Château Soucherie, 2016 Update
Of the dozens of châteaux dotted along the course of the Layon, Château Soucherie is one of the most visually striking. It was originally in the ownership of the noble Cossé-Brissac family, better known for their building of the towering Château de Brissac, in Brissac-Quincé. For much of the 20th century the lonely inhabitant of Château Soucherie was a widow, the Marquise de Brissac; after her demise it came to the Tijou family, who started to make better use of the vineyards, much of the fruit having previously been sold to local négociants. It was only in 2007 that the current proprietor, Roger Begûinot, arrived on the scene. With both château and vineyards having received serious upgrades, the domaine is now firmly on the up.
I am convinced the driving force behind the Soucherie renaissance is not down solely to the willingness of Begûinot to invest in his new asset though; credit should also be given to the winemaker he installed. Thibaud Boudignon (pictured) turns out stunningly good Anjou Blanc and Savennières from his own micro-domaine, and I think it only needs a little of that Thibaud stardust sprinkled on the Soucherie wines to elevate them to a completely new level.
The Wines
The wines poured here were, generalising, largely a combination of upmarket cuvées from 2013, a very difficult vintage, and entry-level cuvées from 2014, certainly a superior proposition. As a consequence few wines tasted here really stood out as exceptional, and I suspect that we will have to wait for the higher-level cuvées from 2014 to come through the pipeline for a more exciting drinking experience.
