Domaine de Rochelles is a family run estate based in Saint Jean des Mauvrets, about 10 minutes from Angers.
We’re fans of their wines but had never tasted this Malbec before as when we lived in Cumeray (about 15 minutes from the estate), the vines had just been planted.
So, what was it like? Well, very different to the Malbecs we’ve become used to over here in Touraine.
With a bright purple colour that is indicative of the grape variety, it’s fresher and leaner on the palate then some we’ve tasted and has bright acidity on the finish.
It’s interesting to see how a grape variety perfoms on a completely different terroir. In Touraine we are on the limestone soils of the Paris Basin and over there in Anjou the vines are on the schist and slate terroir that makes up the Masif Amoricain.
I’d say this Malbec doesn’t have the ageing capacity that we have over this way but this could also be down to the fact that the vines are very young and so are producing something much lighter in style at this stage in their development.
In terms of pairing I’d recommend drinking it with anything that requires bright fruit and fresh acidity such as a charcuterie board with crusty bread.
