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Last Mays' trip to France with Bruce Neyers of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants was without doubt full of fantastic winery visits, exquisite dinners and great wines, but one of the stops on the trip that truly stood out was the visit to Pierre and Anne Breton in Bourgueil in the heart of the Loire Valley. A bonne degustation of the current releases is the norm here, and this years line-up of beautiful, soulful wines that truly capture the essence of their northern Loire climate and geology was no exception. After tasting in the cellar we moved out into a sparklingly beautiful sunny spring day for one of those impromptu little lunches that the French seem to throw together with such ease and grace: dried meats and saucisson of various types, crusty breads, piquant country mustards, pates, cornichons, a little roast Pork, roasted potatoes and vegetables, and of course an abundant selection of frommages.
On this lucky day, Pierre treated us to a tasting of some of the gems he has carefully cellared and stored in their cool cellars, including the 1995, an excellent year - ripe, full and solid, the 1992, a bit lighter (my wedding year!) but so pure, delicate and fresh still, and finally the 1986, Pierre's second vintage, mature and full of earthy gravely tones underpinned by leather and sous bois - a French term for underbrush aromas, think forest floor and autumn leaves.The only thing better than tasting them in this incredible setting was the offer Pierre made to make some of these available to our clients back home, which I am happy to present today. To order visit us online by clicking here! Cheers!
