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La Ferme de la Sansonnière Update, February 2009

Marc Angeli is a unique character; I have touched on the style of his wines in my brief profile of La Ferme de la Sansonnière, but as for the man himself I believe I have barely scratched the surface.

Angeli is a chemistry graduate turned stonemason who is now, as he describes himself, a viticultural paysan solidaire. This latter term is an interesting one; solidaire translates as "interdependent" or "to show solidarity", and I think the paysan (peasant) Angeli is telling is of his interdependence with the vineyard and with nature; he sees himself as merely a cog in a viticultural system or mechanism. This is reflected in his vinous evolution; Angeli has evolved from a Bordeaux-trained viticulturist (he gained experience at both Suduiraut and La Tour Blanche), after which he made his name turning out fine examples of Bonnezeaux, an exalted appellation, before establishing himself as a paragon of all things natural and biodynamic, making Anjou of varying levels of sweetness from his Bonnezeaux vines, up to the point where his latest releases are deemed sufficiently atypical to be refused the agrément, the official stamp that deems the wines as suitable for bottling under the appellation.

Hence Angeli's 2007s tasted here are all bottled under the Vin de France designation, in other words Vin de Table. With Angeli's track record, however, I am quite sure he will have no problem selling them. Being honest, it's not as if the appellation Anjou has any great cachet, anyway, and the "brands" here - especially La Lune - are strong ones. How they will age is difficult to know; some reports on wines of his that have some bottle age behind them suggest they can be prone to oxidation, an effect of a low sulphur regime I would think. These wines here, although impressive now, already show some interesting oxidative hints in aroma and flavour. At present it adds complexity; what the future holds though is less certain, and possibly less appealing. I like them immensely; I'm just not certain of whether I would commit any of them to cellaring. Nevertheless, ever your servant, in the interests of research I have already done so with one or two examples of some older vintages, and I will do the same with these for sure. (28/4/09)

La Ferme de la Sansonnière, February 2009 - Tasting Notes

The wines below were tasted in Angers at the annual Renaissance tasting, just before the Salon des Vins de Loire in February 2009. All my notes on the wines of Marc Angeli, including those below, are collated under my La Ferme de la Sansonnière profile. Click to locate stockists.

La Ferme de la Sansonnière Les Vieilles Vignes des Blanderies (Vin de France) 2007: This has a huge and very expressive nose, showing sweet, candied, dried fruits, with slight oxidative notes suggested by aromas of mealy honey, buttery apple and pastry. The palate is unsurprisingly very rich, broad, with piles of grip but also a good acidity. The fruit profile matches that on the nose, but there is a vivacious, zippy style to it. Long grip at the finish. Potentially very good. 16.5-17+?/20

La Ferme de la Sansonnière Les Fouchardes (Vin de France) 2007: This wine has a very similar style to the Blanderies, with more candied-dried fruits. The palate starts off cleanly but again there is a little seam of oxidative character showing through, with more apple-pastry fruit. This has some appeal, but I find it difficult to predict how well this will progress with time. 15.5-16+?/20

La Ferme de la Sansonnière La Lune (Vin de France) 2007: This has brighter fruit characteristics on the nose than the first two wines, with a rich and slightly honeyed edge. There is a wealth of very sweet fruit on the palate, with a broad character and huge texture. Dried fruits, firm with plenty of grip and substance, and good acidity too. This has a fine, rather intense style which should do well in bottle. 17-17.5+?/20