Anjou Ronceray La Martinière
At a Glance
- Variety: Chenin Blanc
- Terroir: La Martinière (monopole), Rochefort Sur Loire, at the foot of a hillside on the right bank of the Layon river, south and southwest-facing, steep slope (30-40% grade), stony soil with Briovérien schists, sandstones and puddingstones.
- Viticulture: Organic (Ecocert), biodynamic (Biodyvin). 5,000 vines/ha, low yields, natural grass cover crop, grazed by sheep twice throughout the winter, short pruning, manual de-budding and leaf removal.
- Vinification: Harvested early to avoid botrytis, pressed for 4 hours with whole clusters, lightly settled, ambient yeast fermentation and aging on the lees for 10-12 months in 400 and 500 L used barrels, spontaneous malolactic conversion, filtered with diatomaceous earth, SO2 added only during aging, bottled under cork.
Additional Info
In 2020, the Ogereaus harvested La Martinière, their terroir of Quarts de Chaume, in a dry version for the first time. The Ogereaus have come to realize that their best terroirs for sweet wines also appear to be the best terroirs for dry wines, and the potential really depends on the vintage and the choice of the winemaker. Historically, there was no distinction between dry versus sweet, or reference to residual sugars, demonstrating the emphasis of terroir over style.