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There’s a new free map and guide available from InterLoire (the official wine body for the region) to the vineyards of the Loire Valley available to download and in English:-

The light glistening on the river and its tributaries is a wonderful sight. The cellars carved into white limestone, magical châteaux, magnificent gardens, hillsides covered in vines ; hundreds of sights that still hold the memory of kings, queens, princes and artists like Rabelais, Ronsard, Balzac, Leonardo da Vinci, and Joachim du Bellay… The Loire vineyards offer charm, grace and surprise around every corner. It is a region for good living, a valley of abundance, a source of flavourful wines and generous aromas,and we would like to share all that with you.

This wine region (which does not include other appellations which are nevertheless close to the River Loire such as Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Quincy, Menetou-Salon etc - these are all classified as “Vins du Centre” ) does cover the Loire from the Atlantic to Orleans and includes 68 separate appellations and has more than 7,000 wine producers making it France’s third most important vineyard.

For each winemaker there is a comprehensive entry - e.g. for one of our favourites, the Domaine Leduc-Frouin in Anjou:-

Domaine Leduc-Frouin
The Leduc-Frouin estate invites you to discover its wines in a guided tasting session. Guided tours upon request. Groups: tours and wine tastings, reservations necessary for meals.
Monday - Friday: 9 am -12 pm / 2 pm - 6 pm, Saturday: 2 pm - 6 pm, and mornings by appointment only.
AOC Anjou Blanc ; Anjou Gamay ; Anjou Rouge ; Anjou Villages ; Cabernet d’Anjou ; Coteaux du Layon ; Rosé d’Anjou ; Rosé de Loire ; Saumur Brut.
Antoine et Nathalie LEDUC La Seigneurie – Sousigné
T:02 41 59 42 83
info@leduc-frouin.com
www.leduc-frouin.com

This is an invaluable guide to wine touring in the region, which does offer many delights for the wine and food enthusiast and others.

Download the map and guide
For more on Domaine Leduc-Frouin see www.frenchduck.co.uk

Doué-la-Fontaine (49 Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire), south of Angers, self-styles itself as “the Rose Garden of France!” and also claims to be the largest rose production area in the whole of Europe cultivating more than 7 million roses annually.! The town celebrates this with its Journées de la Rose (Rose Days) Festival from 11-15 July 2008.

Over 40,000 visitors attend this magnificent display of rose designs and rose sculptures held in the underground caves of the Roman Arena.
Enjoy the variety of aromas, harmony of colours and multitudes of intoxicating perfumes.

See our customised map of the area

For more info on the Journeees de la Rose see  www.journeesdelarose.com/

Doué’s other main attraction is the Zoo de Doué (or Bio Park as they call themselves!) - but you are also close to the vineyards of Anjou - why not visit our friends at Domaine Leduc-Frouin - see our map for other ideas

We met with Madame Leduc early in our wine travels - and more by happenchance than design. Having been thoroughly disgruntled by a Loire negociant who was only interested in selling cheap sweet rose to the English, we found we had time on our hands and an almost forgotten introduction to this vineyard from a French-Canadian mutual acquaintance.

A warm welcome and good interesting wines greeted us, and we have been fans ever since. Nowadays Madame Leduc’s son and daughter (Antoine and Nathalie) have come back home to help Chantal run the vineyard, which has a very good local reputation - Antoine in the vines and cellar, Nathalie in the business and marketing side. With Madame Leduc’s extensive knowledge of her vines, Antoine’s passion and Nathalie’s organisational skills the domaine goes from strength to strength.

South of the Angers and the Loire river, near Martigne-Briand in the heart of the Anjou and Coteaux du Layon appellations, the domaine is situated at Sousigné. The domaine produces Anjou red, Anjou-Villages red, Anjou Blanc Sec (dry white), a Chardonnay, Cabernet d’Anjou, Rosé d’Anjou, Rosé de Loire, Coteaux du Layon (dessert wine) and sparking Saumur.

Visitors are always welcome - but do phone ahead in case they are busy in the cellar or vines.

“La Seigneurie” was the property of the Marquis de Becquedelivière until 1933 when the Leduc-Frouin family, who had cultivated it since 1873, became the owners. The vineyard has been using “natural” techniques for over 4 years now with a regime known as “Terra Vitis” - a charter for production which respects both the soil and the vine.
The domaine is run by Madame Leduc, her son, Antoine and his sister Nathalie - in the village of Sousigné to the east of Martigné-Briand and south of Angers.

