PM Spirits Pineau de Charentes

Our last day of PM Spirits samples from Nicolas Palazzi is a Pineau de Charentes. Palazzi has been on a one man mission to popularize Pineau de Charentes, the spirit made from combining brandy with barely fermented juice made from grapes with their skins, stems and seeds left on. Usually, they are unaged, but Palazzi likes to age them. This one is younger than his previous release. It consists of a one year old Grande Champagne Cognac made with Ugni Blanc grapes which was aged for an additional four years after it was mixed with the juice.

PM Pineau de Charentes, JEP 01, 4 yo, 17% abv ($50)

The nose has a strong lychee fruit note. On the palate, it's crisp and acidic with green grape notes. It's not nearly as sweet as many Pineau. It trails off with a sort of musty grape note that's pleasantly funky.

I really like this one. For being as young as it is, it doesn't have any of those youthful, new make type notes, and whereas I usually prefer Pineau chilled, I like this one at room temperature where I can really taste all of its elements. This stuff is just delicious; it's the type of thing I could definitely develop a craving for. It would be a great apertif before a holiday dinner.

A big thanks to Nicolas Palazzi for this week's samples. I continue to be impressed at Palazzi's knack for consistently bringing in high quality, unique spirits.