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Late November/early December the Vignerons Independants (independent winemakers) hold a series of public wine fairs, most notably in Lyon, Reims, Lille and Paris where you can taste a seemingly mind- and tongue-boggling array of wines from all over France. The exhibitors are mainly small independent winemakers (no co-operatives, negociants or multi-nationals) who are keen to show off their wines.
In Lille alone, there were over 460 stands covering the whole of France and Corsica, and for the wine-enthusiast it really is a great opportunity to discover new wines.
The problem is that you cannot physically taste more than a small fraction of those wines on offer, so a bit of pre-planning or a good helping of serendipity is required.
I usually go with a few friends, and our strategy is to split up for the first couple of hours and then meet up to compare notes and share “discoveries”. So the following mix of old favourites and new wines to watch is not a scientific analysis of all that is available, but a personal selection from those that I did visit::-

Mas de Martin, Coteaux du Languedoc AC
Here Christian Mocci makes some excellent and very drinkable wines which he blesses with mythical names - Ultreia and Cincarca. These are really well-structured blends of Syrah and Grenache (plus Mourvedre for the Ultreia) but with juicy red fruits predominating. Regrettably not available in the UK as yet, but hopefully someone will start importing them, especially as they have won two “Coups de Coeur” in the Guide Hachette and a bronze in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2007. See www.premiumwanadoo.com/masdemartin The Domaine also offers self-catering accommodation - see www.frenchduck.co.uk

Domaine de Cauhapé. Jurancon AC and Jurancon Sec AC
I am a great fan of good Jurancon wines from the foothills of the Pyrenees. These idiosyncratic wines are primarily based on Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng and Petit Courbu, and range from steely dry (Sec) through to gloriously rich dessert wines. Domaine de Cauhapé produces some of the very best, and this year Henri Ramonteau, the owner was present to show his stylish wines. I personally prefer the dry wines, although I will confess that his dessert cuvee Quintessence du Petit Manseng is a really exceptional wine.
Of the dry whites I like them all for the wonderful combination of crisp, delicate acidity with exotic fruit flavours. Even the names of his cuvées are enticing - Chant des Vignes (song of the vines), Ballet d’Octobre and Symphonie de Novembre (from the late harvesting), la Canopée: “The aroma has a rare complexity, combining hazelnuts and quince paste with smoky notes and mineral characters. The palate is extremely aromatic - an explosion of fruits and spices.” For more on the Domaine see www.cauhape.com. UK stockists for Domaine de Cauhapé include Arthur Rackham

Domaine Octavie, Touraine and Touraine Sauvignon AC
An old favourite, but I was really impressed with even their basic cuvée of Touraine Sauvignon 2006 - good clean crisp, fragrant Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire - and at just €5.00 at the stand and vineyard this is incredible value - and such nice people. For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk
Available in the UK from Eton Vintners and others

Chateau Ricardelle, Coteaux du Languedoc, la Clape AC Back to the Languedoc for the other star of my tasting - the Cuvée Closablières from this fine vineyard near the coast near Narbonne. “La Clape” is a rocky outcrop between Narbonne and the Mediterranean and this slope on the North East side of the outcrop is able to produce wines of great intensity probably due to low rainfall and cooling sea breezes. This wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan aged in oak for 12 months.
This wine is stocked by Pic Wines
This chateau also offers self-catering accommodation amongst the vines! For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk

Overall I still think that the Languedoc continues to improve in terms of quality and value for money - by contrast the Rhône wines were a little disappointing - a personal view based only on a fairly random selection of wines available in Lille.

A highlight of the wine year has to be Yapp’s pre-Christmas sale which runs on 23 and 24 November 2007 (9am-5pm) at their delightful premises in Mere, Wiltshire. The setting is the Old Brewery and the range of wines on their list is an impressive choice of some of the best and most interesting growers in the Loire and Rhone, Provence, Alsace, Champagne, the Savoie, Roussillon, the Midi and Corsica.
To add to the offerings there is also an exhibition of contemporary still life paintings running from 9th-29th November 2007.
Amongst my selections from their list (not necessarily in the sale) I would highlight:-
- the Pic St Loup wines of Mas Bruguière (Languedoc)“.. rich, compelling wines with vivid garrigue fruit aromas, an earthy palate and good firm tannins.”;
- Menetou-Salon AC Domaine Jean Teiller (Loire) - “An atypically fruity wine with a scent of newly mown grass. The ripe, juicy palate yields a fresh, dry finish.”;
- the biodynamic Savennieres AC Coulée de Serrant (Loire) ;
- the red, white and rosé Lirac ACs from la Fermade (Rhone) “Sweet black cherry, touch of roasted sage, good brisk tannins - this is a Rhône red of finesse “;
- Bunan’s intense Bandol AC Mas de la Rouvière (Provence)“A deep ruby colour with intense aromas of truffles and peppers. The palate displays liquorice and tobacco with plenty of firm tannins.”
And let us not ignore some of the lesser-known offerings of Jasnières AC and Thouarsais (Loire); and the selection of wines from Savoie and Corsica.

