Terroir and wine

L’Anjou noir,
terroir of rarity

“Anjou noir” is a part of the Anjou terroirs which is located at the eastern end of the Armorican Massif. With its crystalline and acidic origin, the oldest soils are essentially made of schist, gneiss, and granite. We can even find remains of old mines and quarries specialized in the extraction of slate, iron and granite.
“Anjou noir” is also colors such as grey, anthracite, shades of blue or brown which evoke schist terroir. At Domaine des Petits Quarts, we know every inch of our vines.

The work of the vine
is done as in a garden

We work with precision, where working the soil is perilous, taking great care not to accentuate the exposure of roots to difficult climatic conditions.
Our vineyard is mainly composed of a schist terroir and is crossed by a vein of phtanites (a blue colored rock containing quartz). Our vines are on slopes. With a 25% slope, their exposure to the sun but also to the climate is totally different from one place to another.
Our exceptional terroirs are often damaged by rain, frost, erosion and lack of sun. And most of the time, they have low water reserves. A chance for us! Because our vines can withstand water stress quite well! It is even an essential condition for the success of our different wines.
In addition to this, the mild climate of Anjou.

A mild
oceanic climate

The exposure of our plots are different from south-east to south-west: our "Malabé" are exposed to the rising sun, our "Beauregard" to the south-east and our "Melleresses" to the south.
We prefer southern orientations to northern ones, because it encourages the maturity of our grapes and the development of noble rot. The sun is more present and stronger. It increases the temperature more easily and dries our soils, which benefits to our grapes and gives them a nice southern accent! These different exposures will mark the life of our vines. While some of them evolves at the gentle rhythm of the sunrise, others experience the harshness of a southern exposure with often scorching temperatures. These natural hazards do not allow for any dead end in the management of grass. They require us to cultivate our vines to encourage deep rooting so that they can feed on essential minerals..