“Just Drink It”: Pierre Breton Commits Copyright Infringement
Posted on: 04/26/18 7:59 PM
I bought a solid chunk of this on the spot after tasting it. Juicy, sweet fruits in a medium bodied package, bristling with energy and begging for another glass before even finishing the first one. It is THE PERFECT early summer wine. Drink it with a chill, drink it at room temperature, drink it with food, drink it as an aperitif, but whatever you do, just drink it.
2017 Breton Bourgueil Avis Vin Fort Clairet
A pun on the maritime warning “avis: vent fort/beware: strong winds,” this wine is for staying at port and drinking, rather than going out to sea to work. And, damned if it doesn’t deliver. This is the type of wine you drink by the gallon: juicy, sweet red and black Cabernet Franc fruits, great acidity, a light-medium body and a come hither quality that demands you ravish this wine with great rapidity! A case won’t be enough!
More about the Wine:
Pierre and Catherine Breton are legends. At the vanguard of the natural wine movement for decades, the couple have been an important fixture not only in the Loire, but in France broadly. Well regarded for their wines of great purity and energy, the Bretons make Cabernets Francs that excite and age very well from Bourgueil and Chinon.
But the Bretons don’t just make “serious wine.” No. The Bretons make wines to drink. Here’s how Kermit Lynch puts it:
“Catherine and Pierre Breton are the real life bon vivants vignerons of lore. They are passionate about what they do, they enjoy sharing it with others, and they entertain with a generosity and charm. That they make great wine with such integrity makes our appreciation of them complete.”
All of that is really just a euphemism for the fact that Pierre and Catherine like to party. A lot. What do you need to party. You need wine that you can drink, and drink in vast quantities. And so, yes, Pierre and Catherine make some of the Loire’s great ageable Cabs Francs – Chinon Beaumont or Bourgueil Les Perrières, for example. But, they also make several cuvées that are really meant to drink with abandon.
The Avis Vine Fort Clairet is definitely one of them. And it is JUST. SO. GOOD. The wine seems to follow the cork out of the bottle, demanding you open another before you have even poured a glass! Wines like this deserve more appreciation in the world of fine wine. Wine is not just about collecting. It’s about drinking. This is a wine for drinking. Just drink it!
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