One of the Loire’s rarest red grapes, Pineau d’Aunis is downright obscure compared to the region’s golden child, Cabernet Franc. As with many of France’s grape varieties, Pineau d’Aunis was nearly wiped out by phylloxera in the 1860s. A notoriously finicky grape, it was widely replaced with easier-to-grow, higher-yielding varieties. Pineau d’Aunis acreage had been in steady decline until around twenty years ago when local vignerons, fearing its impending extinction, began an effort to put the indigenous variety back on the map. Only about a thousand acres are planted to Pineau d’Aunis in France today. In the Coteaux du Loir appellation, Pascal Janvier dutifully tends his vines to craft a 100% Pineau d’Aunis cuvée—the only bottling of this extraordinary grape in our entire portfolio. 
     In the glass, his Cuvée du Rosier looks (and often drinks) like young Pinot Noir. Its bright strawberry and sour cherry notes lead into a spicy finish recalling cracked pepper. Juicy and lively thanks to a palate-tickling hint of effervescence, it is best served slightly chilled, as you would a Beaujolais, and can be paired with anything (or nothing at all), but goes especially well with tricky-to-pair dishes that have a kick. This wine is truly a knockout with spicy food, and the KLWM staff delights in swapping stories of matchmaking it with the plethora of worldly takeout options we have in and around Berkeley. The compilation of Janvier’s rouge with hand-pulled sesame paste noodles from Oakland’s Shan Dong restaurant is one of my all-time greatest hits. From zesty curries to kimchi bibimbap, a chilled glass of this hidden gem cuvée will refresh a sizzling palate like a cooling elixir, while at the same time enhancing all the flavors at table.

The wines from Domaine de Reuilly have been a cornerstone of our Loire portfolio for years, and with the dynamic Joseph de Maistre now at the helm, I’m looking forward to many more vintages from this benchmark domaine. With fine red fruit and a minerality that lightens up thick slices of saucisson or a toothsome jambon-beurre, Domaine de Reuilly’s Pinot Noir offers Burgundian elegance at Loire prices.

Vintage 2021 produced elegant Cabernet Francs laden with floral, raspberry, and black tea notes, and they’re just hitting their stride. Joguet’s refined Varennes du Grand Clos has fine-grained, mineral tannins—the product of healthy vines tended by skilled hands—that seem to melt into the richness of a marbled steak or seared duck breast in an almost magical way. This succulent alchemy is a welcome reassurance that, at least when it comes to food and wine, a classic pairing need not be fussy to be greater than the sum of its parts.