Yapp Brothers Ltd, The Old Brewery, Mere, Wiltshire BA12 6DY

Our tastes in wine tend to be quite individual, and I always seek out those wines which stand out from the bland, branded crowd so often presented on supermarket shelves.

Hence my eyes sparkle a little when I find a wine merchant stocking something really interesting and different – one such recent discovery being Martlet Wines – as they stock one of my more obscure favourites:-

DOMAINE DES HUARDS, Cour-Cheverny AC Cuvée Francois 1er 2002, Romorantin £ 8.25 The little known Romorantin grape is now exclusive to Cour-Cheverny. A favourite of Leonardo de Vinci, it produces a very individual wine. Dry with subtle fruits and a slightly “sherried” flavour.

This was one of the wines we imported at ALLEZ VINS! from Michel Gendrier at Cheverny (41 Loir-et-Cher, Centre) near Blois on the Loire. Made from old vine Romorantin grapes this is very dry and aromatic – and perhaps a bit of an acquired taste. Michel does also produce more approachable whites – such as the Cheverny AC Blanc, a delightful blend of Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Small quantities, and small demand – few customers had ever heard of it, so most sales were at tastings where it was either raved about or dismissed depending on your palate.

So good to find another adventurous wine merchant – Martlet Wines also stocks a range of other top notch French wines – such as the wines of Mas de la Serranne in the Languedoc.

For more on Domaine des Huards see http://www.frenchduck.co.uk/huards.html

Pouilly-sur-Loire (58 Nievre, Bourgogne), best known for its crisp Sauvignon Pouilly-Fumé wines, celebrates its wine festival on the banks of the Loire.
For more info see www.ot-pouillysurloire.fr

Contrary to expectation, the département of the Loire in France is close to its source in the Massif Central in the Rhône-Alpes Region, rather than in the wide, gentle valley full of chateaux which we tend to think of. And rather strangely the wines of this area are classified as Loire Valley wines, when they really are quite distinctively different to the rest of the Loire Valley vineyards.
The main appellation is Côte Roannaise near the town of Roanne (42 Loire, Rhône-Alpes) to the west of the Loire river around the larger villages of Ambierle and Villemontais - see map
It is here that Englishman Simon Hawkins and his wife Isabelle purchased and developed his vineyard at the Domaine de Fontenay some 20 years ago.
The wines are all based on the Gamay grape, which tends to produce fruity but light reds and rosés. I visited the domaine over 10 years ago with a group of wine enthusiasts who were otherwise learning something of the French hospital system. It was really useful to meet up with a English winemaker, who could explain his (evolving) approach to wine-making and share some of the frustrations and successes of his new career. Simon was genuine and open to even the most naive of questions.
However, the wines we tasted then were OK, but a bit light in body and structure - and I had rather dismissed them as a pleasant if unexciting alternative to Beaujolais - albeit with the added value of knowing where the wines came from.
It was more recently that I came across the wines of Domaine de Fontenay again - and what a transformation awaited me. In the meantime both the vines had matured, and so had Simon’s approach to wine-making. Out went many of the modern wine-making techniques with a return to a more traditional approach - so now he makes wines with no added selective yeasts, no sugar, no filtering and no additives; using a traditional press on low yields.”We feel that there is a certain irony in that it is the Englishman who is using the methods that local growers’ grandfathers used and which they now consider to be outdated.”
The best expression of this approach is the “l’Authentique” which is 100% Gamay “The grapes for this wine are always picked later than the rest of the crop as we are aiming to optimize phenological maturity, so as to be able to extract to our hearts content without the risk of herbaceous flavours creeping in. The wine is built around a structure of ripe tannins using a 20 day or so fermentation with a high temperature peak. This wine is matured until ready to bottle in the early summer . Particular attention is paid to airing the wine at strategic moments to maximise fruit flavour. We aim to produce a serious gamay with a long finish and direct fruit. Some earthy notes will emerge with bottle age.”
I was genuinely suprised and impressed with this wine. It had depth and complexity of flavour, smooth in the mouth - a classy wine which far surpasses any Gamay I have tasted before - bearing little resemblance to the light, jammy Gamays I usually get to taste.
Full marks to Simon Hawkins - another example of someone passionate about his/her wine who aims to produce something distinctive and traditional, rather than just following the crowd and producing easily marketable, bland mass-market wines.

