Château de Plaisance, 2024 Update
Another instalment in my rolling coverage of The New Anjou now, with the latest releases from Vanessa Cherruau, the new doyenne of Château de Plaisance, installed here since the property’s sale by Guy Rochais back in 2019. Vanessa took over the running of this historic property (pictured below), situated high up on the Butte de Chaume, with the help of financial backer Emmanuel Lemaire. Her first vintage was 2019, although as she only signed on the dotted line in September, on the eve of the harvest, the first ‘true’ Cherruau vintage here was 2020.
The property is located within the Coteaux du Layon Chaume appellation, and has about 25 hectares of vines, the majority of which are gathered closely around the château. Château de Plaisance thus has a long rack record of turning out rather smart wines in this and the Quarts de Chaume appellation, although I think if the ancien propriétaire Guy Rochais had a reputation for anything it was as an iconoclast, never afraid to thumb his nose at those who drew up the appellation rules and tried to enforce them.
The perfect and most pertinent example of his character trait came many years ago when Guy began making a dry white wine from his harvest on the Butte de Chaume, long before it became the fashionable thing to do. Guy decided he should market it as a Chaume Sec, a name which drew the ire of French wine authorities, who have endless resources when it comes to pursuing vignerons for minor labelling transgressions (while seemingly more significant wrongs go unchallenged, it has to be said). Eventually Guy christened his wine L’Insolent de Chaume, and held onto the Anjou appellation, which seems to be at the very least a partial victory.
Of course, the shift from sweet to dry is a core tenet of The New Anjou. And not just dry, but bone-dry, laser-sharp, botrytis-free wines. It is somewhat ironic that a few years after Guy’s departure this is the style now coming to the forefront of the Anjou wine scene, and that one of the most exciting new names in this regard is Vanessa Cherruau at Château de Plaisance. In this report I comment on the most recent releases from this domaine, tasted with Vanessa earlier this year.
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