2005 Puzelat-Bonhomme Pineau d'Aunis Touraine La Tesnière

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 89.3 points

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  5/17/2023 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine: 95 Points

  This bottle exemplifies the better half of the range of variation from this case. Black pepper-steeped elixir of green and black plum. One of its facets suggests something Northern Rhône. But it's more soft and pale than such a thing can be. I'm drinking it now after 24 hours open—a scrupulously defended portion. I could have expected disintigration, but am surprised to find it in peak bloom. Strawberry coulis, black tea concentrate. Tonnage of flagstone, tumbling and elastic. This is one of the finest wines I've ever drunk. I'm gladly drinking the sediment.

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  3/11/2022 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine: 91 Points

  EYE: vibrant brick and blue. NOSE: subtle, raspberry coulis, Mexican chocolate. MOUTH: black pepper. Tannic. Exotic jam and glycerin is locked under bracing iron dust.* It's an eclipse allowing fruit and spice a noiseless background for etic perception—mirabelle plums, ceylon cinnamons, birch mints, kirsches. The biologically shocked condition of this bottle makes it all the more interesting with food—the sharp, mineral edge engages fat, clearing the way for insurgent, ripe, juicy, produce.
  *A symptom of cold-cellar shock. I've drunk 3 and tasted a 4th of these 2005s since 2018, which I would score in the 92-95 point range. Lagering at <50°F for months stunned this bottle. For a more hedonistic performance, keep it stood up at 60°F for longer than a few days.

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  2/5/2022 - ssouth Likes this wine: 91 Points

  And now for something completely different
  
  2005 Thierry Puzelat Touraine Pineau d’ Aunis
  Alc 12.5%. Earthy nose. Great pepper and plums with underbrush. Some soy notes. Really nice
  Still has years of life left

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  7/3/2015 - JimW712 Likes this wine: 88 Points

  tart cherries, earthy
  
  good with roasted chicken

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  5/7/2008 - bevetroppo wrote: 87 Points

  Autochthonous. That's an ugly word for one of the most beautiful concepts in modern winemaking. It means native or indigenous, in our context a grape that comes from a specific place and whose existence is inextricably linked to that heredity. The rediscovery of autochthonous varietals in Italy and France is something that a real wine lover can cheer, because it literally speaks to a renaissance of character, soul, and authenticity that is the antithesis of an international style. After all, how can it be international if no one knows what the hell it is to begin with? Such is the case with pineau d'aunis, which as I understand it, is a discarded Loire varietal that produces insipid plonk when mistreated (who even makes that stuff?), but here in the care of Thierry Puzelat yields a wine of dazzling individuality and unique appeal. Despite the spelling and pronunciation, it has nothing to do with pinot noir. The wine is darker and gives off a distinctive aroma of fresh strawberries and forest floor, maybe even a hint of mushrooms under decaying leaves, but it's all good. The flavors are distinctive, combining the strawberry fruit, earth tones, and dry but short, dusty tannins in a beautiful package. I may be giving this a little bit of extra credit for being off the beaten path, a "violet by a mossy stone," as Wordsworth would have it, but try this 12.5% beauty alongside anything from a burger to salmon and see what you think. Around $16.
  
  I think I got a little carried away on my first pass. I stand by my comments, but I don't think it has the length or depth to rate a higher score than this.

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