Vanessa Cherruau is one of those producers at the heart of Anjou who is contributing greatly to the "quiet" revolution that is bringing Anjou to the centre of the global wine scene. She owns the vineyards of Chateau de Plaisance in a very important terroir, on the Chaume hill, a region that produces perhaps the most famous sweet wines of the Loire.
But Vanessa, like several contemporary Loire producers, is re-translating the greatness of this terroir that has been recognized for over 1,000 years. From the 25 hectares of vineyards "inherited" from the Rochais family on the Chaume hill, she produces some of the most stunning dry varietal wines, rewriting the history of the region through a different perspective. Since the entire hill is "dedicated" to producing the appellations of origin for the sweet Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru and Coteaux de Layon 1er Cru Chaume, its dry wines carry only the generic Anjou Blanc appellation of origin. Yet they manage to retain all the power, nerve and depth that these top vineyards on the slate soils of the appellation of origin give.
The vines have been certified organic since 1995 and were biodynamically certified in 2008, before they even passed into Vanessa's hands. She has continued, since buying the property in 2019, with full dedication to biodynamic farming and caring for the natural environment of the vineyards. Just on the opposite bank of the Loire, in the famous appellation of origin Savvenieres, she also maintains a small property of great vineyards there from which she also produces world-class dry Chenin.
He is also the only producer who has a small block of red varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc) on the Chaume hill that he vinifies into fantastic labels of superb purity and full of mineral character. Vanessa's wines, whether white, red, dry or sweet are true to life, with exceptional vibrancy, heart and soul and made with nothing but grapes in a low intervention winemaking process. They can age for many years developing huge levels of complexity. They are wines that uniquely express the sensational terroir of Chaume, and the other appellations of origin they stand for.