For more on Domaine du Fontenay (including Bed & Breakfast on the domaine) see www.domainedufontenay.com
In the UK you can buy their wines through 3DWines - and even own a row of vines!

June sees the conjunction of 2 events which combine the magic of French wine with the joy of summer gardens.

In LONDON, over 160 otherwise private gardens open their doors (or gates) for 2 days on 9th and 10th June 2007 oin the Loire Valley Wines Open Garden Squares weekend.

You will be able to discover many of London’s hidden treasures, ranging from stately set-pieces and formal landscapes through to some of London’s more eccentric and unusual open spaces. Along the way you can sample a range of Loire Valley Wines.

Amongst the many gardens you can even visit those at Holloway and Wandsworth Prisons (ominously the website adds “special conditions apply”!) There is also Islington’s Canonbury Square which was named as the 2006 Loire Valley Wines Legacy Garden. Here the east side of the square received a major makeover including the planting of a small vineyard and rose bed as its centrepiece - reflecting the planting of the vineyards in the Loire Valley.

Over in France from June 30 to September 2, Beaune, capital of Burgundy hosts its Water Garden Festival - an ideal way of enhancing a visit to a major wine centre, and interesting old town.

For its third edition, the festival Cours Water Gardens takes you along to discover the various districts of Beaune with many various and ludic animations: kitchen gardens of the residents, flowered meadows, transitory gardens designed by schools of landscape designers, visits of course deprived exceptionally open to the public, and a visit of “strange Beaune” through its various monuments and statues which marked out its History, without forgetting the spectacles of street for smallest and largest.

For more info see www.ot-beaune.fr

In the upper Loire Valley lies the appellation of the Côtes Roannaise AC - from the region around Roanne (42 Loire, Rhône-Alpes) - although a long way from the area most of us associate with the Loire Valley,
These are wines based on the Gamay grapes - best known as the Beaujolais grape. Here Englishman Simon Hawkins and his wife Isabelle have developed a very successful vineyard - Domaine du Fontenay.
But they also offer Bed and Breakfast (Chambre d’Hote) on the domaine - with 4 non-smoking rooms themed after different grape varieties - Gamay, Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir - the rooms offering great views over the vines - and the opportunity to taste some of the vineyard’s wines and learn something about wine-making in France.

For more on the domaine see www.domainedufontenay.com

For 5 weeks this Autumn France hosts the Rugby World Cup Tournament, starting with the initial match on 7 September 2007 in Paris and ending with the Final on the Stade de France in Paris on 20 October.Teams from across the World will be competing, and they may be a little surprised to find that some of the early round matches are being played in Cardiff and Edinburgh!!
However, the majority of matches are to be played in France including Lens (Nord Pas-de-Calais), Nantes (Brittany/Loire), Bordeaux (Aquitaine), Toulouse (Midi-Pyrenees), Montpellier (Languedoc- Roussillon), Marseille (Provence) St Etienne and Lyon (Central France) and of course Paris.
So be warned that roads and hotels are likely to be busier than normal in the Autumn, especially in Paris (throughout) and in the host towns and cities near match days.
As always with such events it is worth planning ahead and booking tickets, travel and hotel arrangements as early as possible.
Rugby Union (Rugby à 15) is very popular in certain pockets of France - particularly the South West. On the A61 Autouroute between Toulouse and Castelnaudry there is a motorway service area (aire) that is worth visiting - and its not often we would recommend such a place. At Port Lauragais there is the Ovalie - a rugby museum, as local teams such as Toulouse, Agen and Castres are amongst the elite European teams.
The “aire” also has a museum and display on the adjacent Canal du Midi which has a marina mooring on the site. So well worth a break in your journey see map
See our web calender for the dates and locations of the World Cup matches this Autumn

LINKS:-
www.rugbyworldcup.com for news, details of teams, fixtures etc

Rail Europe has some attractive offers when tickets go on sale in May - e.. London to Lyon from £99 return - and that is city centre to city centre.

