Detailed Description
The 2020 needs a bit of time in the glass to open up, to refine and to exhibit its subtle, pure and refreshing schist aromas intermixed with ripe but delicate fruit (pear) aromas from white and yellow-fleshed fruits. On the palate, this is a light and beautifully balanced dry Chenin with a serious structure and lingering tannin grip and salinity.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: The sample of the 2020 Anjou Noir is an intensely yellow colored regional cuvée that “results from a blend of the domaine’s vines not being vinified from a single plot, providing a synthesis of the terroirs that gave rise to it (schists, pudding stones, etc.),” as Ivan Massonnat explains. Produced for the first time in 2019, this cuvée is aged in vats and barrels for a minimum of one year and represents the quintessence of Chenin cultivated on black schist. The 2020 needs a bit of time in the glass to open up, to refine and to exhibit its subtle, pure and refreshing schist aromas intermixed with ripe but delicate fruit (pear) aromas from white and yellow-fleshed fruits. On the palate, this is a light and beautifully balanced dry Chenin with a serious structure and lingering tannin grip and salinity. The wine is juicy but not overly fruity and already complex for the first wine of the range. A fabulous, rather delicate and finessed Chenin!
Producer Information
In 1978, the bubbly and brawny Jo Pithon started his first winery, Domaine Pithon, in the Loire Valley appellation of Anjou. In 2008, he reimagined the family business to form Pithon-Paillé and now in 2019 Jo made the difficult decision to sell the estate to a new, but deeply dedicated owner: Ivan Massonnat. While no longer the formal head of the estate, Jo will remain heavily involved in decision-making, as well as the production of some of Pithon-Paillé’s most celebrated wines. Bringing aboard the young, but immensely talented Adrien Moreau was the final piece of the puzzle for Domaine Belargus, and the team is eager to get started, with the 2018 vintage representing the first for the nascent Domaine. Together, they have formed the brand new “Domaine Belargus”, a name referring to the rare, beautiful blue butterflies found in the region. Currently they farm 26 hectares of their own land, having recently purchased an additional 13 hectares in Quarts de Chaume and Savennieres AOCs. The monopole vineyard, “Le Coteau des Treilles” remains the gem of the estate, representing an unofficial Grand Cru in terms of dry Chenin Blanc production. All of their grapes are farmed organically. Masters of some of the region’s rare, single-vineyard Chenin Blancs and Cabernet Francs, they take their cues from Burgundy where each parcel is prized for its unique character—a concept that is still relatively new to the Loire. Their wines are made as naturally as possible using only one-third of the permitted doses of sulfur. Straight, layered, fresh, balanced and textured, their wines showcase the pedigree of the terroir, and the bright future of this estate.
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