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Vouvray Brut “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre BretonWith three decades’ worth of Loire harvests under her belt with her husband, Pierre, plus her own “dabbling” with Chenin Blanc since 2002, Catherine Breton is undeniably an authority on biodynamic farming and natural winemaking. Using these methods, she produces this fine sparkling Vouvray—bone-dry thanks to an extremely low dosage, richly honeyed and complex from refermentation in bottle, and mouthwateringly stony from the flinty soil. Sixteen years after vinifying her first Vouvray, it appears Catherine is “La Dilettante” no more.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Vintage: | NV |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Vouvray |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Pierre Breton |
Vineyard: | 40 years, 5 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | Wine is raised for a minimum of 12 months before bottling and a minimum of 11 months after. |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
More from this Producer or Region
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2022 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
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2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
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2019 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
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This divine red allies the power and finesse one would expect from this great terroir.
2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
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For this Vouvray, Paul has opted for a demi-sec style utterly unique in its combination of honeyed richness and flinty verve. This bottling is hard to resist on its own, but you might also try serving it with a simple cheese platter.
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
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A delicate, aromatic red in the “drink now!” vein.
2022 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
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Peppery and bright, earthy and juicy all at once.
2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
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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.
2020 Bourgueil “Nuits d’Ivresse”
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Bottled without any sulfur whatsoever, here is a seriously playful Cab Franc from the masters of vinous fun.
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.
More from Loire or France
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2023 Reuilly “Les Pierres Plates”
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2022 Anjou Rouge “Clos de la Cerisaie”
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2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
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2020 Sancerre Champs d’Alligny
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2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2018 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Chardonnay
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2022 Sancerre
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2023 Reuilly “Les Pierres Plates”
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2018 Vouvray “La Moelleuse”
Champalou France | Loire
2022 Vouvray
Champalou France | Loire
2021 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
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