With three decades worth of Loire harvests under her belt with her husband, Pierre, plus her own dabbling with Chenin Blanc since 2002, Catherine Breton is undeniably an authority on biodynamic farming and natural winemaking. Using these methods, she produces this fine sparkling Vouvraybone-dry thanks to an extremely low dosage, richly honeyed and complex from refermentation in bottle, and mouthwateringly stony from the flinty soil. Sixteen years after vinifying her first Vouvray, it appears Catherine is La Dilettante no more.

Anthony Lynch