Olivier Cousin "Pur Breton" 2024

Press 4 Mix/Red • June/July 2026 Direct Press Selection Olivier Cousin is in semi-retirement these days. He has fully earned his stars as a natural wine pioneer in the Loire Valley. He's scaled back his production and given up most of his acreage to his son Baptiste, who is a leading natural wine figure in his own right. Cousin's wines are still as wild and uncompromising as ever, yet I also am pleased to find they withstand a level of scrutiny that separates them from lots of natural wine that is later to the party. They are not just funky, they are not simply a checklist of clichéd natural wine 'flaws.' Instead, they are deep, soulful wines with structure, power, and a playful spirit — and some funk, of course, but not enough to dominate, only enough to add layers and color. Cousin is not cashing in on a trend, he is a true believer who has gone on trial, literally, for making wine the way he does. 'Pur Breton' is 100% Cabernet Franc, planted in the 1980s. The grapes are hand-harvested, brought to the winery by a horse, destemmed and gently pressed. Only natural yeasts are used and the juice undergoes an extended maceration. Aged in old oak barrels. It's a crunchy wine this vintage, lighter and snappier than previous versions. Aromatically complex, with dried flowers, wild raspberry, and a whiff of the horse barn. Blueberry skin, white pepper, and a little graphite. Mouth-coating but light and invigorating all the same. Chill it down for lamb burgers, grilled asparagus, or bo ssam. Zero sulfur added. Jonathan Kemp