La Ferme de la Sansonnière, 2022 Update
There are certain individuals among the body of Loire vignerons who deserve to be known, those who have earned the right to have their wines tasted at every opportunity. To my mind, Mark Angeli is without a doubt one such vigneron. Although I think he prefers the term paysan solidaire to vigneron, as he sees himself more as a peasant farmer, at one with nature and the land.
Mark has been influential not only in the drive towards more sustainable work in the vineyard, together with less intervention in the cellars, he has also developed a reputation as a facilitator and mentor to many of the young up-and-coming vignerons in the region. Many new names which have popped up in Anjou during the past ten or fifteen years have been able to establish themselves in the region thanks to the support offered by Mark Angeli.
I have in the past bought, consumed and greatly enjoyed some of Mark’s wines. I don’t want to turn too misty-eyed but some older vintages of La Lune afforded me some divine drinking experiences, and even his trademark rosé, Rosé d’un Jour, could be stunning. Curiously, however, this cuvée also displayed a tendency to spontaneously evaporate. The 2008 Rosé d’un Jour was one vintage which did just that; I remember a bottle to drink with dinner, but by the time dinner was served the bottle was empty, the contents seemingly having evaporated.
Oops. How did that happen?
These days Mark and his son Martial remain as dedicated to their vines and wines as ever. Nevertheless, over the past five years, I have sometimes found myself wondering if winemaking dogma in the cellars has taken priority over quality of the finished wines. Or maybe Mark and I simply don’t see eye to eye on what makes a wine delicious enough to drink. The prime evidence for this has been oxidation or other faults in young vintages. Despite this I continue to follow the domaine with interest, and in early 2022 I stopped off to taste with Mark (pictured), Martial and their long-term associate Bruno Ciofi.
