Domaine de la Bergerie: Vineyards
Yves Guégniard and his wife Marie-Annick added to what he inherited, bringing the estate up to 36 hectares, although this has since been rationalised, and today the Guégniard family tend 27 hectares of vines. The vineyard and cellars sit at the heart of the Coteaux du Layon appellation, but stretching out not only to Quarts de Chaume but also to Savennières. Today Yves has handed over the work in the vineyard entirely, and thus it is Anne, Marie and Amaury who have responsibility for the vines. The vineyards have, for many years, been run along conventional lines albeit in a most fastidious manner, but with the arrival of Anne the domaine was shifted over to organic viticulture. Organic certification for their work was attained in 2016, and the work has remained organic ever since.
The dry white wines tend to be sourced from an early picking of the Coteaux du Layon vineyards, so there are no specific parcels of Chenin Blanc dedicated solely to the Anjou appellation. There is a small parcel of Chardonnay though.
As for the red wines of Anjou there are 6.5 hectares of vines, starting with 4.5 hectares planted on a south and southwest-facing slope of sandy clay soils which is the origin of fruit for La Cerisaie. Two other parcels, amounting to 2 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, are the sources for the two upper-class Anjou cuvées. There is 1 hectare of Cabernet Sauvignon planted on sandy clay over schist for the Anjou-Villages Le Chant du Bois cuvée, and another hectare planted on sand and gravel over schist for the Anjou-Villages Evanescence cuvée.
