Vouvray La Dilettante, dry, biodynamic, lime, lychee, elegant. The dry Vouvray La Dilettante from Catherine and Pierre Breton is at the same time steely and soft, with notes of white flowers and chalk which mingle with blossom, minerals and notes of honey. It will reward ageing although in youth, its crisp freshness is a sheer delight with some goats cheese.

Catherine and Pierre Breton have been running their biodynamic estate just north of Restigné since 1997. In total they own around 15 hectares around the area, also in Bourgeuil and Chinon. Their wines scream the up-most respect for the land. The viticulture is scrupulously natural, avoiding all chemical fertilisers and weedkillers, restricting yields to something like 40-45 hl/ha (although some cuvées are below 35 hl/ha) and harvest by hand. In the cellars, the grapes are treated according to terroir: gravelly soils going into stainless steel, whereas grapes from clay-limestone vineyards are fermented in old oak vats. Only indigenous yeasts are used, filtration avoided, and sulphur is severely restricted with most cuvées receiving just 10 mg/l at bottling. Their Cabernet Francs are excellent, but their dry vouvray is one of our favourite expressions of Chenin in the shop.