The Tijou family has a long winemaking history in the Anjou. They have been crafting wines since 1780. The actual Domaine de la Soucherie was purchased from the Marquis de Brissac in 1952. At the time almost all the wine produced at the Domaine was sold to the ubiquitous négociant Nicholas. Pierre-Yves Tijou, the current proprietor, took over the management of the estate in 1969 and began to bottle a small portion of the yields. Today, the entire production is estate-bottled.

The Domaine de la Soucherie is composed of 30 hectares of vineyards, four of which are within the highly coveted area of “Chaume” and 1.80 of which are within the confines of the Savennières appellation in the "Clos des Perrieres". Approximately 18.5 hectares of the domaine are planted with Chenin Blanc; there are also 7 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc; and there are small parcels of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Gamay. The AOC Anjou is the only region in France, with the exception of Beaujolais and Bugey, where the reds are produced with Gamay as the essential grape variety (in AOC Anjou-villages and in the Loire Valley in general, Cabernet Franc is king).

A few weeks ago we conducted a double blind staff tasting in the store. It was an exciting opportunity to put our region and grape variety identification skills to the test and taste rare gems from around the world. ’89 Vega Sicila Unico, ’99 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia, ’03 Amon Ra Shiraz and ’86 Castel In’Villa Chianti Classico Riserva were just a few of the wines in the lineup. One of the standouts, and the only wine in the tasting under fifty dollars, was this unassuming, but delicious Cabernet Franc from Anjou.

The nose possesses deep inflections of dark ripe fruit tones and lovely hints of pencil shavings. The palate on this stunning Anjou is packed with ample amounts of ultra ripe red and black fruits, notes of limestone, scintillating touches of acidity and just an enough earthy vegetal tones to add character. When I tasted this very well-balanced Cabernet Franc I was convinced it was a young, high-end Right Bank Bordeaux. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the wine and its more than reasonable price. Pair this with roast chicken, pork loin, veal chops or rich, creamy cheeses.

—Donald