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| Domaine le Briseau "Mama Mouchi" Rouge NV |
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| This 100% Pineau d'Aunis from Nathalie Gaubicher is one of the most-loved wines at our shop. Vines are 60 years old, on average. Foot-trod, semi-carbonic maceration, with a small sulfur addition only at bottling. Lip-smacking blueberry, violets, white pepper, and a sublime mix of delicate fruit with earthy crunch. It's lightly fruited and nervy, but it has an underlying structure and texture that elevates it from something to chill and chug to something you can savor and contemplate. But don't hesitate to gulp it if you can't help yourself. If you have coulrophobia like me, be assured that the figure on the label is a mischievous fool— not a clown—and his motto is "Vigneron Non Conforme" or "Non Conforming Winemaker." I can get behind this fool. JK |
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| Domaine le Briseau “Patapon" Rouge 2020 |
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| This 100% Pineau d'Aunis from Nathalie Gaubicher is one of the most-loved wines at our shop. Vines are 60 years old, on average. Foot-trod, semi-carbonic maceration, with a small sulfur addition only at bottling. Lip-smacking blueberry, violets, white pepper, and a sublime mix of delicate fruit with earthy crunch. It's lightly fruited and nervy, but it has an underlying structure and texture that elevates it from something to chill and chug to something you can savor and contemplate. But don't hesitate to gulp it if you can't help yourself. JK |
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| La Grange Aux Belles "Brise d'Aunis" 2022 |
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| La Grange aux Belles has been around since 2004, and they are working with grapes grown on black schist in Anjou, giving the wines a bit more savory sheen than the limestone and clay mix found elsewhere in the Loire. The team of Julien Bresteau, Marc Houtin and Gérald Peau are known for excellent organic farming, meticulous grape sorting, and nothing in the cellar except for a small sulfur addition.Their Pineau d'Aunis is like the Oregon Pinot Noir version of this variety: smooth and luxe, with blueberry, violets, umami, and less pepper. Always a more limited run, don't miss it when you see it. |
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| Pierre Olivier Bonhomme 'La Tesniere' Pineau D'Aunis 2022 |
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| Many already know of Pierre-O's thirst-quenching wiener-dog label wine 'Telquel'. 'La Tesniere' is way beyond Telquel's easy glou-glou style, but it doesn't lose the thread of primal, thirst-quenching immediacy. Grapes are from a single vineyard in Cheverny, one of the original cuvées made by Pierre-O and Thierry Puzelat when they started the Puzelat-Bonhomme project back in the aughts. Pierre-O has been solo since Thierry went back full-time to Tue Boeuf in 2013. This is a lush, layered version of Pineau d'Aunis, one of the most bewitchingly delicious expressive versions of this grape. Sumac and white pepper with silky violet and black plum. Just the right amount of earthy texture to balance out the ripe, juicy fruit, with so many subtle overtones and complex flavors that emerge after opening. JK |
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| Domaine de Montrieux 'Grand Gousier' 2020 |
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| A layered, detailed Pineau d'Aunis from vines aging 55 to 120 years old. Lavender and pepper with ethereal boysenberry notes and elegant, tensile tannins. This will reward some time in bottle but a quick decant will also make this perfect to enjoy now. Once it opens up it's irresistible and beautiful. Ariane Lesne took over Montrieux's 3.5 hectares from Emile Heredia, another Pineau d'Aunis champion who began in 1999, another natural wine pioneer. Emile was a neighbor, and is now the husband, of Nathalie Gaubicher of Le Briseau. Grand Gousier is 100% whole cluster with 10 weeks of maceration. It's aged 8 months in fiberglass, with 20ppm sulfur added after malolactic transformation finishes. A charming example of the heights that Pineau d'Aunis can achieve with the proper care and attention. JK |
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