Château de la Genaiserie
The schistous slopes of Anjou are littered with viticultural domaines which, for one reason or another, simply never make it onto our radar. Château de la Genaiserie was almost one of those domaines. Quite a few years ago, at the turn of the century in fact, having until that moment been unaware of the estate’s existence, I chanced across a small parcel of bottles from the domaine. They were all sweet wines from the Coteaux du Layon appellation, from the villages of Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné and Chaume (this was long before the latter developed its stand-alone, premier cru status). Suitably curious, I purchased them, and this turned out to be a good decision. They were text-book examples of what can be achieved with the triad of schist, Chenin Blanc and botrytis, and the bottles gave me many years of drinking pleasure.
Sadly, recent chapters in this domaine’s story have not been so glorious as those bottles.
In this profile I look at the ancient history of this domaine, which is sketchy and concerns the noble Pissonnet de Bellefonds family, as well as the modern era under the direction of Frédéric Julia, which sadly preceded bankruptcy and the liquidation of the property. I conclude with some details on the vineyards and of course my tasting notes, sadly restricted to those older Coteaux du Layons.
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