Domaine des Rochelles: Wines
I find the Anjou-Villages Brissac and Coteaux de l’Aubance cuvées to be of equal interest. Just as the former should not always be overlooked in favour of Saumur-Champigny or Chinon, the latter should not be assumed to be inferior to Coteaux du Layon or other sweet wine appellations.
At this level the Anjou Blanc, named Roches des Rochelles, is the most notable cuvée. This wine is 100% Chenin Blanc, from 30-year old vines, picked at about 30 hl/ha; the fruit is picked by hand, in two tries, on a plot-by-plot basis. This picking in more than one pass was instituted by Jean-Yves Lebreton, the aim being to obtain riper fruit, including some berries entering the early stages of botrytisation if at all possible, in order to give more concentrated flavours and more weight to the wine. The wine sees 12 hours of skin contact followed by fermentation, with bâtonnage for two weeks, and subsequent élevage in large 400-litre barrels.
The Anjou Rouge L’Ardoise comes from vines outside the Anjou-Villages Brissac appellation, or perhaps declassified fruit; it is mostly Cabernet Franc, with a little Cabernet Sauvignon blended in. It is managed in a similar fashion to the Anjou Blanc as it is intended for early drinking, with cold maceration first, than a cool fermentation in stainless steel.
There are several cuvées made under the Anjou-Village-Brissac appellation. The most recently introduced is Breton, a blend of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, from vines aged 25 years, picked at a yield of about 45 hl/ha. The fruit is picked partly by machine and partly by hand, and after sorting at the cellars it is then fermented in stainless steel vats with a cuvaison lasting perhaps 20-25 days. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in the same vat and is then left to mature for a year before bottling.
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