The broad spectrum of wine styles produced in Anjou brings with it a wide variety of winemaking techniques. In areas such as the Coteaux du Layon, the wines are fermented in 400 L (106 gallons) "double- barriques" and submitted to partial malolactic fermentation. [5] The basic still wines of Anjou blanc are made similar to still white wine production elsewhere though, as wine expert Jancis Robinson notes, they do have an historical association with being over sulfited. [1] As red wine production continues to find a market, and plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon increase, more producers are experimented with the use of new oak barrels. In riper years Angevin producers can make more fuller bodied reds similar to those found in the Touraine wine reds but still relatively light when compared to the reds of warmer climates such as Bordeaux and the Rhone. [8] See also [ edit ]

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] Crisp dry rosés - e.g. Most Provençal rosés fall into this category as does Italian Bardolino Chiaretto a b c J. Robinson. Jancis Robinson's Wine Course, Third Edition. Abbeville Press, 2003. pp. 180-184. ISBN 0-7892-0883-0. The nearest equivalent to this style of rosé are crisp dry white wines such as Pinot Grigio and they go with similar food. Food pairings for most Provencal rosé and similar dry rosés include light salads, light pasta and rice dishes, raw or lightly cooked shellfish like oysters, grilled fish and goats’ cheeses. See also The Best Food Pairings for Provence Rose 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 RoséThe production of dry red wines has been steadily increasing since the late 20th century spurred on, in part, by the creation of the Anjou-Villages AOC in 1987 for premium red wine production. Made predominantly from Cabernet Franc, some of the most ideally situated vineyards located south of Angers in the Coteaux de l'Aunbance AOC was given their own distinct sub-appellation in 1998 known as the Anjou-Villages Brissac AOC. The Gamay grape of Beaujolais still has a presence here and its own appellation of Anjou Gamay AOC. Gamay, as well as a variety of other red wine grape varieties, can also be produced under the catch-all appellation Anjou Rouge AOC. [5] Major appellations [ edit ] Rosé d'Anjou and Cabernet d'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] Reading Goldfinger today, the realisation that James Bond chooses to drink a pitcher of ice-cold Rosé d’Anjou over a glass of gently chilled Dom Pérignon ( “…if that’s the ’69, you were expecting me…”) or indeed an entire bottle of an infantile vintage of Château Angélus seems surprising. It is a reminder to us that the Bond of Fleming’s novels was less subject to product placement and cliché than the Bond of the silver screen. It is also a reminder that Rosé d’Anjou, along with the likes of Sancerre and Saumur-Champigny, was one of the classic bistro wines of the last century.

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]Dutch traders in the 16th and 17th century introduced sweet wine production to the region that would feed the growing and prosperous market for such wines in Rotterdam. Anjou wines experienced some brief popularity with the English market being in demand due to their reputation for tasting "ripe and sweet". [6] The high point of the Angevin wine industry was the early 19th century when the market demands of Paris overtook those of the Dutch and plantings flourished throughout the area. But soon the phylloxera epidemic would ravage the region's vineyards and bring this golden era to a close. In response to the devastation, growers in Anjou replanted with a wide range of grape varieties of varying qualities, including hybrid grapes. Even with this massive replanting, vineyards in the Anjou still number less than half of the acreage planted during the peak years of production. [5] Climate and geography [ edit ] Fuller-bodied dry rosés e.g. Southern French (Rhône and Languedoc) and Spanish rosés from Rioja and Navarra a b c d e f g J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 24 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0-19-860990-6 Full-bodied fruity rosés - e.g. Syrah, malbec and dabernet rosé from Argentina, Australia and Chile 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]

Indeed, Rosé d’Anjou was a style essentially born out of 20th century French café culture. To understand its genesis and purpose, we need to delve a little into the history of Anjou once again, shifting this time from the Chenin Blanc on which I concentrated in my guide to the Anjou appellation, to the broad mix of red varieties which has also long been planted here. 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.

Most of the wine regions in Anjou are located south of the river Loire, with the one notable exception of Savennières which is located on the right bank of the river just south of Angers. The tributaries of the Loire, particularly the Layon and Aubance, play significant roles in the area's wine production with vineyard planted on their right banks and sheltered from wind by nearby hill sides. The Aubance and Layon flow parallel to each other going northwest towards the Loire and when the climate is favorable can help promote the development of noble rot that is at the heart of the region's sweet wine production. [8] Appellations [ edit ] Chenin blanc is the primary grape of the dry and sweet wines of the Anjou wine region. a b c H. Johnson & J. Robinson The World Atlas of Wine pg 118 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 ISBN 1-84000-332-4