Anjou Le Clos des Rouliers Richard Leroy 2001

Lot presentation

Anjou Le Clos des Rouliers Richard Leroy 2001

The wine

This cuvée was produced under the Anjou AOC designation until 2008 when it was reclassified as a Vin de France due to discrepancies with the INAO. In Clos des Rouliers, Richard Leroy has created one of the finest Chenins in the Loire - dry and polished, but with a slightly more creamy quality than les Noëls de Montbenault.

Aside from his passion, there was nothing to predispose Richard Leroy to become a winegrower (no wine producers in his family and a student of Economics) but in the middle of the 1990s he took on 2.7 hectares of vines in Rablay-sur-Layon. He used to produce sweet white wines under the Rablay-sur-Layon appellation and dry wines under the Anjou appellation but following serious disagreements with the INAO his cuvées have been reclassified under the Vin de France label. Yields are very low and only the best grapes are selected. The viticulture is, of course, organic and harvesting is done by hand. Sulphur levels have been reduced dramatically year after year. These wines are perhaps one of the finest expressions of the Chenin grape. They have also become an open secret, sought-after by connoisseurs all over the world. Unfortunately, production levels are negligible.