Purchased in Paris at les Caves d'Auge (after much unsuccessful
> searching for this varietal) and brought back to Maine last fall, I
> finally got around to opening it with my winegeek friends last night on
> the occasion of my brother's birthday.
>
> This wine was all kinds of weird. �Billed as a Vin Gris, it was actually
> darker than many Pinot Noirs that I've had. �Perhaps that had something
> to do with the ripe vintage?
>
> Pulled the cork, stuck my nose in the neck, and was greeted with a whiff
> of pencil lead and shavings. �I immediately passed the bottle around
> before this blew off so other could experience it. The thing is, I need
> not have hurried, because it didn't blow off.
>
> The aromas were complex. �Adjectives around the room ran the gamut:
> pencil lead, roses, pine bark, Asian five-spice, marigolds, cinnamon,
> earth, pot-pourri, etc...
>
> The aromas largely followed into the palette, though I can't say I've
> ever eaten pine bark or a marigold. �The floral character came out more
> with air-contact.
>
> So, is this typical? �I found it extremely interesting, though I'm not
> sure I'd but it THAT often were it less rare. �Everybody liked it
> though, not just for it's uniqueness, but for the challenge in
> understanding it.
>
> Chris
>
> --
> To e-mail me, replace the domain name with "roadrunner.com"
The complex aromas and "weirdness" are somewhat typical (I like). What isn't typical is the color- PdA is usually quite light (the rose/gris ones I've had could almost pass for white, the reds tend to be quite light colored).