Anjou Saumur Flashcards
Anjou-Saumur climate:
Touraine climate:
maritime
Continental
Both Anjou-Saumur and Touraine receive ~__mm rainfall per year.
When does it fall?
700mm, falls throughout the year.
In Anjou, which river and its multiple tributaries help create the misty conditions that help with botrytis?
River Layon
In Anjou-Saumur and Touraine there is a wide range of soils, including clay-limestone, flint-clay, sand, gravel and tuff.
There is more __ and __ in Anjou and more __ in Touraine.
Schist and limestone in Anjou;
Chalk in Touraine.
Chenin Blanc:
Buds____
Ripes____ and _____ requiring_______
Buds early,
ripens late and unevenly several passes in the vineyard to harvest optimal fruit
Vigorous
thin
Cabernet Franc buds ___,
and ripens ______
Buds early,
middle of harvest
Cab Franc is also winter hardy.
Winemaking style for chenin blanc
Chenin Blanc is fermented at cool to mid-range temperatures. As a result, fermentation
can last several months. Large old oak or stainless steel containers are typically used as fermentation vessels. Typically, malolactic fermentation is avoided, and wines are aged in neutral containers, not new barriques. The aim is to retain primary fruit aromas and flavours.
Winemaking style for cab franc
Cabernet Franc is typically crushed, fermented in concrete or old wood vats that allow punch downs and/or pump overs. Many producers prefer to use ambient yeasts and it is typical to age the wine in used oak barrels of a range of sizes. As with Chenin Blanc, the aim is to retain primary fruit aromas and flavours. Some more expensive wines may be aged in a proportion of new French oak barriques.
Four other red grapes found in Anjou-Saumur and Touraine are:
Malbec (Côt);
Cabernet Sauvignon;
Grolleau Noir;
Gamay Noir.
What is the difference between Anjou AOC and Anjou Villages AOC?
Anjou AOC = red and white wines with maximum yield of 60 hL/hs; whites must be min 80% Chenin Blanc and reds must be min 70% CF +/or CS;
Anjou Villages AOC = red wines only from CF +/or CS, max 55 hl/ha.
Coteaux du Layon AOC specializes in sweet wines made from Chenin Blanc.
How can the wines achieve their sweetness?
Botrytis;
If botrytis fails to develop, grapes are allowed to shrivel on the vine.
Coteaux du Layon AOC + named village can only be made from ___-affected grapes.
Botrytis-affected
What are the 3 nested geographical areas of Coteaux de Layon that produce sweet white wines?
Which one is a 1er Cru and which one is a Grand Cru?
What is their overall yield and alcohol potential
Bonnezeaux AOC;
Coteaux du Layon AOC Chaume - 1er Cru
Quarts de Chaume AOC - Grand Cru.
low yield, high alcohol potential (min 18% for Quarts de Chaume)
Savennières AOC
What are its soils and slopes?
What is the maximum yield?
South-facing slopes, low-fertility, rocky schist soils;
50 hl/ha.
Style of Savennieres AOC?
Traditionally, very high acidity and often reach high levels of alcohol. They can be very austere in youth and historically have required many years in bottle before they became approachable
modern: slightly more fruity, approachable style via vineyard management improvements and overall warmer climate
What are the two smaller AOCs within Savennières AOC?
Are they cooler or warmer than Savennières generally, and what is their maximum yield?
Savennières La Roche aux Moines AOC and Coulée de Serrant AOC.
Warmer, 30 hl/ha
What are the 3 rosé AOCs of Anjou-Saumur?
Which one is going to be the driest (with the least RS)?
Rosé de Loire AOC;
Rosé d’Anjou AOC;
Cabernet d’Anjou AOC
Rosé de Loire AOC can be made from which grapes?
What is its max yield?
Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Grolleau Noir;
60 hL/ha.
Rosé d’Anjou AOC is mainly made from ___ and its maximum yield is __ hl/ha. They are medium-dry.
Grolleau;
65 hl/ha.
Cabernet d’Anjou AOC must be made from ___ and ___ and its maximum yield is __ hL/ha
The wines are medium-dry.
Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon;
60 hl/ha.
Rosé winemaking style
Many Loire rosés are made by direct press. Short maceration is used on some rosés. Winemaking then proceeds as it would for white wine with short ageing (3–4 months) in neutral containers.
What are the differences between Saumur AOC and Coteaux du Saumur AOC, and what is the maximum yield for each AOC?
Saumur AOC = dry white, red, rosé, sparkling; max yields are 60 hl/ha (low intensity wines);
Coteaux du Saumur AOC = sweet wines made with over-ripe Chenin Blanc grapes, with or without botrytis; max yields are 35 hl/ha.
Saumur-Champigny AOC makes only __ wines made principally from this grape.
What is the maximum yield here?
Red wines;
Cabernet Franc (85%);
57 hl/ha, kind of high, leading to some wines with low flavor intensity.
What is the style that Saumur-Champigny is known for?
Most wines are intended to be light, accessible, and drunk young for their primary fruit
The wines of this appellation became very successful in the bars and bistros of Paris from the 1970s onwards with the Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg co-operative championing this style
Famous high quality producer in Saumur-Champigny
Clos Rougeard
The big Touraine AOC makes white, rosé, red, and sparkling wines from these 4 grapes.
Sauvignon Blanc;
Cab Franc;
Côt;
Gamay.
What are the 2 most important Chenin Blanc AOCs in Touraine?
They both have the same maximum yield, __ hl/ha.
Vouvray AOC and Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC;
52 hl/ha.
Where are the best vineyards in Vouvray? Why?
on the slopes that overlook the Loire River
Proximity to the river promotes ripening due to good sunlight interception with the river acting as a moderating influence on temperatures;
Why are vineyards further away from the Loire River in Vouvray less ideal?
Away from the river clay increases, making the soils colder, inhibiting ripening.
What’s the main production difference between Vouvray and Anjou?
Dry Vouvray is made in every vintage; some demi-sec in most years, while sweet is rarer. In Anjou, sweet wines are made almost every vintage
In Touraine, what are the three most important red wine AOCs?
Bourgueil AOC;
Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil AOC (lighter in style than Bourgueil);
Chinon AOC.
Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Chinon all have the same three soils: sand, gravel and clay-limestone.
Which soil produces the lightest/early-to-drink style and which soil produces the most structured and long lived?
Sand = lightest/early-to-drink
Clay-limestone = most structured and long lived
The light, fruity, early-to-drink Chinons see __ days of skin maceration.
The more structured and powerful Chinons see __ weeks of skin maceration.
Light, fruity: 6-8 days
Structured, powerful: 2-3 weeks
Where are the vineyards of Coteaux du Layon located within the appellation?
Located on the slopes on both sides of the Layon River
