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2017 Bourgueil “Nuits d‘Ivresse”
Catherine & Pierre BretonCatherine and Pierre Breton are no strangers to having a good time. If you peruse Bon Appétit, you may have read a story in the December 2019 issue in which the author recalls “standing in a small warehouse in the middle of the Loire Valley of France at three o’clock in the morning watching an apparently legendary 60-ish vigneron named Pierre Breton dancing to Blue Suede Shoes.” Combine that anecdote with the name of this cuvée—“drunken nights”—plus the fact that unsulfured reds like this one are often made in a glouglou (that is, gulpable) style, and you might expect the 2017 Nuits d’Ivresse to be a simple, delicious quaffer. It is indeed delicious, but this cuvée is the Bretons’ argument that serious, age-worthy wine from a top-notch terroir can be made without the addition of sulfur, which most winemakers use to stave off bad bacteria. Creating this ambitious a wine without sulfur is an incredibly difficult and scientific feat, one that the Bretons have masterfully achieved here. Made from fifty-year-old Cabernet Franc vines planted in clay and limestone—as opposed to other sandy and gravelly patches of Bourgueil—Nuits d’Ivresse evokes eating fresh blackberries in a pine forest. Simultaneously plush and structured, it is ready to drink now after a little decanting, but it also will evolve beautifully for at least ten years.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Cabernet Franc |
Appellation: | Bourgueil |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Vineyard: | 50 years, 3 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | The wine is vinified in barriques and kept in wood for a year then bottled the following December a little over a year after harvest |
Farming: | Biodynamic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
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Fresh and punchy Cabernet Franc from fun-loving Catherine and Pierre Breton. Light, juicy, and ready to go. Drink young, drink chilled, drink plenty.
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About The Producer
Catherine & Pierre Breton
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
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2018 Chinon Blanc “Clos de la Plante Martin”
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2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
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2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
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2021 Vin de France Blanche
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2022 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Les Grézeaux”
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2019 Vouvray “Le Portail”
Champalou France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
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2022 Chardonnay
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
Vintage Chart Mentality
Vintage Chart Mentality
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch