Domaine des Rochelles
Located in Saint Jean des Mauvrets just a stone’s throw from the waters of the Loire and directly north of Brissac-Quincé, the story of Domaine des Rochelles and the wines of this region, in particular Anjou-Villages-Brissac, are intimately entwined. It was here that Anjou stalwart Hubert Lebreton, a key figure in the development of the appellation and once head of this family-run domaine, essentially defined the style that the dry wines of Anjou should follow. His work is widely acknowledged as having been central to the legal definitions of the Anjou (in 1936), Anjou-Villages (in 1987) and Anjou-Villages-Brissac (in 1998) appellations.
Today Hubert has long since yielded control to his son Jean-Yves Lebreton who now runs the domaine, assisted by his wife Anita. Hubert and Jean-Yves are, however, the third and fourth generations in the history of Domaine des Rochelles. The full story of this domaine actually goes back at least another couple of generations, to a time before the vine came to dominate. My story begins more than one hundred years ago with Edouard Lebreton, before I move on to look at significant recent developments here (including the fifth generation, now taking the helm), followed by an examination of the vineyards and wines on the next two pages.
Please log in to continue reading: