Calvet Rose d'Anjou Wine 2018, 75 cl

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The two major grape varieties of the Anjou are Chenin blanc, known locally as Pineau de la Loire, which is used for dry, sweet, still and sparkling wine and Cabernet Franc which is used mostly for rosé and still red wines. [12] The sweet wine production of Anjou is highly dependent on favorable climate conditions and experiences marked vintage variation from year to year. The character of the vintage and climate will ultimately determine what type of wine will be produced. Many of the vineyards in the Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux, Quarts de Chaume and Coteaux de l'Aubance AOCs are located on sheltered slopes along tributaries of the Loire. In favorable vintages, the late summer and early fall months will bring climate conditions that encourage moisture and mist in the morning and enough sunshine in the afternoon to promote the development of favorable Botrytis cinerea rot instead of less desirable forms of grape rot. [9] In exceptional years where there is enough warmth and dry weather during the harvest months, the grapes will be left on the vine to raisin in a process known as passerille. This method desiccates the wine, removing moisture and concentrating sugars, without adding the nuance of flavor that Botrytis does. [4] The table below contains all postcodes on a two day service. Please note all deliveries to Northern Ireland are also on a 3-5 days service. Anjou AOC - The boundaries of this AOC extend into nearby Saumur, allowing some of the wine produced in that region to be sold under the Anjou AOC label. The basic Anjou Rouge can be produced from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pineau d'Aunis and tend to be medium to full bodied. Basic Anjou Blanc can range in style from dry to sweet and light bodied to full. [9] They must be composed of a minimum 80% Chenin blanc with Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc permitted to fill out the remaining 20% of the blend. According to wine expert Tom Stevenson, both the reds and whites wines have the aging potential of only a few years after vintage. [3] Coteaux de l'Aubance AOC Located along the river Aubance, this AOC covers sweet wines made entirely from Chenin blanc planted in the schist vineyard soils of the region. To qualify for the Coteaux de l'Aubance AOC designation producers must harvest the grapes in tries. In 2003 a special designation of Coteaux de l'Aubance Sélection de Grains Nobles was set aside for the grapes harvested at sugar levels of 230grams liter (as opposed to 204 g/L) with residual sugar levels of the finished wine reaching a minimum of 34grams per liter (as opposed to the previous standard of 17 g/L). Due to the high cost of labor and low production, many producers in this area are converting their vineyards to the red Cabernet varieties to produce the rosé wine Cabernet d'Anjou. [3] When in doubt, Bond always chose the station hotels. They were adequate, there was plenty of room to park the car and it was better than even chances that the Buffet de la Gare would be excellent. And at the station one could hear the heart-beat of the town. The night-sounds of the trains were full of its tragedy and romance.

Quarts-de-Chaume AOC Most of the land in this appellation near the village of Chaume once belonged to the abbey of Ronceray d'Angers who required from tenant vignerons tithes in the form of 1/4 (a quarter or "Quarts") of their yearly production. From this history, the name Quarts-de-Chaume was attached to the Chenin blanc wines of this region harvested and produced in a manner similar to those in Bonnezeaux. [3] Along the river Layon is the commune of Rochefort-sur-Loire which contains the village of Chaume with a long making tradition that finally received AOC designation in the early 21st century. In 2003 the INAO granted the request for the sweet wines from this region to be called Chaume 1er Cru des Coteaux du Layon AOC. Made entirely from Chenin blanc, these wines are most often the product of passerillage or "raisining" on the vine than of infection by noble rot. Yields were restricted to no more than 25 hectoliters per hectares as grapes were harvested with a minimum of 238grams per liter with at least 34grams of residual sugar in the finished wine. [3] The producers in the Quarts-de-Chaume AOC, located on the plateau southwest of Chaume, took exception to the new AOC particularly the inclusion of the term 1er Cru (or Premier cru) which has a quality association with the wines of Burgundy. The producers of the Quarts-de-Chaume AOC felt that consumers would equate Chaume 1er Cru des Coteaux du Layon as being of a higher quality than their own wines and such their own AOC designation was being devalued. [10] In response to these concerns, the INAO renamed the AOC in 2006 to the shorter Chaume AOC. [11] Quarts-de-Chaume AOC producers still felt that the close associate between their AOC and Chaume was causing damage to the value of their wines and continued to object to the AOC naming. In response the INAO disbanded the Chaume AOC entirely in 2009. Now wine produced in this region must fall under the larger Coteaux du Layon AOC designation. [10] Other appellations [ edit ] Anjou wine is produced in the Loire Valley wine region of France near the city of Angers. The wines of region are often grouped together with the wines of nearby Saumur as "Anjou-Saumur". Along with the wines produced further east in Touraine, Anjou-Saumur make what is collectively known as the "Middle Loire" (as opposed to the "Upper Loire" which includes the wine regions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. [1] Within the Anjou wine region are several Appellation d'origine contrôlées (AOCs) responsible for a broad spectrum of wines including still red, white and rosé produced with varying levels of sweetness. Extending across the Deux-Sèvres, Maine-et-Loire and Vienne départements, the generic Anjou AOC appellation and its various sub-appellations encompasses vineyards across more than 151 communes. [2] Rosé was once considered a summer wine but increasingly more people are drinking it year round with almost every type of food and on any and every occasion. Fruity rosés e.g. pinot noir rosés and off-dry Loire and traditional Portuguese rosés with a touch of sweetness such as Rosé d’Anjou and Mateus Rosé

