Angers - Black Slate & Roman Walls

Angers' imposing fortress has 17 towers and was built on Roman foundations. The city guards the entrance to Savennières and Coteaux du Layon - white wines from slate and schist soils the Romans mined. End your Loire adventure where Romans began their conquest of the valley.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Read the Roman Promontory in the Château's Own Striped Walls History · Free

   The black-and-white banded towers aren't decorative. They're geological — and they tell you everything about the wine you'll drink later.

   Where: Stand at the base of the Château d'Angers outer walls on Promenade du Bout du Monde, looking up at the 17 towers. You don't need a ticket for this — it's visible from the street and public gardens.

   What: The Romans chose this exact promontory in the 1st century AD for their market town, Juliomagus — literally 'Augustus's market.' Saint Louis chose the same elevated rock in 1234 to build his fortress, 1,200 years later, same logic: height, defence, the bend of the Maine below. Now look at the walls. They're striped — horizontal bands of black schist and white limestone. That's not decoration. The builders used what the ridge gave them: black volcanic schist from the escarpment above and white limestone from the riverbed below. The same dark volcanic rock you're looking at right now runs west under 300 hectares of Savennières vineyard, where it produces the most uncompromising dry Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley.

   How: Walk the full perimeter of the outer wall (free, open access). Look for the horizontal banding on the tower faces — dark grey-black schist alternating with cream-white limestone. On the south-facing towers, you'll see the bands most clearly. Take note of the schist colour: that exact shade of near-black volcanic rock is called 'Anjou Noir' — Black Anjou — and it's what makes the wine grown 15km west of here unlike anything else on earth.

   Backup: If the main promenade is being maintained, the banding is equally visible from the castle gardens on the north side.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Find the Scene That Was a Horse Blanket — Inside the Apocalypse Gallery History · Price: moderate

   This 140-metre masterpiece was cut into pieces during the French Revolution and used as horse insulation, floor mats, and draught-stoppers for 70 years. A cathedral canon gathered the fragments back. Sixteen scenes were lost forever.

   Where: Inside the Château d'Angers, in the purpose-built Apocalypse Gallery (designed by architect Bernard Vitry, 1954). Admission €11-14 adults; under-18s and EU residents under 26 free. Open daily except public holidays — 10am-5:30pm (Oct-Apr), 9am-6pm (May-Sep).

   What: In 1377, Louis I, Duke of Anjou, commissioned Hennequin de Bruges — the King's painter — to design the world's largest tapestry. Six sections, 90 scenes from the Book of Revelation, 6 metres tall, 140 metres long. It was finished in 1382 and covered everything: the Four Horsemen, the breaking of the seven seals, the Great Beast from the sea, the Whore of Babylon, the New Jerusalem. Louis's grandson René bequeathed it to Angers Cathedral in 1480. Then came the Revolution. Revolutionary soldiers looted the cathedral, cut the tapestry into pieces and distributed the sections as practical fabric: horse stable insulation, floor mats, protection for orange trees against frost, material to block gaps in buildings. For roughly 70 years, the most ambitious medieval artwork in France kept horses warm and floors clean. A cathedral canon eventually retrieved what he could find, piece by piece. When they were reassembled in 1848, 71 of the original 90 scenes had been recovered. Sixteen were gone forever.

   How: Budget at least 90 minutes for the gallery — the tapestry is 71 metres of surviving sections and you'll want to move slowly. The recommended starting point is Scene 1: John receiving his vision on the island of Patmos. From there, the narrative moves chronologically. Ask at the ticket desk for the audio guide (it devotes 30 minutes specifically to the tapestry) or the free family interpretation booklet. When you reach the later sections — the Beast emerging from the sea, the Whore of Babylon — pause and think: this specific panel was a horse blanket somewhere in Angers for seven decades before being found and returned.

   Backup: If the château is at capacity, book tickets in advance at chateau-angers.fr. The first Sunday of November to March is free entry for all visitors.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Walk Directly Across the Street and Taste 26 Appellations for Free Wine · Free

   The Maison des Vins sits directly opposite the château gate. Free entry, 70+ wines, a sommelier, 26 appellations — including Savennières, Quarts de Chaume, and Coteaux du Layon. This is how you understand what the black schist makes.

