Anjou Brissac

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard sits on a vast schist or schist-and-sandstone plateau of the Massif armoricain, sloping gently towards the Loire, with elevations ranging between 50 and 90 metres.
• The communes located to the north of the geographical zone rest on formations of slate schist, quarried for several centuries for walls, roofing, flooring, and furniture elements.
• The zone is a low-rainfall enclave, benefiting from a foehn effect and sheltered from oceanic moisture by the higher relief of the Choletais and the Mauges, with 585 millimetres of annual precipitation compared with nearly 800 millimetres in the Choletais.
• The mesoclimate shows mean annual temperatures of around 12°C, some 1°C higher than those of the Maine-et-Loire département as a whole, which is reflected in a southerly tendency in the flora, with holm oaks and stone pines.
• In the western part of the zone, veins of acidic eruptive formations (rhyolites) or basic eruptive formations (spilites) dating from the Palaeozoic crop out locally, giving rise to very stony soils.
• The eastern part of the geographical zone rests on Cenomanian formations overlying the Precambrian basement, while the Cretaceous plateau to the east bears calcareous soils at the boundary of the Paris Basin.
• The Aubance, a small Loire tributary emblematic of the zone, flows northward from its source to Brissac-Quincé, a commune celebrated for its sixteenth-century château, before turning north-westward towards Mûrs-Erigné.

• The Cabernet franc variety, then known as 'plant breton', was already planted at Saint-Melaine-sur-Aubance according to a record from 1865, and plantings accelerated following the phylloxera crisis.
• The appellation was recognised under the name 'Anjou Villages Brissac' on 17 February 1998, before producers requested in 2017 that its name be changed to 'Anjou Brissac' to reinforce its own identity.

• The appearance is a deep ruby; the nose is often complex, blending red or black fruits, spice, game, or oaky notes; and the palate is broad and supple, with well-integrated tannins and a persistent finish.
• This rich red wine is made from Cabernet franc and Cabernet-Sauvignon, and it is recommended to cellar it for five or six years before drinking.

• The combination of shallow soils, low rainfall, a warm climate, and a topography that promotes a regular water supply leads to concentration of the grape's components, lending breadth and aromatic persistence to the wine.
• Cabernet-Sauvignon is planted on the shallower soils, while Cabernet franc is reserved mainly for the calcareous-clay soils of the Cenomanian or for brown soils developed on schist with a greater water-holding capacity.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 5 décembre 2025, JORF 18 décembre 2025
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — InterLoire