Catherine et Pierre Breton, Clos Sénéchal, Bourgueil 2015

Founded in 1982 by Catherine and Pierre Breton, this Loire Valley estate lies along the east side of Bourgueil in the village of Restigné a small area on the north side of the Loire River. The Breton’s farm just over 27 acres of Chinon, Bourgueil and a bit of Chenin Blanc for their Vouvray, creating honest wines for both early consumption and longer aging. They became international icons by using organic farming methods and later converting to biodynamic farming in this region where climate and soil make this process difficult.  

Their Clos Sénéchal bottling made from the preeminent Bourgueil varietal, Cabernet Franc, and it is one of the top two red Bourgueil wines produced by the Bretons. The fruit comes from a parcel on the hillside above the plateau of Galichets, where clay and limestone soil sits atop the famed tuffeau of the Loire, the chalky white limestone for which the region is most known. The fruit for this bottling is first soaked in open wood vats following harvest, then fermented and aged in wooden vats. It is bottled without fining or filtration after 18 months of aging. Lively and bright, this Cabernet Franc reveals aromas of red and black fruit of great precision. The texture of the wine is vivacious and smooth, finishing with melted tannins. The perfect end of summer picnic wine!