Le Salon des Vins de Loire – Leduc Frouin

For Leduc Frouin, 2016 turned out to be a pretty good year. As with all growers in the Loire, stress levels were pretty high at Leduc Frouin with the frost at the end of April, the incessant muggy damp weather and then the lack of rain in July/August. Antoine Leduc told us yesterday that while his volumes were a little less than normal, he was very happy with the quality of the grapes that he brought in at the end of the season.

We tasted his 2016’s (samples from tank, not yet bottled) and were delighted with the lovely fruit concentration and balance in the wines. His Anjou Rouge 2016, 100% Cabernet Franc is a cracking example. Bursting with crushed raspberry fruit, it has classic Cab Franc aromas that are hugely appealing, a mellow mid-palate and a nice freshness on the finish.  His Anjou Villages 2016 has a little more complexity on the nose and is a bit tighter. A blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, it obviously needs a little time but again has lovely freshness on the finish. We compared these two wines in the 2015 vintage, the Anjou Rouge has less sweet raspberry fruit and more cherry, plum notes and has much more tannin than the 2016.  The Anjou Villages 2015 has lovely red fruit aromas and its more open than the 2016 (this is what we would expect). It’s softer and rounder on the palate than the Anjou and has a lovely elegant finish.

Antoine is also very pleased with his rosés this year.  His Rosé d’Anjou is a delightful shade of pink and has a lovely summer fruit aromas with a hint of pear drops. Super fruity on the palate and with great freshness on the finish I defy anyone to say they wouldn’t enjoy this sitting in the garden. His Cabernet d’Anjou is slightly sweeter and has more strawberry notes on the nose. Just imagine enjoying a bowl of strawberries and cream and this is it in the glass.

Leduc Frouin is a small family business only about 15 minutes from us here in Anjou.  Their wines are for us, wonderful value and we always receive a warm welcome when visiting.

La Seigneurie
Village de Sousigné
49540 MARTIGNE BRIAND

Open from monday to saturday
from 9 am to 6 pm

info@leduc-frouin.com