   Where: Maison des Vins d'Anjou, 5 bis Place Kennedy, 49100 Angers. Exit the château through the main gate, walk straight across the square — it's directly in front of you. Hours: Mon 14:30-19:00; Tue-Thu 11:00-13:30 & 14:00-19:00; Fri-Sat 11:00-18:00; closed Sunday.

   What: Free entry. Seventy-plus wines from 26 appellations across Anjou-Saumur, presented by a sommelier. This is the Loire Valley in a single room: dry Savennières Chenin grown on black schist, rich sweet Quarts de Chaume Chenin with noble rot, Coteaux du Layon, Saumur-Champigny reds, Anjou rosé. Here's the contrast worth tasting: ask to compare a Savennières (grown on the black volcanic Anjou Noir schist, dry, austere, mineral — give it air) with a Coteaux du Layon or Quarts de Chaume (grown on the same Chenin grape, south bank of the Loire, clay and limestone, sweet, golden, unctuous). Same grape. Different geology. Opposite wines. The black rock does this.

   How: Walk in, introduce yourself as someone who just came from the château and wants to understand the terroir contrast between Anjou Noir and Anjou Blanc. Ask: 'Could I taste a Savennières next to something from the Coteaux du Layon?' Any sommelier here will light up at that question. If you want to buy, the Savennières to look for is anything from Domaine aux Moines or Château d'Épiré (more accessible than Coulée de Serrant, still pure black schist). For sweet, ask about Quarts de Chaume — the Loire's only Grand Cru appellation, one of only two AOCs in France with a maximum yield lower than Sauternes.

   Backup: If the Maison des Vins is closed (Sunday or public holiday), the wine shop at the château ticket office stocks selected Anjou bottles for purchase.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Walk the 7 Hectares That Share an AOC with Romanée-Conti Wine · Price: high · Optional

   Coulée de Serrant is one of only four single-vineyard monopoles in France to have its own appellation — alongside Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, and Château-Grillet. Cistercian monks planted it in 1130. Nicolas Joly went biodynamic here in 1984. The wine costs €85-130 a bottle and you can taste it at the source.

   Where: Vignobles de la Coulée de Serrant, Château de la Roche aux Moines, 49170 Savennières. Drive or taxi, ~15km west of Angers (20 minutes). GPS: 47.389°N, 0.641°W.

   What: Seven hectares. That's it. The entire Coulée de Serrant AOC. The Cistercian monks of the Abbey of Saint Nicolas planted this exact south-facing slope above the Loire in 1130 — recorded. For 660 years it was one single vineyard. Then the Revolution came and broke it up. The Joly family reassembled it in the 20th century and Nicolas Joly, a former London banker, walked away from finance in 1977 to tend these vines. By 1984 he had achieved full biodynamic certification — among the very first winemakers in the world to do so. The soil is schist and quartz: the black volcanic Anjou Noir. The wines need years to open — a young Coulée de Serrant is almost hostile — but given time, they're what critics mean when they say 'terroir-transparent.' You can taste 400 million years of volcanic activity and nine centuries of monastic care in a glass.

   How: Call ahead or email to make an appointment — the estate is open Mon-Sat 9am-12pm and 2pm-5:30pm, but walk-in visits are possible. A cellar tour with tasting runs approximately €55. At the tasting, ask to try the 'Les Vieux Clos' (their entry-level Savennières, ~€25-35/bottle) before the Coulée de Serrant itself — the contrast shows you what the monopole designation actually earns. When you're standing in the walled vineyard looking down toward the Loire, find the black schist exposed at the surface. This is the same geological seam that runs under the Château d'Angers walls 15km away and under the old slate quarries at Trélazé — the black rock that once roofed half of France and now makes the wine you're holding.

   Backup: If Coulée de Serrant is fully booked or closed, Domaine aux Moines (also in Savennières, along the same schist ridge) offers walk-in tastings of Savennières-Roche aux Moines — same terroir, same ancient monastic origin, more accessible. Or taste the Savennières range at the Maison des Vins in Angers (Step 3) without the drive.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• The fortress houses the Apocalypse Tapestry - largest medieval tapestry in the world

• Savennières' Chenin Blanc from schist is powerful, age-worthy, world-class

• Nicolas Joly's Coulée de Serrant is biodynamic legend (book ahead)

• Coteaux du Layon produces honeyed sweet wines from botrytis