2020 Anjou, Rouères, Domaine Belargus, Loire

An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp  Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves. It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.

Domaine Belargus sits in the Loire Valley’s Anjou appellation. It is owner Ivan Massonat’s labour of love. His grandfather farmed a small vineyard where the family lived in Savoie, so wine was always familiar to Ivan. It was Burgundy that first stole Ivan’s heart, however – how the region could produce such varied expressions of one grape variety fascinated him.