Domaine Ogereau, 2018 Anjou Villages 'Les Tailles'

V.14 | What's In My Glass

Over the summer, I had a follower from YouTube reach out to me with some questions on some specific Cabernet Francs that were available in his market (he’s in Brazil), and in that email he mentioned that the first Cabernet Franc that he ever fell in love with was from Anjou.

Since this initial correspondence, we have become long distance besties and write each other often about what we are sipping on and any new discoveries we’ve made recently. In one of our email exchanges, he once suggested it would be great if I could “check in” on some wines that I had already done videos on, to see how they are evolving. While I do this often for my own learning, I don’t think I’ve ever posted my notes or impressions on a specific wine that I have done a deep dive on previously.

So, I’ve set aside some wines from my cellar and intend to write some posts here (and may do the odd video or two) on wines I’ve previously done tasting videos on. And in honour of Diego, I thought I’d check in on the 2018 Anjou Villages from Domaine Ogereau to kick things off.

I did a tasting video on this wine back in October 2021 - nearly two and a half years ago now (where does the time go!). Sadly, I have still not had the opportunity to visit Domaine Ogereau, but I met Emmanuel for the first time in Angers during the salons in the Loire back in February, and we had a great chat amid the chaos of the fairs. And while Cabernet Franc is not a major focus of the domaine (we are in Chenin country here!), Emmanuel is a great lover of Cabernet Franc, and the domaine’s “Les Tailles” is consistently one of my favourite examples of Anjou Rouge.

Coming from a single lieu-dit in the commune of Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay on the left bank (south side) of the Layon River, this wine takes us to Anjou Noir country. That is, we have crossed over to the dark side of the two major geological formations that shape the terroirs of the Loire Valley: the Massif Armoricain (Anjou Noir) and the Paris Basin (Anjou Blanc). The soils of the Massif Armoricain are extremely varied and complex, but to put it simply, in Anjou specifically, we find predominantly schists and sandstones. As I talk about in the video, the properties of these “old rocks” make these soils challenging for Cabernet Franc, but on the right sites, these Anjou Noir Cabernet Francs can be alluring and compelling in the glass. In the Ogereau family’s parcels here at Les Tailles, the nearly 60 year old vines are planted on 60cm of silty-clay over Brioverian schist mixed with quartz. And in my tasting experience with this wine from a few vintages, I get the sense that the Cabernet Franc vines are quite happy here.

In the glass, the 2018 is showing deep, brooding dark-fruited notes on the nose that are reminiscent of dark cherry and cassis, consistent with my notes from October 2021. Layered with the fruits is a singular note of dried rosemary, which makes me think of herbes de Provence and those delightful burlap sachets that you find in markets across the region. The fresh floral notes from a couple years ago have evolved into more dried florals (like potpourri). The palate is open and lush offering up fresh dark cherry and showing a bit evolution with a note of black raspberry fruit leather. The dried rosemary note is complemented by warming spices like allspice, cinnamon and star anise. Some tertiary notes are beginning to peak through the wines structure, like wet stones, scorched earth and Mexican hot chocolate. But, in keeping with my notes from 2021, this wine is really all about the structure. The tannins still take the lead, though they have relaxed ever so slightly, and have taken on this gorgeous, plush, cashmere texture that is completely enveloping the palate - as if you were in a cocoon of the finest cashmere. The acidity appears mostly on the finish, and adds just the right amount of lift and tension on what is otherwise a rich and curvaceous palate.

The wine is seductive, a little mysterious, and feels very different from most Cabernet Francs I encounter from Anjou Blanc soils. I still haven’t figured out the best way to articulate this, but in my tasting notes on the video for this 2018, I offer some up some ideas on how I think about Cabernet Franc from schist versus limestone, and I would encourage folks that are curious about that to skip ahead to the last part of the video for some of those insights.

Tasting notes aside, I think this 2018 Anjou Rouge has a lot of life left in it. It is showing some slight signs of evolution, but nothing suggests to me that this wine will have a short lifespan. I think it has gained a lot of complexity in two and a half years, and there’s at least seven to ten more years of life in this wine. And at last count, I think I have at least one more bottle in my cellar, so I will make a note to check in on this wine again… perhaps in another two-ish years time.

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Want more Anjou Rouge? While I haven’t done too many videos featuring wines from Anjou, I have created a playlist on YouTube so that you can find all of these videos in one place.