Red, white, rosé: Anjou produces nice wines and picturesque villages!

The Anjou AOC (or AOP) produces wines in a very wide range of styles and colors: red wines, rosé wines, white wines and sparkling wines! The appellation was created in 1936, and today brings together more than 800 wineries spread over a vineyard of 2,500 hectares.

From a geological point of view, Anjou can be subdivided into two major blocks.

To the south and west of Angers, in the continuation of the Armorican massif, we find a soil composed of schists with slates: this is the “black” Anjou. In contrast, the chalky soils located to the south-west of Saumur are the land of “white” Anjou. As you know, different soils make different wines. In this game, it is in “black Anjou” territory that the most famous wines are produced, such as the Coteaux du Layon wines. This does not mean that the rest of the Anjou vineyard does not have some very nice surprises in store!

From the historical point of view, once again, we are dealing with a thousand-year-old vineyard. Wines from Anjou were already being served at the court of Henri II Plantagenêt!

Anjou : The appellation

The Anjou vineyard extends over a vast area, covering a large part of Maine-et-Loire, from the west of Angers to a large portion of the southern area of the Saumur region. This area is estimated at approximately 2,500 hectares extending over 126 villages of Maine-et-Loire (but also some villages of the Deux-Sèvres and Vienne departments).

The Anjou vineyard includes 3 main appellations which are Anjou, Cabernet d’Anjou and Rosé d’Anjou.

To these generic AOCs are added other sub-regional designations such as Anjou-gamay, Anjou-villages or Anjou-villages Brissac. The wines that can claim these appellations can also claim the generic “Anjou” appellation (less demanding in terms of specifications).

Among the appellations associated with the Angers region (and technically located in Anjou) we find the very beautiful vineyards of the Coteaux du Layon, Savennières, Bonnezeaux and also Coteaux de L’Aubance. The other large neighboring vineyards, Saumur and Saumur Champigny, complete this beautiful ensemble: moreover, the wine-growing region as a whole is designated under the compound term “Anjou-Saumur”.

Villages of the Anjou appellation

Allonnes, Ambillou-Château, Angers, Antoigné, Artannes-sur-Thouet, Aubigné-sur-Layon, Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Blaison-Gohier, Bouchemaine, Bouzillé, Brain-sur-Allonnes, Brézé, Brigné, Brissac-Quincé, Brossay, Cernusson, Chacé, Chalonnes-sur-Loire, Champ-sur-Layon, Champtocé-sur-Loire, Champtoceaux, Chanzeaux, Charcé-Saint-Ellier-sur-Aubance, Chaudefonds-sur-Layon, Chavagnes, Chemellier, Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault, Cizay-la-Madeleine, Cléré-sur-Layon, Concourson-sur-Layon, Courchamps, Coutures, Denée, Dénezé-sous-Doué, Distré, Doué-la-Fontaine, Drain, Épieds, Faveraye-Mâchelles, Faye-d'Anjou, Fontaine-Milon, Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Forges, Grézillé, Huillé, Ingrandes, Juigné-sur-Loire, La Chapelle-Saint-Florent, La Jumellière, La Pommeraye, La Possonnière, La Varenne, Landemont, Le Coudray-Macouard, Le Marillais, Le Mesnil-en-Vallée, Le Puy-Notre-Dame, Le Thoureil, Les Alleuds, Les Cerqueux-sous-Passavant, Les Ulmes, Les Verchers-sur-Layon, Liré, Louerre, Louresse-Rochemenier, Lué-en-Baugeois, Luigné, Martigné Briand, Meigné, Montfort, Montilliers, Montjean-sur-Loire, Montreuil-Bellay, Montsoreau, Mozé-sur-Louet, Mûrs-Erigné, Notre-Dame-d'Allençon, Noyant-la-Plaine, Nueil-sur-Layon, Parnay, Passavant-sur-Layon, Pellouailles-les-Vignes, Rablay-sur-Layon, Rochefort-sur-Loire, Rou-Marson, Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné, Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, Saint-Georges-des-Sept-Voies, Saint-Georges-sur-Layon, Saint-Georges-sur-Loire, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Jean-des-Mauvrets, Saint-Just-sur-Dive, Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay, Saint-Laurent-de-la-Plaine, Saint-Laurent-du-Mottay, Saint-Macaire-du-Bois, Saint-Melaine-sur-Aubance, Saint-Rémy-la-Varenne, Saint-Saturnin-sur-Loire, Saint-Sigismond, Saint-Sulpice-sur-Loire, Saint-Sylvain-d'Anjou, Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire, Saulgé-l'Hôpital, Saumur, Savennières, Soucelles, Soulaines-sur-Aubance, Souzay-Champigny, Tancoigné, Thouarcé, Tigné, Trémont, Turquant, Valanjou, Varennes-sur-Loire, Varrains, Vauchrétien, Vaudelnay, Verrie, Vihiers, Villevêque

Anjou : The wines

Red wines

Rosé wines

Dry white wines

Sparkling wines

Anjou is the region of the Loire Valley which boasts the widest range of grape varieties … and a diversity of wines to match.

For still white wines, if Chenin Blanc is once again the dominant grape variety, it can be complemented by Sauvignon and even Chardonnay. The result: wines with lemony aromas, green fruits and stone fruits… with, for certain terroirs, beautiful floral and mineral nuances.

For red wines, two grape varieties dominate: say hello to the two cabernet cousins (franc and sauvignon)! These could be supplemented by Grolleau and Pineau d’Aunis as accessory grape varieties. Small regional particularity: Anjou-Gamay, whose only authorized grape variety is… Gamay (surprise).

And in the glass, what does it taste like?

Two major types of wine profiles can be distinguished. The fruity and supple ones, with juicy aromas of red fruits and violet, and the fuller wines resulting from longer macerations, which will develop more varied and complex notes (black fruits, spices).

To complete this picture, don’t forget that Anjou also produces very fine rosé wines, supple and harmonious, which are among the region’s most exported wines. Who would have guessed?

Grape varieties used for Anjou wines

Taken together, the wines of Anjou are mostly reds and rosés (about 65%), the remainder being evenly distributed between white wines (18%) and sparkling wines (16%).

Anjou : The wineries

The different appellations of the Anjou region bring together more than 800 winegrowers and wine estates. After your tasting at the winery, Angers, the capital of Anjou, remains an essential visit. The region also offers many picturesque villages such as Montreuil-Bellay, Savennières, Blaison-Gohier and Aubigné-sur-Layon.