Anjou-Saumur covers the Loire vineyards around Angers and Saumur, where the geology changes from the dark schists and older rocks of the Armorican Massif to the pale tuffeau limestone of the Paris Basin. Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc connect the two halves, but the range of wine is unusually broad. Dry and sweet white, red and rosé wines are made here, alongside traditional-method sparkling wine, whose bubbles come from a second fermentation in the bottle.
Chenin can remain bracingly dry, carry gentle sweetness or become a concentrated dessert wine. Cabernet Franc can be light and immediately fragrant or structured enough to age. Grolleau and Cabernet Sauvignon are important in rosé and some red styles. The full appellation tells you far more than the regional name alone.
Schist in the west gives way to tuffeau
What changes here
Around Angers and along the Layon, schist, sandstone and volcanic rocks dominate many sites. Savennières sits on the north bank of the Loire and is known for dry Chenin. South of the river, Coteaux du Layon and its associated names make sweet Chenin, with Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume among the most concentrated examples. Vintage conditions strongly affect late harvesting and the development of noble rot, a fungus that can concentrate ripe grapes.
Towards Saumur, tuffeau limestone becomes more important. Saumur Blanc is Chenin-based, Saumur-Champigny is a Cabernet Franc red, and Saumur also has a long sparkling-wine tradition supported by extensive cellars cut into the limestone. The contrast in bedrock helps organise the map, though each appellation contains its own soils and exposures.
The appellation identifies the grapes and wine style
Names to know
Savennières means dry Chenin Blanc. Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume mean sweet Chenin at different geographic scales. Anjou Blanc and Anjou Rouge are broader categories; Anjou Villages and Anjou Villages Brissac identify more structured red traditions. Rosé d'Anjou, Cabernet d'Anjou and Rosé de Loire follow different grape and sweetness rules.
Saumur may be white, red, rosé or sparkling, so check the colour and any added wording. Saumur-Champigny is red Cabernet Franc. Crémant de Loire is a traditional-method sparkling appellation made across a larger Loire area, including substantial production in Anjou-Saumur.
Choose dry or sweet Chenin, Cabernet Franc or sparkling wine
First bottle
For a dry Chenin Blanc, choose Savennières or Saumur Blanc. To compare the same grape in a sweet wine, try Coteaux du Layon. Notice how the acidity, texture and sweetness change. Saumur-Champigny offers a red made from Cabernet Franc.
For sparkling wine, compare Saumur Brut or Crémant de Loire with a still Chenin from the same producer if available. For rosé, check the appellation: Rosé de Loire is dry, while Cabernet d'Anjou is gently sweet.
Continue through the region
Elsewhere in Loire
- Centre-Loire33 producersCentre-Loire is the Loire's Sauvignon Blanc country. Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume sit on opposite banks of the river, while Menetou-Salon, Reuilly and Quincy add further names to the map.
- Pays Nantais12 producersPays Nantais lies around Nantes at the Loire's Atlantic edge. It is known for Muscadet, a white wine made from Melon de Bourgogne. Names such as Clisson, Gorges and Le Pallet identify smaller growing areas within it.
- Touraine43 producersTouraine brings Cabernet Franc reds, Chenin Blanc in still and sparkling forms, and aromatic Sauvignon Blanc together along the central Loire.
Producers in Anjou-Saumur
Start with these
- Domaine des Roches NeuvesVarrains domaine working Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc across tuffeau limestone with organic and biodynamic farming.
- Domaine GuiberteauSaumur domaine farming organic vineyards in Brézé, with dry Chenin Blanc and Saumur Rouge.
- Domaine Arnaud LambertDomaine Arnaud Lambert makes Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc around Saumur, with Brézé bringing lifted, mineral whites and lighter reds, and clay-heavy Saint-Cyr giving Cabernet Franc more weight and tannin.
- Domaine Eric MorgatDomaine Eric Morgat is a leading Savennières vigneron, represented here by white wines from the Anjou-Saumur appellation.
- Domaine aux MoinesDomaine aux Moines has a 12-hectare holding in Savennières-Roche-aux-Moines under Tessa Laroche, with slow pickings and indigenous yeasts.
Browse 15 more
- AmpelidaeAmpelidae is a Loire Valley producer established from a small vine parcel in Marigny-Brizay, with Sauvignon Blanc and sparkling wines listed.
- Cave Robert et MarcelLoire cooperative in Bellevigne-les-Châteaux associated with a Cabernet Franc Crémant de Loire rosé and Vouvray De Chanceny Brut.
- Caves des PerrièresCaves des Perrières is a Loire producer listed with a 2024 Pouilly-Fumé marked by pronounced minerality and nutty tones.
- Château de FeslesChâteau de Fesles makes Bonnezeaux Chenin Blanc alongside dry whites, Crémant and Cabernet Franc from 43 planted hectares.
- Château SoucherieChâteau Soucherie presents Loire whites through the dry, lemony Clos des Perrières and the concentrated, fresh Chaume Premier Cru.
- Château YvonneChâteau Yvonne makes Saumur-Champigny La Folie from a revived Loire estate farmed organically and biodynamically.
- Complices de LoireLoire partnership making plot-based organic wines across appellations from Sancerre to Saumur.
- Domaine de la ClartièreFamily domaine in Nueil-sur-Layon making Chenin Blanc wines, from floral Terres de Paillé to off dry Cuvée Pierrot.
- Domaine des MaillochesA Restigné Demont family domaine with eight generations of vineyard work and a named Vieilles Vignes red from Touraine.
- Domaine du Petit ClocherAnjou family domaine making Chenin Blanc, Cabernet reds, rosé and sweet Coteaux du Layon.
- Domaine Les Clos MauriceA 21 hectare estate in Varrains, at the heart of the Saumur-Champigny appellation, Domaine Les Clos Maurice works with Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc across still red, white, rosé and sparkling wines.
- Earl Domaine de NoireOrganic Chinon domaine where hand harvested grapes meet indigenous yeasts and a Chenin Blanc Amphora aged in terracotta.
- Langlois-ChateauSaint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent house focused on Crémant de Loire, with Chenin Blanc at the centre and extended lees ageing.
- Le Fief NoirLe Fief Noir is a 30-hectare estate in Saint-Lambert du Lattay, at the heart of Anjou Noir, founded by oenologists Dominique Sirot and Alexis Soulas in 2014.
- Moulin TouchaisSweet Chenin Blanc from Coteaux du Layon, picked in successive passes and released only after long bottle ageing.