WHAT

Red

WHEN

2023

WHERE

Thoré-la-Rochette, Loir-et-Cher, Loire, France

Anne-Cécile Jadaud and her partner Tanguy Perrault run Domaine Perrault-Jadaud near Amboise — Anne-Cécile as the oenologist, Tanguy as the viticulturist, together since they met teaching at the wine school in Amboise. The Sergent Pepper isn't from their own vineyards. It comes from a single, tiny 0.30-hectare plot of organic Pineau d'Aunis farmed by Dominique Norguet in Thoré-la-Rochette, in the Loir-et-Cher department of the Loire. Anne-Cécile buys the grapes but controls every decision — when to pick, how to handle them, all of it.

Pineau d'Aunis is one of the Loire's native grapes and one of the most distinctive reds in France — light on its feet, naturally peppery, with a herbal, floral quality that makes it unlike anything else. This version is hand harvested, de-stemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts in fiberglass vats for 14 days, then left to rest in the same vats for six months before bottling with minimal SO2. The result is exactly what you want from this grape: watermelon, white pepper, crushed red flowers, brambly fruit, and soft tannins that disappear and let the freshness do the talking.

Serve it cool, not cold. Drink it with duck, Thai food, charcuterie, or just on a warm evening when you want something red that doesn't feel heavy. It earns its name.