Domaine Mosse, 2018 Anjou Rouge Cabernet Franc
Cab Franc du Jour #40
Domaine Mosse was established in 1999 by Agnès and René Mosse, and today their sons Sylvestre and Joseph continue to run the estate. The domaine is situated in the commune of Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay on the left bank of the Layon River, approximately 25km south of the city of Angers.
This is fundamentally Chenin Blanc country, and the family’s vineyards are predominantly planted to the variety across three communes. Their 4 hectares of Cabernet Franc are planted in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay, where site selection for the variety demands careful thought.
The soils here belong to what is collectively known as Anjou Noir, a broad term distinguishing the schist-based soils of the Massif Armoricain from the Anjou Blanc limestone soils of the Paris Basin. As with the limestone soils to the east, the schist soils of Anjou are varied in origin and composition. On the left bank of the Layon, where the Mosse vineyards are located, the soils are Brioverian schist, formed during the Precambrian period and among the oldest soils in France. For context, the soils on the right bank of the Layon, home to the celebrated sweet wine crus of Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume, are Devonian St-Georges schist and Carboniferous sandstone respectively, formed several hundreds of millions of years after the Brioverian schist of the left bank.
Planting Cabernet Franc on schist requires careful site selection, and at Domaine Mosse the vines are planted at the foot of the slopes on the flatter sections of the vineyard where the soils are deeper and carry more clay, giving the vines the moisture retention Cabernet Franc needs to thrive. The vines are around 30 years old.
The 2018 vintage was a warm one, and that warmth directly influenced the winemaking approach. The wine saw a longer maceration of approximately three weeks with gentle pump-overs every three days, followed by around 10 months of aging on fine lees in larger oak foudres.
Wine Details
Producer: Domaine Mosse
Region: Anjou
Appellation: Vin de France
Commune: Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay
Soils: Brioverian schist bedrock with a clay topsoil mixed with sand and quartz
Alcohol: 14%