Domaine des Rochelles, 2024 Update
Although the field is perhaps not that large, the Lebreton family of Domaine des Rochelles hold the coveted (I think!?) and internationally recognised (surely!?!?) accolade of having produced the greatest examples of Coteaux de l’Aubance I have ever tasted. Not the super-late harvest Ambre de Roche des Rochelles, which comes dripping with concentration and dried fruit, but the more classically styled Tradition cuvée.
I like an impressive, sugary, dried-fruit liquoreux cuvée as much as the next sweet-toothed Chenin addict, but the richer these wines are, the less regional typicity they exhibit. And super-high levels of residual sugar can have a similar effect to ultra-high levels of alcohol in your favourite St Emilion; while the wines offer power, density, texture and concentration they can sometimes lack a little freshness, and a second glass does not always hold as much appeal as the first. The Tradition cuvée, however, when at its best, blends a well-judged degree of sweetness with fresh minerality, a trace of bitterness and super acidity, the four essential elements of any Ligérian sweet wine. Perfection in a glass.
Another Anjou speciality at which the Lebretons have long excelled is Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a mistake to assume this Bordelais variety is a recent arrival in the Loire Valley, especially in Anjou where both climate (warmer and drier than some other regions both upstream and downstream) and soils (there is schist and slate here, warmer than the cool limestone and clays that otherwise dominate) are conducive to its cultivation. The merits of this variety, and its suitability for this region, were being actively discussed one hundred years ago, and they still are today.
