2022 Domaine Belargus, Ronceray, Anjou

About this wine

The 2022 Domaine Belargus Ronceray is a selection from every parcel the domaine farms on the hillside of Chaume, in Rochefort-sur-Loire, named after the abbey of Ronceray in Angers whose nuns once owned vines here. Ivan Massonnat created Belargus in 2018 by buying the estate of Jo Pithon, and his project since then has been to treat the schist slopes of Anjou like the Côte d'Or, parcel by parcel, with dry Chenin Blanc as the grape. The Ronceray vines are around thirty years old, between 30 and 65 metres above the Layon, on loamy clay over schist, sandstone and puddingstone, farmed organically with Ecocert certification and in conversion to biodynamics under Biodyvin. The grapes are hand-picked and pressed directly, ferment with their native yeasts and spend twelve months in oak vats and 400-litre French barrels before bottling as Anjou. The Wine Advocate rated the 2022 between 90 and 92 points.

Expect quince and yellow apple, chamomile, beeswax and a wet-stone, smoky note, a dense, dry palate with the firm acidity of Chenin and a long saline finish. Serve at 11 degrees with a river fish in beurre blanc, roast pork, a goat cheese or a mushroom pie. Drink now to 2034.

About Domaine Belargus

Domaine Belargus was created in 2018 when Ivan Massonnat, a Parisian financier in love with Chenin Blanc, bought the estate of Jo Pithon in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay and set about mapping the great schist slopes of Anjou parcel by parcel. The domaine farms 24 hectares, certified organic by Ecocert and in conversion to biodynamics with Biodyvin, across the hillsides of Chaume, Rochefort, Savennières and the Layon, and bottles each terroir on its own, dry Chenin above all. Grapes are picked by hand, pressed directly and fermented with native yeasts, then raised for a year or more in oak vats and 400-litre barrels. Within a few vintages Belargus has become a reference for the new Anjou.