RECOMMENDED READING:-
Le Guide Vert: Midi-Pyrenees
France on the T.G.V.: How to Use the World’s Fastest Train to Get the Most Out of France
Grand Tour De France: A Rugby Supporter’s Guide to the World Cup - France 2007

Another piece of the increasingly versatile French autoroute system is now in place - a section of the A85 between Langeais and Bourgeuil (37 Indre-et-Loire, Val de Loire) to the southwest of Tours. The A85 will link the Atlantic with the Rhone without having to go via Paris - so on the west links to the A11 at Angers (for points west to Nantes and Brittany), intersects with the A10 to Bordeaux at Tours, and then on the east at Vierzon with the A71 south to Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon and the Languedoc.
There remains a longish section east of Tours towards St Aignan which remains to be completed but this latest link finally links Angers and Tours by autoroute and links the A10 and A11 autoroutes.
As yet the autoroute has no name (e.g.” l’Aquitaine” for the A10 to Bordeaux, or “du Soleil” for the the A6 to Lyon and the south) but it ought to be the “Autoroute des Vins” as it moves from the vineyards of Anjou in the west to Chinon, Bourgeuil and Touraine in the centre, and Cheverny, Cour-Cheverny, Quincy, Reuilly and Menetou-Salon in the east.

For up-to-date info on autoroute traffic and routes across France - see www.autoroutes.fr
Many SatNav systems include French and European maps - and they really can help you to avoid getting lost - and they’ll speak to you in English and give you the correct instructions at roundabouts - i.e. what may be the first exit in the UK can be the 3rd exit in France!
See our suggested SatNav systems for France e.g. TomTom ONE Europe
Or for more traditional map see MOT Atlas France (Michelin Tourist & Motoring Atlases)

11 March 2007 is the departure date for the Paris-Nice cycle race, an annual harbinger of Spring and Summer. It is the first of the major European cycle races, the teams having spent the winter racing in friendlier climes such as Australia and California, and for me it conjurs up images of hot summer days with roadside picnics somewhere in deepest rural France. That may still be a little optimistic for mid-March even in Provence, unless you get lucky with the sun and no Mistral wind.

800 miles in 8 days across France and the Alps the race is known as the “Course au soleil”(the race to the sun!) and is really just a “warm up” for the athletes, but for me the joy is in discovering hidden corners of France. Forget the autoroutes, the race mainly uses by-roads, and whilst the autoroutes and major N routes are undoubtedly faster, cross-country driving on Michelin yellow roads is always more interesting. It is easy to forget just how big France is, and non matter how many times you have been there will always be more to discover. That is why even if you are not a cycling fan, it can be fun tracing the route of the major races - so this year’s Paris-Nice will get you to places like Mende (48 Lozere, Languedoc-Roussillon) and Manosque (04 Alpes de Haut-Provence, Provence) - not often on the a more direct itinerary.

The lure of a trip from Paris to Nice is huge, as you really get to experience the diversity of France, from the classy metropolitan allure of Paris through to the exotic Mediterranean warmth of Nice, close to the Italian border - and everything in between. Think of Hemingway or Scott Fitzgerald embarking on a real adventure in the 1920s/30s - before autoroutes or the TGV - and forget route planning on the SatNav - take your Michelin red guide, determine not to rush, stay in small hotels (or better still in Chambres d’Hote), picnic on local food and wines, maybe get a little lost or follow a whim - and experience the real France.

For more on the Paris-Nice cycle race and route see www.letour.fr

Muscadet has tended to be an overlooked and under-estimated wine - too closely associated with Berni Inns, Black Forest Gateau and the Prawn Cocktail. And as with German wines of that era the market was flooded with cheap, thin wines which ruined its reputation.
Muscadet is named for the grape from which it is made rather than its place of origin. The Muscadet, also called the Melon de Bourgogne, was brought to the Loire centuries ago from Burgundy. It flourished in the Pays Nantais, the region around Nantes (44 Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire), producing wines that perfectly reflect their maritime environment, and which make a natural partner for the Atlantic seafood which is the prime produce of the region.

Muscadet is the largest white wine appellation in France. It includes Muscadet AOC and three regional appellations, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire and Muscadet Coteaux des Grands Lieux. Each winery must have its wines approved by an official tasting board before it can use the appellation.

Muscadet which has been produced and aged in accordance with certain strict guidelines may be designated “Muscadet Sur Lie. - and these are the best wines to look out for. Keeping the wine in the barrel (on the lees or “sur lie”) all winter, allows the wine’s aromas to develop, and carbonic gas produced by this process imparts a liveliness on the palate. Only wines made from the best vineyards are permitted to use the Sur Lie designation.

