Domaine Belargus - Anjou "Bonnes Blanches" 2020

Jo Pithon resuscitated this south-facing monopole, Coteau des Treilles, in Rochefort in the late 1990s. This 2.72-hectare plot is “geological chaos” hence abandoned after the war. Located in the heart of the Pont-Barré Natural Reserve, a heaven of biodiversity that has never known chemistry, Jo brought this grand cru back on the map of the Loire's finest vineyards. Now run by Ivan Massonnat they worked to create the very first vintage, the 2018.

From the Layon Valley, the golden-yellow 2018 Anjou Clos des Bonnes Blanches is from a late-ripening vineyard that is located on a slight north-facing slope on talcous schists covered with clay and white quartz pebbles. The wine opens with an intense yet refined and schistous bouquet of crushed stones intermingled with notes of lemon oil. Silky and crystalline on the palate, this is a fresh and tensioned, very mineral yet very elegant and refined Chenin that reveals a complexity and terroir character that is worthy of a grand cru. Full-bodied, long and expressive, with fine tannins and lingering grip, the Bonnes Blanches is lifted by the crystalline and salty acidity and structured by its fine tannins and sur lie texture. This is an exceptional Bonnes Blanches that should have great aging potential. 96 points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate. 

100% Chenin Blanc.