Catherine & Pierre Breton 2025 "Trinch!" Bourgueil

100% Cabernet Franc

Loire Valley, France

Medium Body

“Trinch!" is a punchy, bistro-style Bourgueil that’s both structured and glou-glou. When served chilled, this bottling smells like a gravel road after a summer rain, firm and fresh.

Certified Organic, Certified Biodynamic

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It makes sense when you taste this bottle that the Bretons are famous for their pioneering role in natural wine. You might point to their mastery of organic farming and low-intervention winemaking methods—pillars of the movement—or their cuvées’ universal appeal, which goes in the face of the wine world’s sometimes elitist tendencies. But at the core of things, their cuvée Trinch! simply tastes like a product of nature: it captures the spirit of crushed Cabernet Franc grapes in their purest form, a jolly, slightly hazy nectar of brambles and peppercorn that has made its way into bottle for the sole purpose of our enjoyment.

Producer profile from importer Kermit Lynch: 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. The Bretons farm eleven hectares of vines just east of Bourgueil in the village of Restigné. They produce Chinon and Bourgueil, as well as a bit of Vouvray, creating honest wines for both early consumption and longer aging. The Bretons first introduced biodynamic practices into their viticulture in 1994, just after receiving their organic certification in 1991. Recently, they started the three-year process of seeking biodynamic certification. In fact, they have become international icons for the natural wine movement in an area where the climate and soil can make organic viticulture difficult.

The Bretons farm vineyards on varied soil types, including gravel, limestone, clay, schist, and yellow tuffeau. Their wines are made primarily from Cabernet Franc (known in the Loire, curiously, as “Breton”) with small quantities of Chenin Blanc for their Vouvray. Though Pierre is the principal cellar master, Catherine makes a series of cuvées under the label “La Dilettante,” or the Dabbler. Together, they divide their wines into three categories: Natural Wines (for easy consumption), Classic Wines (that represent the typicity of the appellations), and Wines of Terroir (vinified individually by parcel). The Wines of Terroir from Chinon and Bourgueil are destined for long life in your cellar. A 1964 made for unforgettable drinking in 2008! Each of the Breton cuvées is unique, with differences in soil, vinification, and élévage all playing a role while still demonstrating a familial resemblance. Catherine and Pierre are two of the hardest working people we know of in the wine business. This explains why their wines, despite the fact that they are totally natural and unadulterated, are so incredibly consistent; consistently delicious. Their achievements and contributions to the natural and organic wine movement globally cannot be underestimated.