At its best Muscadet retains a fresh acidity, but with sufficient body and almost a creaminess to counterbalance the sharpness - this makes it an ideal companion to fish and shellfish.

Sauvion/Chateau de Cleray is one of the best producers - their website has lots of info and some recipes for a variety of local and some oriental dishes.

For more info on the region see www.nantes-tourisme.com

Our mini-series on visiting French vineyards (French Vineyard Visits and Visiting French WIneries) looked at the “etiquette” of visits and explored the range of different types of facilities on offer.
There is however another option - which is to visit one of the many local co-operative wineries. The advantage is that they are staffed throughout the day, usually have a lot of good value wines on offer and you can usually get wine “on draught”. If you buy a plastic 5 litre “cubitainer” you can get it filled up with wine for a ridiculously low price - or sometimes be able to purchase wine boxes of the local wine.
A broad generalisation would be that co-operative wines are less “exciting” than many of those made by small independent winemakers. However, whilst this may apply to many, especially in the south of France, others do produce high quality wines.

In Alsace, for example, many of the best wines are produced by co-ops such as Turckheim and will offer an excellent tasting and range of wines.

In the Loire Valley, the Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray has a wide range of wine styles on offer and an interesting visit through the underground cellars.

In the Southwest, the co-op at Buzet (les Vignerons de Buzet) led the re-creation of the vineyard and established the appellation’s reputation for good quality wines. The visit to the winery also includes a demonstration of cooperage (barrel-making).
Another example of how good a co-op can be is at Plaimont in Gascony, deep in the heart of Armagnac country. A wide range of great quality wines from simple Vins de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne through to rich Madiran reds.

At Marmande the visit will be more basic, but the Cotes du Marmandais wines are fine and good value for money,
In the Languedoc one of my favourite Co-operative cellars is in the small village of Embres-et-Castelmaure in the Corbieres - some truly excellent wines in a delightfful if rustic surroundings.
Finally in the Southern Rhone valley I’d recommend the Cave de Beaumes-de-Venise for their well-known dessert Muscat wine, but also some very good red Cotes du Rhone.

As seems to be the French custom, we tend to receive New Year greetings from our friends and colleagues in France, rather than Christmas cards. Yesterday greetings arrived from our favourite Loire winemaker - Antoine Leduc at Domaine Leduc-Frouin in Martigné-Briand in Anjou (49 Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire). The card informs us that 2 of their rosé wines won medals at the Loire Valley Wine Competition in 2006 - the delicious sweet Cabernet d’Anjou gaining a Gold!

But this is where Loire rosé wines can be confusing for the uninitiated, which is a shame as the quality of Loire rosés has been transformed from the rather insipid sugary offerings which were around when we started in the wine business 20 years ago (gasp!!). At that time such wines were foistered on an undemanding UK market, and that legacy probably still influences prejudices about Loire Valley wines, especially rosés. Now the problem is not quality, but choice of style.

Rosé de Loire AC is a dry rosé made predominantly from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It tends to be smooth, lively and easy to drink. It can be made almost anywhere in Anjou and Touraine… “red fruit aromas (cherry, raspberry) as well as some spice. Its fresh and full-flavour make it ideal to drink with a meal”

Rosé d’Anjou AC is made mainly on the south bank of the Loire around Angers - (i.e. in Anjou) and its principal grape variety is the Grolleau which gives the wine a very fruity edge - but can also include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d’Aunis,Gamay and Cot (or Auxerrois or Malbec). This tends to be a medium dry to sweet wine …“On the nose, there are both fresh and citrus fruits. It also has a delicate refreshing taste and can be drunk at any time”

Cabernet d’Anjou AC however can only be made from the Cabernet-Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties in Anjou and are medium sweet to sweet in style - that from Domaine Leduc-Frouin being decidely sweet, but with fruit sweetness rather than sugary - and with enough bite from the summer fruit character to ensure it is not cloying - remarkably well-balanced and intense - a true revelation with spicy food, but also surprisingly successful with other savoury dishes. You could of course drink it happily by itself - although it will work better in warmth and sunshine rather than the depths and murkiness of a English winter…..“a very appealing deep pink wine with hints of violet. On the nose, there are red fruits (strawberry, raspberry) as well as peaches and apricots. On the palate, its smoothness and finesse make it an ideal partner for a sweet and sour dish.”

Read more about the wines of Domaine Leduc-Frouin in Anjou - click here

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