Catherine + Pierre Breton Vouvray Chenin

Catherine + Pierre Breton Vouvray Chenin typifies the Loire Valley’s canonical white grape. With green apple, lime zest and white flower aromas revealing a palate that is crisp and ripe, with a lively presence and mineral finish.

Catherine + Pierre Breton Vouvray Chenin comes from 40 year old vines growing on sandy-silica-clay soils. In order to make their wines ‘naturally” (i.e. with the minimal amounts of intervention possible), they focus on bringing in the healthiest fruit as possible from the vineyards into the winery. Once harvested, fermentation takes place spontaneously with natural indigenous yeasts. Maturation then takes place in old oak for 8 months and a rough filtration of the gross lees takes place. The wine is unfined and minimal SO2 is added (5mg/l) at bottling for stabilisation.

Pierre and Catherine BRETON, Restigné – Certified Organic by Ecocert, Certified Biodynamic by Demeter, natural

A husband-and-wife operation in the Loire Valley, the Bretons have recently celebrated their 40^th vintage. They have built their reputation on making pure Cabernet Francs from Bourgueil and Chinon using biodynamic viticulture and vinification.

The Breton philosophy stems, in their own words, from a love of the land. The vineyards see ultra-intense organic care, no mean feat in this northerly clime. Avoiding chemical fertilisers and pesticides, restricting yields to around 40-45 hl/ha (although some cuvées are below 35 hl/ha) and harvest by hand. The Bretons use indigenous yeasts and their desire for natural winemaking comes through strong in their resistance to the use of sulphites, with typically just 10 mg/l added at bottling to many cuvées, although some are bottled without any sulphites at all.