The domaine is quite a beauty-spot with remains of numerous troglodyte dwellings dug out of the sedimentary rock.The 32 hectare vineyard itself is situated on a gently-rising slope facing south. For reds the Cabernet Franc and Grolleau grapes are grown, whilst for the whites it is predominantly Chenin Blanc with a small amount of Chardonnay.
All harvesting is undertaken by hand (about 30 people are required) enabling careful selection and cutting of the bunches.

For the white wines a delicate pressing is undertaken as soon as the grapes arrive in the cellar. The temperature during fermentation is kept between 15o and 20o. Rosé wines are obtained by a brief maceration of the skins for between 24 and 36 hours. For red wines the bunches are de-stemmed followed by maceration for a period of 10-15 days. The juice is pumped over daily to ensure that the maximum extract.

Anjou AC Rouge Domaine Leduc-Frouin
extraordinarliy fresh and fruity - tons of raspberry juiciness make this a delightful red and great example of a different style of Cabernet Franc than the 1998 vintage which we also listed. Significantly, this wine is made under the names of Antione & Nathalie Leduc - the younger generation - although the nature of the vintage is probably more significant, as Nathalie and Antoine have been actively involved in the domaine for many years.

Anjou-Villages AC Rouge Domaine Leduc-Frouin
This is an excellent example of Cabernet Franc - the red grape of the Loire. With some bottle age and older vines,the ripe raspberry fruitiness is blending wonderfully with the tannins to produce a seriously good wine with great depth and complexity - great with roast lamb!
“A light spicy aroma leads to a palate of blackcurrant fruits and ripe tannins”
Only Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are used - Cabernet Franc for elegance and smoothness, Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested from vines on stony hot soils, is responsible for the wines’ structure and tannins.
It is clear from its garnet red and intense colour that this is a fine wine of rich complexity, Its distinctive nose - the Cabernet Franc providing notes of violet, iris, strawberry and raspberry, combines with the Cabernet Sauvignon from which it takes its powerful aromas of blackcurrants and dewberries. The wine-making process and its maturing for at least 12 months in oak, result in a wine with smooth tannins, rich in substance and enabling it to age up to 15 years.

Cabernet d’Anjou AC Domaine Leduc-Frouin
A rich, sweeter rosé with delicate acidity and buckets of summerfruit flavours (Loire). This is not one of those indifferent Loire rosés we used to find in the supermarket - this has tons of character and a multiplicity of flavours AND, although sweetish, it is not a cloying sugary sweetness - more the natural sweetness of summer fruits. Don’t disregard it as a “wine for granny” (although Grannies will enjoy it I’m sure) - try it with spicy, exotic foods such as Thai or Chinese dishes where the flavours will both enhance and contrast with the wine.
UK Wines Online says “A blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The climate during 2003 has brought plenty of colour to this rosé; even with just 2 days maceration (colour extraction). Sweeter grapes too has boosted this wine, which, as Antoine Leduc stated is “fruity, sweet and fresh”. Quite light in body and very drinkable. While medium in style the touch of tannin on the finish gives the wine more substance than many a cheaper alternative.”

Domaine Leduc-Frouin, Sousigne, 48540 Martigne-Briand (see map)
T:+33 241.59.42.83
F:+33 241.59.47.90
E: info@leduc-frouin.com

For more info see www.leduc-frouin.com

The winemakers of Anjou and Saumur offer to brighten up February with a weekend wine Festival on 24 and 25 February 2007 at Challonnes-sur-Loire (49 Maine-et-Loire, Val de Loire - see map). This is not be be confused with the Loire Valley Wine Fair in Angers at the end of January, which is a trade event. This Fete des Vins d’Anjou sounds much more fun with an opportunity to taste wines from the 29 appellations in Anjou/Saumur (no - I could not identify all of them) - and an exhibition on wine, Anjou wine tasting and a tour of the cellars, an exhibition of agricultural and wine-growing equipment, “a wine brotherhoods parade complete with enthronements” (i.e. mainly men dressing up in strange garb and indulging in some quasi-historical ceremonies) and a contest to find the “Best Anjou Tasters”.
The region does offer pretty much the whole gamut of red, white and rosé wines, dry, medium, dessert; still and sparkling - you might be surprised at the quality of some of the Cabernet Franc reds!
Not sure if our friends from Domaine Leduc-Frouin will be there - we used to stock their wines and miss the chance to taste them as regularly as we used to. But I hear recently that they had a good write up in the “Revue du Vin de France”, France’s most serious wine magazine - their red Anjou Rouge AV 2005 was rated at 17.5/20 and an impressive 19/20 for their stunning dessert Chenin - Coteaux du Layon AC Nectar 2002.
For more info on the domaine and their wines see www.leduc-frouin.com
For more info see www.fetedesvins-anjou.fr (site incomplete at time of writing).

