2015 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Chalumaux”Comtesse de Chérisey
France | Burgundy
$120
Producers
Catherine and Pierre Breton like to party, and their wines make it easy to party: just one sip feels like an invitation to forget pressing matters and boogie down. Lively, fruit-driven cuveés such as Trinch!, La Dilettante, and Les Galichets have always captured the bon-vivant spirit of these friendly vignerons, but here is a relatively new bottling that, dare I say, boosts the boogie factor completely through the roof.
This wine in the Breton book is a pure old-vine Grolleau from soils of clay and silex. The result of a carbonic maceration in wooden vats, it clocks in at a mere 12% alcohol, and shows its best with a slight chill. Expect hints of pepper, tomato leaf, earth, and an explosion of juicy red fruit like raspberry and cherry, plus other little berries that burst under the tooth with brightly flavored nectar. We expect it to go fast, so don’t miss out on this novelty from our friends in the Loire: drink it frequently, in large quantity, and of course, don’t forget to quaff responsibly.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Grolleau |
Appellation: | Val de Loire |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Vineyard: | 60 years, .8 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone, Silex |
Aging: | Carbonic maceration for 3 weeks in an open-top wood vat, wine is bottled in the April following the harvest |
Farming: | Biodynamic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12% |
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Bourgueil
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Bourgueil
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Bourgueil
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Vouvray
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Vouvray
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Bourgueil
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.
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Bourgueil
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire | Sancerre
Château d’Épiré France | Loire | Savennières
Daniel Chotard France | Loire | Sancerre
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire | Bourgueil
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire | Reuilly
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur-Champigny
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur-Champigny
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire | Vouvray
Bernard Baudry France | Loire | Chinon
Thierry Germain France | Loire | Saumur-Champigny
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
Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
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