Grolleau IGP 2018

The Grolleau IGP 2018 from Clau de Nell is a single-varietal red wine from the Anjou, dark-fruited and spicy, earthy and elegant at once. Intense garnet red with purple highlights, 12.0% vol., ageing potential of 15+ years.

Clau de Nell is located in Ambillou-Château, 90 metres above sea level and 120 kilometres from the Atlantic; cool nights and warm days preserve the freshness. The roughly 55-year-old vines are rooted in loamy-silty soil over sandstone as well as in red flint over tuffeau, a type of limestone. Two hectares of the estate are planted with Grolleau, recently joined by young plantings.

Grolleau, an indigenous Loire variety, usually ends up in off-dry rosé d'Anjou; it had almost never been vinified as a single varietal until Claude and Nelly, the founders of Clau de Nell, did just that. Yield is 25 hectolitres per hectare, hand-harvested into 12-kilo crates. Destemmed, fermented for 30 days with only occasional pump-overs. 30 percent aged for twelve months on fine lees in Burgundian pièces five to seven years old, 70 percent in large foudres, after which the cuvée spent a further six months in stainless steel.

Decant it, and the wine releases its spice: richly ripe cherries, plums, wild strawberries and raspberries, along with herbs, pepper and a warm, damp forest floor. The palate entry is lively and fresh, the still-firm tannin grips powerfully, the structure stays precise. Long and complex, with a light peppery note in the finish.

Baked goat's cheese with beetroot, honey and cinnamon, lamb köfte with cherries and tahini or pan-fried blood sausage with fried onions and apple purée.

The estate has been farmed biodynamically since 2000, and the label carries the Demeter logo. Anne-Claude Leflaive acquired the then-derelict estate in 2008 with her husband Christian Jacques; since her death in 2015, Christian Jacques and cellar master Sylvain Potin have continued running the estate.