Domaine Belargus is the recently born Domaine of wine visionary Ivan Massonnat. Under the Belargus banner, Massonnat has acquired 24 hectares of famous, millennium old Chenin parcels and put together an all-star team of vignerons to pursue the heart and soul of Anjou.

Inspired by the climate of Burgundy, Massonnat has brought together under the Domaine Belargus banner a unique collection of grands crus, 1-er crus, and monopoles in the heart of the Loire Valley, seeking to capture in one estate Anjou’s famous appellations and micro-climates and soils—Savennières, Coteaux-du-Layon, Qaurts-de-Chaume, Anjou Noir—using Chenin Blanc as the only instrument. If you want to know more about the characteristics of this area you can take a look at www.vinerra.com

He’s assembled not only these hallowed sites but also a team of Loire legends and precocious young talent alike to manage both the vineyards and the cellars in this shared pursuit.

Wine visionary Ivan Massonnat has collected a total of 24 hectares of acquired millenary Anjou vineyards and a lofty team of France’s finest to farm and cellar their produce.

Among their most remarkable plots are the Quarts-de-Chaume Grand Cru*, the centre of gravity of the Estate with ten hectares in one piece, centred around the three plots historically composing the appellation, the "Coteau des Treilles”* (a monopole), a wild and steep hillside located in the heart of a classified Regional Natural Reserve, and the "Clos des Ruchères" (another monopole) in Savennières, planted on a rare hillside of purple schists. Respecting the vintage’s personality, Domaine Belargus produces each year a collection of dry white wines and, in exceptional years only, uses the magic of botrytis to create some sweet wines.

The Belargus vineyards are farmed biodynamically to bear out the vibrant panorama of their sites, the croups sculpted by the winds, the sand plateaus, the sun-drenched steep hillsides. Bottling these parcels accordingly, they each reveal their own chiseled character. They sing the depths below them: the mingling purple shists, magmatic rocks, rolled pebbles, the fine clays, all the life-giving complexity of the soil. You can taste the work of the roots, plunging deep through these strata to carry all that complexity and mineral finesse to we, the eager lovers of Chenin above. We can hold and inhale and taste it all.

This environment is home not only to grapes but to thousands of native species: fragrant heather, wild flowers, medicinal plants, colourful shrubs, a diverse explosion of life. This microcosm belongs to all these life forms and, depending on the hours and the seasons, to grasshoppers and bats and sheep and birds also. Belargus goes out of its way to honour this fact of life. Life repays the favour in the symphonic flavours in these wines.

*The Quarts-de-Chaume and Coteau des Treilles grand crus were incorporated under the Domaine Belargus banner from out of Massonat’s purchase of Loire legend Jo Pithon’s domaine (Pithon-Paillé) which continues under its own name with its Cabernet Franc’s, multi-parcel Chenin’s, and classic Grololo glou glou wines, all under Ivan Massonnat’s leadership. Pithon-Paillé is also a Vino al Vino portfolio producer! New wines from Pithon-Paillé have arrived in the same shipment so watch out for that email shortly as well!

Les Vins

2018 “Ronceray” Sec, Anjou AOC

In the best vintages when noble rot occurs perfectly, this vineyard is used to create world-renowned dessert wine. Meanwhile, part of the earlier, partially botrytised fruit is picked to create powerful, unctuous dry Chenin in case the remaining berries do not achieve full noble rot. The result is an intensified, full bodied, dry expression of the plot that exudes “pear, spices, flowers, menthol, a mouthfeel of roundness but with remarkable vibrancy on the mid-palate and then a light-footed finish. A fresh, complex Anjou white that has rectitude and precision.”

The Ronceray cuvée refers to the Abbey of the same name, after the owner of the Chaume vineyard from the 11th century. Until the French revolution the lords of Haute-Guerche, farming this vineyard, were paying the nuns with "the best quarter of the harvest"... The "Quarts-de-Chaume" name was born. Ronceray is a complex wine, resulting from the plots on the rump of Quarts-de-Chaume. A terroir with complex geology, the marriage of shales and pudding sandstones gives this cuvée a sharp minerality and a floral and fruity richness. A fine bitterness, signature of this terroir, brings complexity and length on the palate. Drink now or lay down for up to seven years. Best served at 10-12C.

859229 | 8 cases of 12 avail. | available for preorder

A closely knit series of plots located on the heights of the Savennières village, planted on sandy soils above black schist, "Les Gaudrets" embodies the terroir profile most commonly found in the appellation area. This cuvée expresses the freshness and the typical floral bouquet of Savennières wines.

