Domaine Mosse

Joseph & Silvestre Mosse

Loire

Sain-Lambert-du-Lattay

Agnès and René Mosse live in the village of Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay, one of the famous villages of the Coteaux-du-Layon appellation in Anjou. The Layon is a small tributary of the Loire which crosses schist and sandstone hills. Temperate weather, sunny autumns covering morning mists combine humidity and warmth; the two ingredients favourable to the development of botrytis on the Chenin grape. However the Mosse couple and their sons are mostly producing dry wines, always including the delicate touch of residual sugar characteristic of Anjou wines. The Mosse had owned a wine-bar/wine retail in Tours, meeting great winemakers before studying oenology and finally settled an estate in St-Lambert in 1999.

They adopted organic viticulture techniques from the start and use biodynamic preparations to treat the vines and soil. It is also important to them to vinify in a natural fashion, minimizing manipulations and the use of sulfur. All the wines are barrel-fermented and aged, and usually the whites go through their malolactic fermentation. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc are the main varietals with some Chardonnay, Grolleau Gris, Grolleau Rouge and Gamay.