TN: a Pineau d'Aunis from a warm vintage We have a friend of David's staying with us this week, and he's vegetarian. Betsy went for one of her fallback no-meat recipes last night, a pasta with spinach, mushrooms, and lemon. Sides included green salad, tomato salad, and chicken (no reason to get TOO vegetarian) :) The pasta dish goes ok with white or lighter reds, so I thought I'd open a bottle of the 2003 Thierry Puzelat Pineau d'Aunis. Like most 2003 Loires I'd heard nasty rumors about this, but since (a) I've liked the reds better than the whites & (b) I already owned it and have to drink the damn bottle sometime, I felt it appropriate. Even accounting for the 2003 vintage, this wine was a surprise from first pour. While my pineau d'aunis experience is meager, everyone I've had till now resembled a dark ros=E9 (except for the ros=E9, which looks more like a white poured into a glbutt that previously held a red). This, however, was a rather deep vibrant garnet red. I checked the label- yep, pineau d'aunis. OK, now to the tasting. Hmmm, rather floral nose over some raspberry fruit. First taste is a little needlely, is that acidity or a tiny bit of petillance? Whatever, it seems to settle down quickly. Lots of red berries on the palate- cranberries, strawberries, raspberries. Lots of fruit, but lots of balancing acidity, there's some Proven=E7al herbs and a hint of mineral on the finish. Nice berry fruity wine. Ok, so this is a poor example of a Pineau d'Aunis, not a good case of typicity. But I think it would show credibly in a blind lineup of cheap to midpriced C=F4tes du Rh=F4nes or Languedocs! My expectations are exceeded, B Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. 
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