Aromas of white flowers and white fruits open onto an enveloping roundness in the mouth from a year spent on the lees, carried by a fine acidity and a gentle, signature salinity. A “captivating nose with notes of pear, flowers and citrus.” Drink now or lay down for up to a decade. Best served at 10-12C.

859230 | 8 cases 12 avail. | available for preorder

"Les Rouères" is one of the three plots originally listed in the decree creating the Quarts-de-Chaume appellation. Domaine Belargus’s plot covers nearly 3 Ha of the total area, exposed on the South-Eastern slope of the rump of Quarts-de-Chaume. The thin and warm soils rest on ‘pudding-stones’ (sand concretions and rolled gravel), accumulating heat during the day and releasing it during the night. This dry cuvée is made from the earlier harvested semi-botrytized grapes while the remainder go into the grand cru dessert wine. Fermented to dry, this muscular chenin brings this powerful terroir to life, replete with the roundness and solar power of those famed pudding-stones.

A fine salinity, signature of this terroir, brings complexity and length on the finish. “A complex nose – floral, gentian and spices – for this racy yet fleshy, dense wine. The texture is superb, with a succulent roundness, some beguiling bitterness and an overall precision and impressive freshness with a menthol flourish.” Best enjoyed between 2025-2035.

859231 | 5 cases of 6 avail. | available for preorder

2018 “Layon” Moelleux, Coteaux-du-Layon AOC

This cuvée comes from Belargus’s plots bordering the Layon tributary, famous for their semi-sweet acid-trip Chenins. These vines were replanted last between 1986-89, growing in seven neighbouring, ancient, 1er cru parcels of the Coteaux-du-Layon slopes: Clos des Bois, Clos des Douze, La Fresnaye, Les Brosses, Les Planches, Les Piries, and La Gordonne. These sites are rich in schists both above and shot through the loamy clay soil that give these wines such power, further enriched by the reflective warmth of the Layon river.

Expect notes of fresh fruit and citrus, a suave mouthfeel and a posture correcting acidity structuring a deeply aromatic balance of notes like pineapple, apricot and honey. That dazzling, textured acid brings focus and energy to the glass, giving the wine clarity through juxtaposition with its full bodied sweetness. Fresh and delicious. Enjoyable now but even better saved for 2030-2050. Best served at 8-10C.

859232 | 5 cases of 6 avail. | available for preorder

2018 “Quarts” Doux, Quarts-de-Chaume AOC

One of the world’s finest dessert wines. "Les Quarts" is the original plot which gave its name to the Quarts-de-Chaume appellation. Belargus’s plot covers nearly half of the 7 Ha of the total area, exposed on the Southern slope of the rump. In exceptional vintages only, the domaine perpetuates the traditional noble rot sweet wine from this legendary plot. The magic of the Quarts-de-Chaume terroir (sunny South-facing hillside, exposed to the morning mists of the Layon river and aerated by constant winds) works its magic, resulting in a botrytis of rare concentration. The famous pudding-rock schists laying atop and interspersed in these soils give this cuvée a vertical tension and an elegant freshness.

“More gingerbread than Les Rouères, Les Quarts displays right from the first whiff all its power and complexity. Density and energy join forces for a full, unctuous wine with significant ageing potential. Superb.” 375ml. Best cellared for 10-30 years and beyond.

859233 | 375ml | 3 cases of 12 avail. | available for preorder

2018 “Roueres” Doux, Quarts-de-Chaume AOC

"Les Rouères" is one of the three plots originally listed in the decree creating the Quarts-de-Chaume appellation. Domaine Belargus’s vines cover nearly 3 Ha of the total area of this rarefied vineyard, exposed on the South-Eastern slope of the rump of Quarts-de-Chaume. In exceptional vintages only, Belargus creates the traditional noble rot sweet wine from this hallowed plot. The rare coincidence of this terroir’s sunny South-facing hillside, exposure to morning mists off the Layon river, and the aeration of constant winds result in a botrytis of rare concentration. And it is not too much to suggest the puddingstones that cover the vineyard give a spherical and solar character to this cuvée, radiating their banked heat.

“Another wine produced from a special type of soil with pudding-stones that tends to result in powerful but not heavy wines. Aromas of quince, candied pineapple, apricot leap from the glass while maintaining remarkable precision. Density and balance. Sugars present but not overwhelming. Great ageing potential.” 375ml. Best enjoyed after 2030 and for decades beyond.

859234 | 375ml | 3 cases of 12 avail. | available for preorder