Coming from a terroir producing world-renowned sweet wines, the Quarts-de-Chaume Grand Cru appellation area also give birth to great dry wines. The Rouères cuvée comes from the so-called single-plot on the Quarts-deChaume hillside. Growing on pudding rocks and sandstones, the vines give a round and generous dry wine, supported by a singular and elegant bitterness.
The 2018 vintage was historic, in Anjou as in many French regions, with good yields and exceptional grape quality. The winter had started early and was quite cold, with severe frosts. The land was thus opened, allowing nitrogen fertilisation as well as soil oxygenation. Generous rains helped building a comfortable water reserve. The hot and humid spring allowed the vines to grow well, but also brought strong mildew pressure, especially in June. The summer was particularly hot and dry, but the vines did not suffer thanks to the sufficient accumulated reserves. The dry wines harvest began on September 10th and went on for twenty days without a single drop of rain, perfect conditions which allowed optimal management of the ripeness.
Rouères is somehow the opposite of his next-plot “neighbour” Quarts. The warm, pudding sandstone soil gives this wine a typical roundness and bitterness. With a golden colour, Roueres opens on yellow fruits flavors, with curry and spices notes. The mouth, large and round, ends on the natural straightness of Chenin and the typical bitterness of the Quarts-de-Chaume terroir.
