Ferme de la Sansonnière is the estate founded by Mark Angeli, one of the most influential figures in modern Anjou and a major inspiration for the Loire’s natural wine movement. Angeli arrived in the region in the late 1980s and began farming a small property in Thouarcé, eventually developing about 8 hectares alongside wheat, an orchard and a herd of Breton cattle. His son Martial has increasingly become involved in the domaine, continuing the family’s intensely hands off approach.
The estate has been farmed biodynamically since the 1990s and is certified. The vineyards are planted primarily on the clay and schist soils characteristic of Anjou, with La Lune drawing from several parcels that include clay gravel, sand and carboniferous shale. The Angeli approach to farming is unusually holistic: the cattle provide manure for the vineyards, the property generates solar power, and even the tractor runs on sunflower oil produced on the farm. Since 2013, they have stopped plowing the vineyard rows, preferring to preserve the soil structure and allow the vines to develop within a living ecosystem.
La Lune is 100% chenin blanc and is intentionally classified as Vin de France rather than Anjou, allowing Angeli to make the wine according to his own ideas rather than appellation requirements. It comes from roughly three hectares of vines and is intended to be made as dry as the vintage permits. The grapes are harvested at full maturity, directly pressed and fermented spontaneously. The wine then spends about a year in large, older oak, with very little intervention during élevage.
The 2024 is a particularly compelling expression of La Lune: concentrated but remarkably energetic, with the natural richness of ripe chenin balanced by bright acidity and a distinctly savory, mineral character. There is plenty of texture and depth, but the wine avoids heaviness, showing citrus, orchard fruit, subtle honeyed notes and a long, saline finish. Only a tiny amount of natural volcanic sulfur is used at bottling, and the wine is made with minimal filtration or none depending on the wine's residual sugar. This is quintessential Angeli: deeply rooted, completely individualistic chenin that combines power, precision and an almost startling sense of vitality.