If you are in to flower arranging, chateaux and/or wine you could visit the Chateau de Brissac (49 Maine et Loire, Val de Loire) from 8 - 10 April 2006 when they celebrate “Paradis Fleurs”.
50 nationally and internationally-known talented flower-arranging artists are challenged to create a romantic table for two within the theme of marriage - all within the magnificent rooms of this 7-storey, 200 room, 16th Century Chateau. Before leaving, you’ll be invited to vote for your favourite floral arrangement if you wish - see www.chateau-brissac.fr At least the displays will be inside, so there is no problem if the weather is poor.
Situated a few miles south of the Loire near Angers, Brissac is in the Anjou wine-making region - not far from our favourite Anjou producer Domaine Leduc-Frouin at Sousigné, near Martigné-Briand.
Indeed Brissac is one of the Anjou-Villages, qualifying for the AC Anjou-Villages Brissac. The “-Villages” tag generally signifies a higher quality level than the remaining appellation (the same applies in Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone etc) and beyond specifying a more delimited area of production, the rules on the yield and age of the vines are more restrictive - and generally the older the vines and the lower the yield, the more complex and developed the wine.
Furthermore, the Chateau de Brissac has its own vineyard producing reds (Anjou and Anjou-Villages Brissac) and a sweet Rosé d’Anjou made from Gamay and Grolleau (sometimes spelt as GrosLot, although pronounced virtually the same!)

in addition to visiting the Chateau, admiring the floral displays and testing the wine, you could also stay a night in one of the impressive bedrooms at the chateau for about £250 a night (per couple)!

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My friends at Domaine Leduc-Frouin in Anjou are rightly pleased with their new website at www.leduc-frouin.com. We at ALLEZ VINS! worked with firstly Chantal, and then her son Antoine for many years - starting in 1989. Two friends and I were on a long wine buying trip around Alsace, Beaujolais and the Loire, and our pre-arranged visit to the Loire was a great disappointment - insipid sweet rose and overpriced bubbly. By chance I recalled another contact I had been given by a French-Canadian wine grower, so we dropped in on Domaine Leduc-Frouin. We were warmly welcomed, but clearly we were being vetted by Madame to see if we were serious or not. From that first visit followed many others, and many orders for their Anjou Blanc Sec, Chardonnay, Anjou Rouge, Anjou-Villages and the stunning Coteaux du Layon.
The domaine is pretty but workmanlike, although they are developing the tufa caves where they age some of their barrel-matured wines.Situated at Sousigne, near Martigne-Briand (49 Maine-et-Loire, Loire Valley) about 20 miles south of Angers they are at the heart of the wine-growing area, which includes the treasured valley of the Layon river. The Coteaux du Layon is a rich dessert wine made from pure Chenin Blanc which unlike the dessert wines in Aquitaine (Sauternes, Saussignac, Monbazillac etc) is not affected by botrytis, although the grapes are late harvested to optimise the concentration of the sugars.
The Anjou reds are predominantly from Cabernet Franc, which can be a difficult grape, but in the better years the Domaine produces some excellently fruity, raspberry reds which are delightful.
In the summer of 2004 Antoine Leduc came over to the UK and hosted a tutored wine-tasting for Allez Vins! customers in Harrogate, and joined the Allez Vins! stand at the Harrogate Wine Fair. The tutored tasting was a huge success, as it is seldom possible to have an informed tasting of these quality wines. Supermarket versions, when available, are often rather bland, whereas Domaine Leduc-Frouin’s are always full of character and style.
Antoine, his sister Nathalie and mother Chantal are charming people and always provide a warm welcome - so it is worth a visit to the domaine if you are in the area. www.leduc-frouin.com

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