STORY
Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme got his start in wine when he dropped out of high school and hooked up with Thierry Puzelat. A rising Loire valley winemaker at the time, Thierry had just launched a négociant project that was growing rapidly and he needed help, fast. Pierre- Olivier joined the operation and eventually ended up running the whole thing while Thierry explored other ventures. When the time came for Thierry to exit altogether, Pierre-Olivier took over. The house style of Puzelat-Bonhomme is known for being unapologetically wild and seriously natural, making wines that go beautifully with food.
HOW TO
The wine from Pierre that we’ll be trying this month is one of his more obscure offerings–In Côt We Trust. This humorous name, a play on the local name for Malbec, is a light, zippy expression of this variety you likely know best coming either from South America or Cahors in the south of France. Both of these expressions are considerably fuller and riper expressions of Malbec, the chilly Loire Valley typically offers up crunch red fruit, considerable acidity, and an unmistakably peppery finish. It’s absolutely a red to drink with a chill and with charcuterie. This particular example is a wonderful opportunity to taste an unabashedly natural wine that’s had some time to settle out in bottle. Though it is certainly not truly mature at 5 years of age, but the secondary characteristics have begun to shine through.