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a b H. Johnson Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 124-125,144 & 188 Simon and Schuster 1989 ISBN 0-671-68702-6 Wine expert Tom Stevenson describes the wines of the area as being a " microcosm of the Loire Valley", featuring wines made from every grape variety and in almost every style produced in the entire Loire wine region. [3] Among the wines of Anjou, Savennières is noted for its dry Chenin blanc wines and the Coteaux du Layon for its sweet dessert wines that includes the botrytized wines of Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume. Various rosé wines are produced in the region under different AOC designation include Rosé d'Anjou, the most basic level made predominantly from Grolleau, and Cabernet d'Anjou which is usually made from Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. [4] For most of its history, dry red wines have represented a small percentage of Anjou winemaking but in recent years the numbers have been steadily increasing—aided, in part, by the 1987 establishment of the Anjou-Villages AOC designation for red wines which can be made from only Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The Gamay grape of the Beaujolais wine region has had a long history in the Anjou with its own Anjou-Gamay AOC. Grapes from around the region can go into basic Anjou blanc and Anjou Rouge AOC wines. [5] History [ edit ] Angevin winemakers in the Middle Ages were one of the few Medieval producers to blend both the vin de goutte (free run juice) with the vin de presse (pressed wine) which added tannins and color to the wine. Anjou-Villages AOC The boundaries of this red wine only AOC was first delimited in 1986 but did not go into effect until the 1991 harvest. Made entirely from Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon, these wines have an aging potential of 2–6 years after harvest. [3] There are 46 communes in the appellation allowed to produce grapes for this AOC. [7] But what food goes with rosé? As with white or red wine, the best pairings depends on the style of rosé you're drinking and whether they're dry, sweet or sparkling. a b c J. Robinson. Jancis Robinson's Wine Course, Third Edition. Abbeville Press, 2003. pp. 180-184. ISBN 0-7892-0883-0.

Coteaux du Layon Villages AOC A sub-appellation of the Coteaux du Layon AOC, this wine region covers six communes along the river Layon that have historically produced wines of high quality. The six communes are Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Faye-d'Anjou, Rablay-sur-Layon, Rochefort-sur-Loire, Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné and Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay. According to wine expert Tom Stevenson, there are noticeable differences among the wines produced by each commune (all made from Chenin blanc) with the wines of Beaulieu-sur-Layon being characterized by their light aromas; Faye-d'Anjou wines having a distinctive brushwood aroma; Rablay-sur-Layon wines tend to be the most bold and round; the wines of Rochefort-sur-Loire tend to be full bodied and have the most aging potential; Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné wines are characterized by their delicate aromas that develop over time and the wines of Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay often have very round mouthfeel and robust flavors. [3] a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t T. Stevenson The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia pg 282-286 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ISBN 0-7566-1324-8 These rosés are also a good wine pairing for brie, camembert and other white-rinded cheeses so long as you don't let them get too ripe and runny. Fresh figs make a good accompaniment. Anjou Gamay AOC This appellation maintains nearly the same boundary as the Anjou AOC but is dedicated to wines produced 100% from the Gamay grape. Similar to Beaujolais nouveau, these wines can be produced as Vins de primeur and released as early as the third Thursday of November following harvest. [3]

Viticulture and winemaking [ edit ] Cabernet Franc is an important red wine grape variety in the Anjou. Savennières AOC In the early 20th century, Savennières was known mostly for sweet wine production. As the focus turned towards dry Chenin blanc based wines, the region started to garner attention for mineral intensity and aging potential of the wines. Located along four southeast facing slopes on the right bank of the river Loire, vineyards in Savennières are composed primarily of schist and volcanic soils. [3] Yields are highly restricted to just 20 hectoliters per hectare which tends to produce more concentrated fruit. [8] In recent years, the wines of Savennières have received much praise and recognition for their quality by various wine experts such as Jacqueline Friedrich who describes the intense flavors and layers of minerality as "the most cerebral wine in the world" and Karen MacNeil who describes the wines as " ..possibly the great dry Chenin blanc in the world." [9]