Les Quatre Piliers Touraine Première Cuvée Pineau d’Aunis 2021

This is a single-variety Touraine red from Pineau d'Aunis, a Loire grape that came close to disappearing in the 1970s.

Pineau d'Aunis is now planted to around 500 hectares, chiefly in the less-travelled corners of the Loire such as Touraine and the Coteaux du Loir, and it has become a favourite of growers working with minimal intervention. At its best it combines a fragrant, wild-strawberry and red-flower perfume with genuine peppery spice and a fine, silky texture, which is very much the register Les Quatre Piliers works in. Low yields are central to the purity here, as is a restrained approach in the cellar: a little hand plunging during fermentation and only a small sulphur addition at bottling. Ageing takes place in Valentin Desloges' bespoke oak barrels, whose staves he selects and dries in-house before they are coopered in Burgundy. The wine spends 12 months on lees and is bottled without filtration.

Approachable now and good for a few years yet; serve lightly chilled at 14 to 16°C with charcuterie, roast pork or a peppered steak.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.