Domaine Breton - 'Le Cabernet Franc', Bourgueil, Loire Valley, France (2022)

Just east of Bourgueil is the home of Catherine and Pierre Breton, 5th generation winemakers and growers. After taking the reigns of the family domaine in 1985, they quickly began converting the land to organic and biodynamic viticulture. By 1995, Pierre started vinifying without sulphur with the cuvée “Nuit d’Ivresse.” 

Today, they continue to work the land with care, making some of the region's best Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc.

The domaine farms two mono-varietal Loire grapes, Chenin and Cabernet Franc. They vinify as naturally as possible according to their principles:
- only using indigenous yeasts
- never adding chemicals
- limiting the addition of sulphur to the absolute minimum

Everything they do directly opposes so-called technological, standardized, and reproducible wines. At peak maturity, the grapes are sorted by hand and vinified naturally. The wines are bottled unfiltered, with less than 20 mg/litre of SO2 for reds, and less than 50 mg/litre of total SO2 for whites. Aging is done in neutral oak or cement, depending on the cuvée.