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2017 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
Catherine & Pierre Breton
I have had some amazing Les Perrières over the years—the 1997 and 1989 stand out—and I think that in time this 2017 will rank among them, but greatness was not my first impression. The first pour was surprisingly stingy, the wine closed off. The night was young, however, so I left the bottle alone while I prepared dinner. When I returned to the glass an hour later, the wine had begun, almost imperceptibly, to open up: the tannins softening, the greenness giving way to red fruit, beautiful earthy, spicy aromas rising from the glass. The change was remarkable. This continued over the course of the evening as the wine blossomed like a fragrant, kaleidoscopic tropical flower.
—Dustin Soiseth
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 |
Farming: | Biodynamic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
More from this Producer or Region

2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
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2020 Bourgueil “Nuits d’Ivresse”
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2022 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
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2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
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A delicate, aromatic red in the “drink now!” vein.
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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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.