Domaine Ogereau, 2018 Anjou Villages 'Les Tailles'
Cab Franc du Jour #60
Vincent Ogereau is the fourth generation to work the family domaine, established by his great-grandfather in 1890. His first vintage was in 1982, working alongside his father Francis, and the 2015 vintage marked the arrival of the fifth generation when Vincent’s son Emmanuel joined the estate. They farm 26 hectares of vines across the Anjou, Coteaux du Layon, and Savennières appellations, all certified organic and managed with biodynamic practices.
Cabernet Franc in Anjou
It is in this part of Anjou, in and around the commune of Thouarcé, where the ancient rocks of the Massif Armoricain take over from the sedimentary, limestone-based soils of the Paris Basin. This is where Chenin Blanc truly shines, and where Cabernet Franc needs to be planted on very carefully selected sites to succeed. Understanding why requires a closer look at the climate and soils.
The region sits in the rain shadow of the Massif Armoricain, an ancient mountain range that was once as high as the Alps and has weathered over more than 400 million years to just a couple of hundred metres in most places. A ridge of these old mountains reaching around 200m just southwest of Angers helps to block Atlantic precipitation, making this one of the driest parts of the Loire, with only around 760mm of rainfall annually.
Schist Soils and Cabernet Franc
The soils, collectively known as Anjou Noir, are complex schists, slates, and sandstones that drain freely and retain moisture poorly. Cabernet Franc needs consistent moisture throughout the growing season, and here the combination of low rainfall and these dense, brittle, free-draining soils can leave the vines under water stress. That stress can push the vine out of balance, leading to excessive pyrazines and amplifying the variety’s inherent rusticity, producing wines with harder, more austere tannins if the fruit is not handled carefully.
Site selection is therefore critical. Cabernet Franc should ideally be planted on the deeper parcels within a vineyard, where a meaningful proportion of clay in the topsoil can help supply the moisture the variety needs through the growing season.
Winemaking decisions are equally important. Given Cabernet Franc’s inherent structure and the risk of that structure being amplified on schist-rich soils, a gentle approach is essential.
The Lieu-Dit Les Tailles
Today’s wine comes from a single lieu-dit, Les Tailles, in the commune of Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay on the south side of the Layon River. A tributary of the Layon, the Hyrôme, shapes the landscape here, giving the site a gentle southeast-facing exposure. The bedrock is Brioverian schist with quartz, with approximately 60cm of topsoil composed of a mix of silt and clay. The parcel covers approximately 1.3 hectares of Cabernet Franc planted in the 1950s by Vincent’s father.
In the Cellar
The fruit is hand-harvested and fully destemmed. Fermentation takes place in concrete with maceration entirely by infusion: no punchdowns, no pump-overs, no active cap management of any kind. The skins are essentially steeped gently with the wine rather than worked, minimizing harsh tannin extraction while still allowing character and colour to develop. Total skin contact runs approximately 25 days. The wine then ages for 12 months, with two-thirds in underground concrete tanks and one-third in 500L barrels.
Wine Details
Producer: Domaine Ogereau
Appellation: Anjou Villages
Commune: Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay
Lieu-Dit: Les Tailles
Soil: 60cm of silt-clay-sand on a Brioverian schist bedrock
Alcohol: 14.5%