodied, taut and well delineated, it’s a damn good example of Bordeaux that’s not only inexpensive but can also be enjoyed with more than just steak and lamb. In this case, we paired it with braised chicken breasts and mushrooms, a dish Bill adapted from a recipe in Pierre Franey’s “Cuisine Rapide.” $17 on release. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Wine Traditions, Falls Church, VA.


Saint-Joseph Rouge, Domaine Georges Vernay 2006
Bill is a self-avowed Syrah hater. He loves red wine, mind you, as long as it’s from Burgundy, the Loire, Beaujolais or Piedmont. He’s even been know to drink Grenache based wines from time to time. But Syrah? Nope. I’ve been out to prove him misguided for a while now and the opportunity finally presented itself a few weeks back when I hosted one of these Sunday gigs at my place; most are at his. I’d given strict instructions that he not bring anything. Translation: he was at my mercy. I poured a bottle half-blind, meaning I knew what it was but the rest of my guests had no idea. It was a bit unfair, I suppose, not just because of the trap but also because it was an older bottle. A damn good one, at that, the 1997 Cornas “Vieilles Vignes” from Alain Voge, a really top-notch if somewhat underappreciated producer.

Bill liked it. After I told him what it was, he still liked it. So much so that he went shopping a little while later and came home with an armful of another Northern Rhône Syrah, the Saint-Joseph Rouge from Domaine Georges Vernay. Bill liked this one as well. I did too. It’s a really fine example of young Saint-Joseph, redolent of dark red berries, cinnamon and black pepper, with a streak of black olive and bacon, a hint of beefiness and supple but really visceral texture. Medium-bodied, no discernible oak and a totally transparent winemaking style. Sandwiched between Christine Vernay’s basic VdP Syrah, which is only about $10 less, and her Côte-Rôtie, which run three-to-four times the price, this is a really solid value, suitable for drinking now or stashing away for the next ten years. $30. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA.

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