Domaine Belargus: Wines
The domaine is located in St-Lambert-du-Lattay, in what were once the Pithon-Paillé cellars, although it is worth noting that they now also have a foothold in Savennières. The vines at Les Ruchères come with a small house, dating to about 1900. Because of its position on the slope, the previous owners were able to establish a small subterranean cellar here, something quite rare in this land of schist, a much harder bedrock than the limestones of Saumur, Chinon and Vouvray where, if you don’t have a cellar, you simply dig one, a task which can be achieved using hand tools.
While Jo Pithon and also Guy Bossard, once of Domaine de l’Ecu, have been engaged as consultants, Ivan Massonnat clearly needed to put in place a team to manage not only the vineyards, as described above, but also the harvest and vinifications. The winemaker, appointed in 2018, is Adrien Moreau, who as well as having the appropriate qualifications in his back pocket has also chalked up experience at Château Cheval Blanc and Château Haut-Brion in Bordeaux (interestingly, both produce white wines as well as red), Harlan Estate in California and Roederer. Having tasted his first vintage at the cellars, from barrel, I think Ivan has made a very wise decision in appointing Adrien.
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