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2015 Bourgueil “Les Galichets”
Catherine & Pierre BretonThe philosophy at Domaine Breton can be summed up by this quote from Jules Chauvet, known as the godfather of natural wine: “To succeed in wine, as in life, one must live dangerously.” Controlled risk-taking is indeed a fundamental element of winemaking with Catherine and Pierre Breton, from their reliance on ambient yeasts for fermentation to their scrupulous use of sulfur and decision to bottle reds unfiltered. But with more than twenty-five harvests under their belt, this fun-loving couple has mastered the nuances of crafting world-class wines using these methods. This cuvée showcases 50 year-old Cabernet Franc vines planted on gravelly, alluvial soils not far from the banks of the Loire. It is an irresistible Bourgueil, rife with peppery aromas (paprika, black pepper) and ripe red fruits. It has structure, yet the finesse of its tannins allows them to glide over the palate almost unnoticed, enabling uninhibited quaffing. Chauvet would have been proud!
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2015 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Cabernet Franc |
Appellation: | Chinon |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Vineyard: | 50 years, 3 ha |
Soil: | Gravel |
Aging: | Wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered after one year in stainless steel |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12% |
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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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Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch