Pineau d'Aunis nearly disappeared. It was once planted all over the Loire, then got ripped out in favor of grapes that ripened more reliably and sold more easily, and today only a handful of growers still bother. Domaine Tardieux-Gal, in the village of Thesee in the Touraine, is one of them, farming organically on clay-limestone and vinifying with native yeasts, a short ten-day maceration and six months in steel, so nothing gets between you and the grape. And the grape is unmistakable: crackling white pepper over tart red fruit, in a red so light you should serve it cool. It's a Loire original, and it makes almost everything else on the table taste better.