I miss these wines, used to work for the importer and had easy access to them at good pricing. I never see them at any local wine shops, so I’ll have to see if I can grab some online sometime. Her Ronceray was great for the price too, though I tended to prefer the Savennieres.
Belargus is typically 3x the price of Plaisance and I’ve always wondered if the premium is worth it, or if it’s just the name.
This sounds right up my alley. A quick little internet search tends to suggest these are not widely dispersed throughout the USA — only a small handful of places apparently has it, with pricing starting at $66, and going up into the mid $70s.
I do see the following available locally to me — any worth trying or any I should leave alone?
2023 Vin de France Chenin Blanc for $30 - $35 USD
2023 Ronceray, $48
2020 Grand Lopin, $49
2021-22 La Grand Piece, $62 - $67
2021 Zersilles, $75 - $90
Pricing is just a click or two below Guiberteau and Boudignon, it would seem.
Another fan of Plaisance here! That 2020 Savennieres really is superb, as is the Grand Piece from that vintage.
I think something went a bit awry at Plaisance in '23 and the Ronceray at least isn’t up to its usual standard. I liked their '21s but I’ve encountered a few advanced ones already so '22 Grand Piece would be my pick from the bunch. Should absolutely epitomize what I like about their wines.
I like both Domaines a lot, though I’ve not tasted as much Belargus. In both cases it’s all about ripe Chenin from similarly placed, warm sites, but the Belargus wines have much more chalky dry extract from the skins. They’re wines with serious shoulders, at least at the top of the range.
Over here Belargus used to be the same price as Plaisance, but not any more - their Ronceray 22 is almost double the price of the Plaisance Ronceray (and double the price of the first Belargus vintage in 2018). I bought a lot of Belargus when it was launched but not any more. I like the wines a lot, I think they’re marginally better than those of Plaisance, but I can’t justify the price difference.
2023 in Anjou/Savennières is a minefield, as I think I posted up-thread. Even from the same producer there are good, ripe wines and dilute, non-descript ones. Plaisance Ronceray is unfortunately one of the latter.
I’m guessing that the VDF is sold as L’Anjou Blanc in France - it’s the entry level wine and very good value, but I haven’t tried the 23 yet. As a cheaper idea of the house style, it’s a good bet.
Grand Lopin is their red wine. Zerzilles is above my price limit and I have never tried it. I’d go for La Grande Pièce 2022 - like Rhoads I really loved the 2020.
Thank you so much, Julian! 
This is my favorite of the Plaisance wines although I’ve never had the Zersilles because my distributor has never carried it (I’d try it at least once). I think they are appropriately priced within the central Loire Chenin hierarchy, a notch below Boudignon/Guiberteau although I don’t love the absolute pricing. Guiberteau and Plaisance both have the Wasserman tax.
Forgive my ignorance, but what is the Wasserman tax?
In my experience, things under the Wasserman import umbrella have an extra expense to them. Kermit is the same. You notice when things change importers.
Truth.
Though an alarmingly dark gold, this 2009 Huet was dynamite, not advanced at all and drinking beautifully with beets and selles-sur-cher.
Enjoyable;
It’s interesting how dark Chenin can get, yet still be incredibly fresh. A 1990 Foreau Moelleux Reserve a couple of months ago was close to dark brown, yet really wonderful on the palate.
Yep and it turned that dark color within a few years of release. Same with many of the mid-'90s Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon.
Mark (who has far more experience with Foreau than me) told me that the Foreau wines have a habit of turning dark, but being perfectly fine on the palate.
I did notice the same thing happened with a '97 Foreau Molleaux Reserve as well, though palate was still ok (though I think in that case, I read somewhere that Foreau was actually concerned the '97 was getting prematurely advanced).
2023 Domaine de Gaubourg Anjou Grand Pierre - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Anjou (9/20/2025)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 3 hrs –
NOSE: high-toned, salty mineral, with powdery crab apple and light reduction.
BODY: medium-light body; conglomerate cork was fairly loosely-seated (pushed-in a bit under pressure of corkscrew).
TASTE: high acidity; so dry it’s almost a touch tannic; a bit salinic; fourth time with this wine in the past few months because I think it’s some kind of wonderful. Excellent!
2020 Paul Prieur & Fils Sancerre La Pitaude - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre (11/5/2025)
– opened approx. 20 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 2.5 hrs. –
NOSE: light; tight-to-moderately expressive; flat tropical fruits.
BODY: medium-light green-yellow color; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: bright fruit, a touch grassy, and a lightly salty mineral element. It does speak of Sauv. Blanc. 14.5% alc. is well-hidden — I was thinking it was in the 11.5% - 12% range — but maybe I should have been tipped-off by the fact that it’s thick around the middle, and that’s not what I’m looking for from my Sauv. Blanc. Has a presentation very similar to the “Utopie” bottling from Nicolas Barbou. It’s fine, and perhaps is meant for ageing (?) — regardless, I am nowhere near rebuying at the $90 I paid.
Yes. That was me that reported that when I visited with Philippe Foreau in 2009 and he blinded me and Nicos Neocleous with the '97 Moelleux Reserve as he was concerned that it was maturing quickly. We all agreed that it was, but that it was in relation to the super long aging curve of other vintages. It’s been a few years since I last had one, but it was still most enjoyable, but I don’t find it one of the best vintages from the domaine. In '27 I plan on putting a thirtieth anniversary retrospective of '97 Loires, so I’ll likely bring one to that,
Yeah, it was too bad about the '97. The bottle I had was still ok, but clearly on the downslope (could’ve been bottle variation).
It’s a shame considering how good the '97 Huets are in comparison.
Dom Huet Clos du Bourg and Le Mont 2024 are out where I’m located. Has anyone tried them? Should I grab a couple?
