New Releases from La Ferme de la Sansonnière and Domaine de Bellivière!
2/28/26 -
We're very proud to offer new releases from these two extraordinary estates, which produce some of the world's finest examples of Chenin Blanc and Pineau D'Aunis!
La Ferme de la Sansonnière (Mark Angeli, Martial Angeli, Bruno Ciofi)
Mark Angeli, who purchased the Ferme de la Sansonnière in 1990, is a paysan-vigneron, and an ecological activist. If one character can embody the wine revolution that is happening in the Loire, and more specifically in Anjou, he is without a doubt the leading contender. And his wines are snapped up all around the world, true unicorns - ironically the symbol of the estate. We apologize for the small quantities available!
If the wines have been brilliant benchmarks for Chenin on schist, they are reaching today a new level thanks to the energetic return of Martial, Mark’s son and the arrival of Bruno Ciofi, ex-manager of Domaine de la Pinte in the Jura. More than ever, the trio of farmer-peasants is experimenting with agroforestry, regenerative farming, ungrafted vines, goblet and echalas pruning, rehabilitation of forgotten varieties (like Grolleau Blanc), amphora and homeopathic uses of volcanic sulfur. They farm currently 7.5 ha of mostly Chenin and a little Grolleau (blanc, gris and noir), surrounded by fields for horses, sheep, beehives, cows, cartham (for the oil), wheat (for the flour), fruit trees (for biodiversity and delicious juice). The wines are rare and beautiful! - (Pictured above, vines at the "La Lune" parcel)
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Domaine de Bellivière, Clement and Laure-Anne Nicolas
We [David Lillie and Joe Dressner] met Eric and Christine Nicolas of Domaine de Bellivière at one of the first "Dive Bouteille" tastings in the Breton's cellars in Bourgueil. It was an exciting moment, meeting these wonderful people and tasting wines the likes of which we had never encountered before. Their domain was young at the time, created in 1995, but was already well on it's way to organic and Biodynamic farming and precise, natural vinifications which beautifully reveal the great but mostly forgotten terroirs of Jasnières and the Coteaux du Loir.
Eric, Christine and their son Clement have been constantly thinking, experimenting and refining their techniques in an effort to work more closely with nature. New plantings since 2010 are massale selection at 11,200 plants/hectare, a density the Nicolas feel limits yields and best expresses the varied terroirs. The new winery now permits all movements of juice/wine to be soley by gravity. Some parcels are now conducted in agroforestry, noting the effects on the vines and grapes. Little by little, the estate has grown and now includes 20 hectares along the banks of the Loir and its tributaries - Chenin Blanc in Jasnières, and for the reds, Pineau d'Aunis in the Coteaux du Loir.
Clément and Laure-Anne Nicolas are now firmly in charge and the results of their work are clearly evident in these wines, most of which we tasted in Angers earlier this month, which show beautiful, complex fruit, perfect balance and fantastic texture and minerality. The 2022 Coteaux du Loir Eparses Vieilles Vignes is one of the most beautiful Chenins of this lovely vintage, and we were really delighted by the 2023 Jasnières "Prémises," from 10 to 50 year-old vines. This "entry-level" Jasnières is dry and refreshingly light with gorgeous, subtle fruit, making it a superb aperitif and a great match for any lighter seafood and chicken dishes.
The 2022 "Rouge Gorge" and "Hommage a Louis Derré" have softened nicely over the past year and are both showing beautifully - they are certainly among the very finest examples of Pineau d'Aunis!
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Domaine de la Roche Bleue, Sebastien Cornille
The lovely and well-priced wines of Domaine de la Roche Bleue in Jasnières and the Coteaux du Loir are a special added attraction today. Our tasting with Sébastien and Janneke a few weeks ago was superb as usual - these are beautiful Chenins and Pineau D'Aunis and they are excellent values! The domaine was established in 2008 by Sébastien, a native of Sancerre, with 3.5 hectares in Jasnières and 1.5 hectares in the Coteaux-du-Loir. Now totaling about 6.5 hectares, the estate is certified organic and uses biodynamic methods as well, very much in the style of his neighbor in the vines, Clement Nicolas. Sébastien works the soils without deep plowing, harvests by hand, vinifies with wild yeasts and without additives and uses minimal SO2. "The terroir here is full of energy and freshness with a touch of austerity that allows the wines to improve with age. Our work consists of intervening as little as possible, mainly by hand, and letting the vines live in a natural environment whose balance is based on biodiversity in and around the plants."
-David Lillie
