Coteaux d'Ancenis

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard extends across both banks of the Loire, midway between Nantes and Angers, across the territory of 16 communes spread between Loire-Atlantique and Maine-et-Loire.
• The vines are planted mainly on slopes facing the river, sometimes on the sides of secondary valleys, at elevations most often between 20 and 80 metres.
• The vineyard rests on the ancient metamorphic formations of the Massif armoricain, composed principally of schists, mica-schists and gneiss — hard rocks giving rise to siliceous and often stony soils that are very shallow on the slopes.
• The temperate oceanic climate is reinforced by the Loire, which carries maritime influence inland, the river following the same orientation as the prevailing winds through the Ancenis area.
• The mean annual temperature is around 11.5 °C, with mild winters and cool summers, and rainfall of approximately 700 millimetres per year shows a marked moisture deficit in summer.

• In 1573, Charles IX authorised the creation of four licensed wine-broker offices at the port of Ancenis, raised to ten in 1584, illustrating the commercial importance of the port.
• Pinot gris, introduced in the 17th century to develop rich, sweet white wines, gradually came to produce a wine known as 'Malvoisie', while gamay appeared around the middle of the 19th century.
• After the phylloxera crisis, the replanted vineyard adopted a planting density of between 6,000 and 7,000 vines per hectare, a figure that remains in force today.
• The Syndicat viticole de l'arrondissement d'Ancenis was established as early as 1907, and the appellation d'origine vin délimité de qualité supérieure 'Coteaux d'Ancenis' was recognised in 1954.

• The white wines display a yellow colour suggestive of richness, with intense aromatic notes of very ripe fruit or exotic fruit.
• The red wines have a bright cherry-red to garnet robe, a nose dominated by red fruit and sometimes spice, and elegant tannins that lend suppleness and freshness.

• The soils shaped by the Loire within the metamorphic formations of the Massif armoricain have a high capacity for warming and rapid drainage, both of which promote grape ripeness.
• A period that is often windy and dry in late summer and early autumn, combined with the open landscapes of the Loire riverbanks, largely explains why a production of red and rosé wines developed in the region.

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 26 novembre 2025, JORF 29 novembre2025
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — InterLoire