La Ferme de la Sansonnière

Mark Angéli was a chemistry student turned stonemason who embraced viticulture as a form of environmental protection. He bought the Ferme de la Sansonnière in 1990, with 7 hectares in Anjou, Coteaux-du-Layon and Bonnezeaux. After years of making sweeter style and celebrated Bonnezeaux wines, he decided to focus on making great dry and semi-dry wines from the plots. This was due to the fact that he wanted to focus on unwired head-trained vines, which is practically unheard of in cooler climates. This allows the gobelet to have more freedom and air, thus leading to purer grapes and less rot, without having to incorporate manipulative techniques during the production process.

Leading the natural wine movement with Nicolas Joly in the Loire Valley, Mark now works with his son Martial, and winemaker Bruno Ciofi, producing precise and complex minimal interventionist wines. La Lune is the benchmark wine made entirely of Chenin Blanc.