DOMAINE BRETON PAST WINES
2021 TRINCH
This cuvée is made entirely from Cabernet Franc. These thirty-year-old vines are located in the commune Bourgueil on gravelly clay and limestone. Before fermentation, the grapes were cold macerated in stainless steel to emphasize aromatic intensity without over-extracting. Fermentation occurs in open-top wooden vats for several weeks before the wine is pressed off. After élevage in the same tanks, the wine is bottled with minimal SO2. 12.5% ABV
2020 LA DILETTANTE VOUVRAY SEC
Right across the river from Montlouis-Sur-Loire, you’ll find the small commune of Vernou sur Brenne in Vouvray. The fifty-year-old vines here are planted in clay and silex. The grapes are gently whole-cluster pressed into stainless steel for fermentation and a short élevage. The wine is filtered before bottling, but minimal SO2 is used. It has a few grams of residual sugar and typically doesn’t go through malolactic fermentation. 12.5% ABV
2021 ELLE EST PAS BULLE LA VIE?
This wine is made from Chenin Blanc grown in Vouvray on clay and silex soils. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed into stainless steel for fermentation. When the wine is nearly dry, it is racked and bottled, where it completes fermentation under pressure. It is released at 5 bars and roughly 10 grams per litre of residual sugar. It is unfined, unfiltered, and sees no additional SO2.
2020 TRINCH
This cuvée is made entirely from Cabernet Franc. These twenty-year-old vines are located in the commune Bourgueil on gravelly clay and limestone. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on skins for 18 days in large wooden tanks. After élevage in the same tanks, the wine is bottled with minimal SO2.
2020 BEAUX MONTS CHINON
The town of Beaumont-en-Véron is in the western part of Chinon. They started renting this plot in 2006, working with a young organic grower. The 40-60-year-old vines are planted on typical clay and limestone in several parcels. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in open-top vats before being pressed off into foudres and barriques for a year-long élevage. 13.5% ABV
2018 CLOS SENECHAL BOUGUEIL
Above the gravelly plateau of Galichets, you’ll find Clos Sénéchal high on the hillside. Pierre’s family has owned about a tenth (1.5ha) of this lieu-dit for roughly 200 years. The 50+-year-old vines sit in a mix of clay (argile éolienne deposited by winds) and brilliant limestone over tuffeau – the ideal combination for age-worthy Bourgueil. The grapes are mostly destemmed and fermented in open-top vat for several weeks. The wine is then pressed off for an extended élevage in foudres. Due to this wine’s inherent power, it is released later than most of their cuvées. 14% ABV