# Trinch! (2024)

- **Producer:** Catherine & Pierre Breton
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Cabernet Franc
- **Region:** Loire, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.0%
- **Average price:** €18
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** raspberry, strawberry, cherry, blackcurrant, blackberry, violet, black pepper, herbaceous

## About this wine

Catherine and Pierre Breton are absolute legends of the natural wine movement, having converted their estate in Restigné to organic and biodynamic viticulture in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The name 'Trinch!' is a joyous phonetic spelling of the German toast 'Trink!', celebrating the clinking of glasses. It is a nod to the Renaissance humanist and writer François Rabelais, a native of nearby Chinon. The 2024 vintage was a challenging, cool growing season in the Loire Valley, requiring meticulous vineyard management, but ultimately yielding a classical, highly aromatic, and beautifully fresh wine with lower alcohol levels.

## Interesting facts

- The name 'Trinch!' is the phonetic spelling of the German toast 'Trink!', inspired by local Renaissance writer François Rabelais.
- Catherine and Pierre Breton converted to organic farming in 1990, long before it was popular in the Loire Valley.
- The 2024 vintage was a 'winemaker's vintage' with cool conditions that yielded lower alcohol and highly expressive floral aromatics.

## Food pairing

This wine's high acidity and low, supple tannins make it incredibly versatile. It cuts through the richness of charcuterie and fatty meats like pork, while its bright red fruit profile complements roasted poultry. The chalky minerality and fresh herbal notes also make it a perfect match for regional Loire goat cheeses.

## Wine making process

Crafted from 50-year-old Cabernet Franc vines grown on the alluvial terraces of Restigné, featuring clayey sands, gravel, and pebbles. The grapes are hand-harvested and strictly sorted to ensure only pristine fruit is used. After being 100% destemmed, the grapes undergo a 15-day cold maceration to gently extract color and soft tannins without harshness. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for 10 months in large neutral wooden vats (foudres) and stainless steel to preserve its vibrant fruit character. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with only a minimal dose of sulfur added at bottling.