It’s who you know, not what you know as the saying goes. Though in this case, perhaps a little bit of both. Marcel Lapierre gave Pierre Breton Kermit’s number back in the early nineties, sensing the introduction might lead to something great, and he was right. At the time, the Bretons had just converted to biodynamic viticulture and were drawn to the methods of Jules Chauvet, who had inspired a quiet revolution in the Beaujolais. One day, the Bretons—now joined by their daughter, France, and son, Paul—will undoubtedly go down in wine history as the vignerons who made Loire Valley wines fun. Whether it’s a spirited sparkler, an exuberant rouge, or something seriously ageworthy, their wines capture that elusive je ne sais quoi that will forever be celebrated by natural wine lovers. If you needed a sign to familiarize yourself with this beloved winery, this sampler is it.
     We’ve selected a few touchstones from the winery, including Catherine’s sparkling “La Dilettante” Vouvray. With its fine mousse, stony aromatics, and honeyed orchard fruit, it can act as a delightful apéritif or memorable bottle to close out a meal. Try one of their easy drinking Bourgueils—“Trinch!,” for example, which is a light-footed, young-vine cuvée that’s punchy and bright with loads of cassis and licorice notes. While their more fanciful wines represent one side of the Bretons’ personality, they have a serious side, too. Their other specialty is an opus of age-worthy, old-vine vins de terroirs, like the flinty “Les Perrières” or pedigreed “Clos Sénéchal.” The former is a chiseled, sturdy Bourgueil, vibrant and elegant, while the latter is densely layered, with anise, ample fruit and a touch of green peppercorn. Both will age gracefully over the next twenty years, but are brilliant now.
     In the time Catherine and Pierre have been vignerons, the region they call home has become an epicenter for low-sulfur, minimal-intervention quaffers, but purity of terroir and savoir-faire continue to set their wines apart. If our collaboration with the Bretons has been so fruitful over the years, it’s thanks to a shared belief in wine’s greater purpose: that it brings people together.