Sansonnière (Mark Angéli) 2020 Vin de France Rosé d'un Jour

"The story of the Rosé d’un Jour is amazing. The first vintage 1997 was the best ever produced because Nature decided to give us a wink: the weather was very sunny during harvest, allowing to choose our picking date, so we decided to start with Chenin, and wait for the Grolleau Gris (previously made as a dry white with little interest.) When we went back, the grapes were passerillées, with a potential of 14.5%. We picked them with no idea what to do with them, as we didn’t know about the traditional off-dry rosé: grolleau was a disgraced grape for this style because of its low-yielding (25 hl/ha) when passerillé, opposite to cabernet franc (which gave the Cabernet d’Anjou AOC.) Of course when presented [for Rosé d’Anjou AOC, another off-dry rosé appellation in the region,] the wine did not get it! For the next 4 years it was refused, the committee even believing we were adding pomegranate or gooseberry syrup! So in 2002 we decided to sell it as Vin de France, at that time considered the lowest quality for wine. All the other cuvées followed in 2007, as they also were disgraced and refused the official agreement. We won’t change our mind and don’t want to be part of group of people promising the best quality, and providing none of it: in the AOC you can use herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, machine-harvest, you can add standard yeasts to the wine, sugar, tartaric acid and 65 other abominations." -  Mark & Martial Angeli, Bruno Ciofi.  

The Rosé d’un Jour is a pun on the AOC name Rosé d’Anjou. It is 100% grolleau gris, an old variety of Anjou-Touraine. The whole clusters are pressed in a large Champagne-style coquard press, then fermented in  tank. The wine is bottled 2 weeks after harvest, volcanic sulfur is used, before a sterile filtration. Bottles are waxed with real bees wax!

Sansonnière (Mark Angéli) 2019 Vin de France La Lune

"Geology in our beloved region of Anjou is the most complicated in the world. The soil is different every 20 meters, ranging from - 10 million to - 1 billion B.C. ! That’s why we decided in 1997 to blend many different tiny plots in one cuvée, La Lune. The other bigger plots were kept separated : Les Fouchardes, Les Vieilles Vignes des Blanderies or Coteau du Houet. The name La Lune was chosen by our former worker, Stéphane Bernaudeau (who has since joined the little world of exceptional wine growers), because of the crescent shape of the ranks : they look like the moon! We quickly discovered soon La Lune, compared to the other wines, could be an “immediate drinking” cuvée, not very much affected by the bottling. Of course it could also be kept 30 years and more, like the single-vineyard cuvées. Minerality is maybe just a little less defined - probably because of the soil diversity. However, we consider it a benchmark for the region, showing the taste of the area without overthinking the individuality of all the different plots."  - Mark & Martial Angeli, Bruno Ciofi.

Sansonnière (Mark Angéli) 2020 Vin de France Les Gélinettes

Gélinette is an old French word for grouse, a bird you used to find wild quite a lot in this part of Anjou, especially when polycultural agriculture was still conducted. Historically Mark made a little bit of red, mostly from cabernet sauvignon planted in 2000 but the wines were always quite rustic and tannic, so he decided to overgraft them and plant more grolleau, a grape fallen in disgrace and considered of poor quality for complex wines. Mostly linked to bad, high-yielding clonal selection dedicated to the production of cheap rosé in the 1970s and 80s, grolleau noir, an indigenous variety, can in fact produce beautiful reds with right massales vines and low crop. If you are a gamay of terroir freak, you will love grolleau on schist. Once called “Jeunes Vignes des Gélinettes”, the cuvée is now just names “Gélinettes” as the vines got older and are grolleau-dedicated.

Delrieu, Julien 2019 Vin de France Le Jeau Rouge

Julien Delrieu  has a touch for chenin for sure, but also for red. This blend of Grolleau and Cabernet Franc is a pure "gourmandise," which is not a common thing to say when you know the wine is made in Anjou Noir. But the combination of faluns (a mix of limestone and sandy soils full of seashells) and deep gravelly soil and clay don't bring the usual, rustic tannic structure the reds from the region can have, and even more when the organic farming and the care given to the vines make you think more about gardening than viticulture. This cuvée comes from two plots, the main one giving the name to the wine. Grapes are vinified in fiberglass tank, whole bunches for the grolleau, half for the cabernet, with very gentle pigeage, then bottled in the spring with a hint of sulfur. A very joyful wine, explosive with little red wild berries, fenugreek, peony, and a hint of pepper, the palate is just vibrant and delicious, very Loire-like, crunchy with no green whatsoever but a gentle herbal quality enhancing the fruit. A little chill will make it even better.  PL.

Delrieu, Julien 2020 Vin de France Pont Bourceau

Pont Bourceau is a crystal-like chenin by Julien Delrieu, all in delicacy and gentleness. The brightest grapes come from two vineyards Pont-Bourceau (planted in 1973) and le Jeau (planted in 1955 located next to Les Nourrissons plot), mostly on decomposed schistes - while he uses the ripest ones for Le Jeau blanc. This cuvée used to be called Varennes under the Roches Sèches era. Fermented in fiberglass, the wine is aged in used barrels - some coming from Bernaudeau. There is a just a hint of sulfur at bottling. This one is the most ethereal Chenin on schiste I have tasted recently, more reminiscent of the Chinon/Saumur profile, with maybe a hint more bitterness - which I love, making this type of Chenin perfect for some many vegetable dishes. A real great addition to the already superb expressions of Loire Chenin.  PL.

Delrieu, Julien 2019 Vin de France Le Jeau Blanc (Chenin)

Le Jeau blanc is subtle, nuanced and highly drinkable chenin on skin produced by the very talented Julien Delrieu. Using the ripest grapes from Pont-Bourceau (planted in 1973) and le Jeau (planted in 1955 located next to Les Nourrissons), both mostly on decomposed schistes, he considers that the quality of the must and the grapes is the determinant of how the wine will be done and aged. Julien used to make some skin-contact with Les Roches Sèches, and he definitely has the touch to extract just enough to give structure and complexity to the wine. Think white tea tannins here, balanced by some Tahitian pomelo zest, quinine and white pepper without any heaviness whatsoever. Vinified in tank and barrel with malo done, the wine just sees a little sulfur at bottling. A really delightful, layered and precise Chenin to enjoy now or over the next 5 years. PL.