Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  4/8/2009 (link)

  (PUZELAT P tit TANNIQUE) Tannique Dear Friends, This wine was quite popular in the US 3-4 years ago but it's become quite difficult to find, even in Europe (I haven't seen a bottle in the US since the 2004 vintage). After tasting the new release (2008) in France a few weeks ago, I knew it had to make a reappearance - it's that good. This is the quintessential nod to freshness and what makes the wine of the Loire Valley so unique and special. From what I call "beyond organic" viticulture, Thierry Puzelat produces the P'tit Tannique without the use of anything but the grape vine and his hands. The fruit and vinification are as natural as you can find (even in the Loire) but the result is not from the neo-oxidized style that is sweeping Touraine and Anjou. This wine is about bringing just-pressed grapes in their bright and beautiful splendor to the consumer, with a lightly effervescent, trapped gas style that is used to preserve the wine instead of chemicals. The effervescent tingle quickly blows off to reveal an absolute delight of low-alcohol red berry spice with tinges of smoke and soil - all without oak of any kind (if I remember, the 2008 only has 11.0% alcohol). If past vintages are any indication, by the time the wine arrives here in the late spring, the trapped gas will be gone (although I quite enjoy it upon first opening). Either way, this is a wine all of you would benefit from trying - it has educational as well as refreshing qualities, even for a red wine. The P'tit Tannique is produced from Gamay, which was one of the best Touraine varietals in 2008. It is blended with a small amount of Grolleau from some of the finest parcels in the Loir-et-Cher (it is not from 40% Pinot Noir as you may find in your research). Gamay in this area has a very pretty floral and rose-like backbone that lends an enticing aromatic texture to the wine. In the Loir-et-Cher, you have a completely different Gamay creature in limestone soil then you have in the granite of Beaujolais (with equal minerality on a lighter, waif-like frame). The wine is also made without any sulfur during vinification but a small bit is added before bottling to insure preservation. Officially rejected three times by the INAO as "uncommon", the Tannique will have to live with its designation as a table wine while other more proper representations of Gamay are adorned with a Touraine classification. Even in the progressive Loire, a conservative streak rules the governing board but I'll take this perfumed, delicate and weightless example any day of the week. This wine is not available in the US and there are no plans to send any to our shores (except this parcel). I'm bringing it in especially for our customer base simply because it is a dead-on example of what is really going on in vinous Europe circa April 2009. Others may focus on the 2008 Bordeaux campaign (why?) but the heart and soul of the common man on the Continent lies with this wine and others crafted in its mold. Like it or not, this is the future of wine in northwest France and it has already arrived. The 2008 P'tit Tannique has taken as direct a route from the vine to your palate as can be - it was only picked a few months ago and is already in bottle on its way to us. For a red wine, it represents a rare chance to taste the results of a vintage in its youngest, tank-like state and also to watch it evolve in bottle over the next few years. An intriguing and lovely example that I could drink several times per week and still look forward to the next bottle. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED This parcel is directly from the cellars at Thierry Puzelat with impeccable provenance (that was probably obvious): 2008 Puzelat Le P'tit Tannique Coule Bien (Gamay/Grolleau) ("the little ship sinks well - a play on words with the sinking of the Titanic, or, more accurately "the little boat that goes down easily" as an indication of how easy the wine is to enjoy) This wine is downright perfect for a summer afternoon, slightly chilled, but it expands rapidly with oxygen exposure and warmth in the glass to reveal a second and third layer of fruit and light-weight mineral tone. Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Loire8211