2020 Anjou Villages Cuvée Andecaves
"An Anjou Villages that has won people over with its rich, harmonious balance. The silky tannins melt gracefully with time, a wine of patience with real gastronomic quality. These are the vines closest to the winery." (Pascal Cailleau)
- Cabernet Franc from two Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay plots on schist with quartz veins, nearest the winery.
- 18 months' ageing, 12 of them in 2 to 4 year old barrels; 35 hl/ha.
- Black fruit and leather, with fine, tight tannins; at its peak from 8 to 12 years.
- Category
- Vins d'exception
- Grape
- Cabernet Franc
- Alcohol
- 14% vol.
- Terroirs
- Weathered schist with quartz veins
- Yield
- 35 hl/ha
- Peak / ageing
- 8 to 12 years
- Serve
- 17°C, opened 1 hour ahead
Tasting Notes
The garnet colour has fine intensity. The nose shows complexity around a palette of black fruit and leather. The attack is broad, rich and fleshy, then the fine, tight tannins melt pleasurably on the finish.
Winemaking
When we manage to go beyond the fresh-fruit stage and reach ripe fruit at the end of harvest, the rest no longer matters. Ripeness then carries the fruit through the maceration; you have to stay attentive to it, then take it into 18 months of ageing, 12 of them in 2 to 4 year old barrels, so that it relaxes and gives you all its generosity.
History
In 1999, we wanted to go further in selecting terroirs and in ageing our reds. So we selected two very good plots of Cabernet Franc. The macerations are fairly long to extract complexity and substance.
The plots are at Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay in a temperate zone under oceanic influence.
Its name comes from the indomitable Gallic people, the "Andégaves", who lived in Anjou under Julius Caesar.
Distributed in Australia by Principal Wine.