Perspective Pineau d’Aunis

This bottle was given by a friend.

Before drinking it I read Bert Celce’s treatment of the domaine. The fact that Celce visited is tantamount to an A-grade recommendation. When he broached the topic of machine harvesting I found a list of questions. Here is the relevant text:

“For the Pineau d’Aunis, there’s a prior maceration, not really carbonic because the grapes are mostly machine-harvested and as a result, destemmed in the vineyard. After the maceration which lasts from 2 to 3 weeks with regular punching of the cap, which also helps keep the temperature in check … Speaking of the harvest mode, he says that he used to be opposed to machine harvesting but the technolgy of these machines has improved and he considers that it is possible to have a good result with them. He took shares in a CUMA (a miniature coop where neighboring growers and farmers share costs of heavy machinery) for access to a harvester machine and a mobile bottling line.”

Machine harvesters can be a useful proxy for sub-natural, industrial wine. Why? They damage grapes, inviting spoilage, which requires prophylactic sulfur additions, and then a host of corrective controls aimed at biological monoculture. It’s easy for anyone to taste the difference. Also, to limit damage to grapes, there is an incentive to harvest earlier, before the fruit is properly ripe. I’m convinced this is a factor in the ubiquity of grapefruit-flavored wine on store shelves. Also, old-style machine harvesters are known to throttle and stress the vines. They are not useful in stands of old, indigenous creatures (massale), and never on steep slopes. Some of the best importers refuse to work with growers who use machines.

Technology advances, and there are reports to credit the use of modern machine harvesters. Are these apologies, or a proper defense? I don’t believe a thing I read. Only drinking can support the argument. And now I have that rare object to help separate this variable.

According to Celce, Jean-Marie Renvoisé ferments his grapes with wild yeasts, without chaptalization nor acid adjustments. This could not do without grapes of quality, the kind normally associated with hand harvesting.

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Jean-Marie Renvoisé 2015 Coteaux du Loir, Pineau d’Aunis

EYE: pale and vibrant. NOSE: subtle. Suggestive of blooms, meats and minerals. Fruit appears in a supportive, fine weave of cherry, strawberry, and plum. MOUTH: bracing. Trace solution of gas yields to nervous, sappy acidity. There’s a ripe, transparent layer of ropy tannins. Discreet bursts of tart, red berry juices characterize the climax. TIME: time and repetition accentuates a deep, imposing mineral—blue, reflective, and blanched. The botany grows ever chewier and sticky, while maintaining fresh, leafy twig umami. Busy, heroic juices are restrained in their sweetness and scented of rose. The gas solution plays pepper. I check it visually—a tall, threaded pour produces a pale cloud which soon breaks into murmuration. (If only my camera could focus on it!)

It’s breezier and more stoic than my usual references for this variety. Salty and austere. The style reminds me of Domaine Dinocheau’s, while the quality stands apart from it. Maybe, at a similar age, Poivre et Sel will converge on this utility. In terms of quality and style—not vine taxonomy—it reminds me of red wines from Domaine Peillot, and Shelter Winery in Baden. It also reminds me of Val d’Aoste in general, the Pays Nantais, Schiava, and Trollinger. So many memories!

FOOD: I’ve got some Merguez sausages thawed and ready to combine with a Peruvian style lentil in sofrito. Only two prepared ingredients. Such is the convenience of selective grocery shopping.

91 points.

correction: four ingredients, counting cilantro and lime

It’s a scientific fact that Pineau d’Aunis pairs well with spicy meat. I know because I worked in a BBQ with a wine list. The very last sip of the wine with lamb sausage chimed like a minty musical note harvested from cool May earth. Fantastic.