schiller-wine: Charcuterie and Cheese Lunch with Wine Tasting plus Cellar Tour and Vineyard Tour at Domaine de la Soucherie in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Anjou

The Loire Tour 2025 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, October 5 to Thursday, October 16, 2025. The tour started in Nantes and ended in Sancerre, with a bus transfer and lunch in Paris. There were 9 of us including Annette and myself.

Following:

Extensive Vinyard Walk, Short Visit of the Wine Cellar and High-end Tasting in the Wine Cellar at Domaine Belargus in Saint-Lambert du Lattey, Anjou - Loire Valley 2025 by ombiasy WineTourswe went to Domaine de la Soucherie in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Anjou.

Alexandrine Marie toured with us the cellar and the vineyards and hosted us for a charcuterie and cheese lunch with a tasting of the Domaine de la Soucherie wines. The view from the terrace where we had lunch over the valley in the distance was breathtakingly gorgeous.

Domaine de la Soucherie is represented in the USA by Rosenthal Wine Merchant.

Alexandrine Marie - Chargée de l’Oenotourisme et de l’Événementiel

Titulaire d’un Master « Marketing et Vente, Parcours Commerce des Vins » à Montpellier Management, Alexandrine est la « petite dernière » du domaine. Elle est en charge de l’accueil de nos visiteurs et de l’organisation des évènements à la Soucherie.

Loire 2025 by ombiasy WineTours led by Annette Schiller

Annette Schiller in her announcement: What comes to your mind when you hear ‘Loire Valley’? Of course images of glorious Châteaux pop up in your mind. Yes that is true and we will visit some iconic château and dig deep into France’s history. However, during this wine tour we also discover a magnificent, but often overlooked French wine region and one of the most exciting best kept secrets of excellent, high quality wines at very reasonable prices. The Loire Valley wine region is a vast area and consists of several distinct wine regions, each with its own characteristic grapes, appellations, and wine style. We take you on a journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Auvergne mountains to explore this unique region. We learn to appreciate “Sancerre”, "Pouilly-Fumé", “Vouvray", “Chinon”, as well as many other not so familiar appellations.

Rosenthal Wine Merchant

The Château Soucherie may be the most physically beautiful property of all the domaines with which we work. The house itself is a unique architectural gem that sits on a rise overlooking the vineyards that snake down towards the Layon river. My first visit at the estate was in early 1982, a frigid, damp day that I will remember forever. I was exploring the truly verdant slopes and valleys of the Layon region, intensely “green” no matter the season, in search of that special regional version of Chenin Blanc that, at its best, can be one of the most compelling of wines. My research led me to Soucherie and I was greeted by the ebullient presence of the proprietaire, Pierre-Yves Tijou. On that cold day, with the winter chill surging through the earth and cement floor of the chai installing itself deep in my bones, the warmth and graciousness and simple good cheer of Monsieur Tijou leavened the frost and coddled the body. Thirty years later we remain friends.

That day I was introduced to the complex and savory nature of these wines born of the Layon and its marriage to the noble Chenin Blanc. For every year since, we have been engaged with this magnificent domaine and its dry and sweet versions of wines of the Coteaux du Layon and of Savennieres. As well, there are the simple and satisfying reds and rosés that render the fruits of the local Cabernet Franc and Grolleau … overall a quite complete vinous experience.

As life would have it on occasion, not everything goes according to plan. During the early part of the decade of 2000, Pierre-Yves took ill and the stress of his recovery pushed him to sell this magnificent domaine to give his son and successor, Mathieu, the freedom to “downsize” and control his destiny. The Tijous thus acquired a neighboring estate, the Chateau L’Eperonniere, that belonged to Mathieu’s uncle and sold Soucherie to Roger Beguinot. The transition for all may have been psychologically difficult but the end result for us was the ability to continue to work with Château Soucherie and add the wines of Château L’Eperonniere to our portfolio, an utterly satisfying result made even more pleasing by the eventual recovery that Pierre-Yves made to return to good health. So, a difficult story turns out to have a lovely ending.

Under Roger Beguinot’s direction, the buildings and the vineyards have been renovated and this 36 hectare property is more exquisite than ever before. Four of the thirty-six hectares are situated in the prime vineyard of Chaume and then two hectares are in Savennieres in a single-vineyard known as “Clos des Perrieres”. The remaining vineyards which encircle the chateau are in the Anjou and Coteaux du Layon appellations. Soucherie is surrounded by the villages of Rochefort-sur-Loire, Beaulieu-sur-Layon and Saint Lambert du Lattay. The soils are principally limestone, clay and schist.

Beguinot’s assistant, the maitre de chai, is the young Thibaud Boudignon who is leading the charge towards 100% organic viticulture through the principles of “agriculture integrée”. The domaine is divided into a series of single-vineyard sites, several of which are isolated to produce “lieu-dit” denominated wines.

Le Guide Hachette des Vins

Cette propriété historique dotée d'un magnifique point de vue sur la vallée du Layon est depuis 2007 la dame de cœur de Roger-François Béguinot. Cet industriel a connu le succès dans l'agroalimentaire et a décidé de vouer son énergie aux 28 ha de vignes réparties en appellations anjou, savennières (1,80 ha au Clos des Perrières), coteaux-du-layon et chaume (4 ha). Les vins seront certifiés bio à partir du millésime 2022.

Domaine de la Soucherie in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Anjou

The viticultural domaine is part of the Château Soucherie which was originally a farm owned by the Duke of Brissac. He built this château as a leisure place.

In 2007 the château was acquired by Roger-François Béguinot, who made his fortune in infant nutrition. The beautiful château and the winery sit on a high point above the Layon river. The 70 acres of vineyards are immediately around the château on gentle south-facing slopes running down to the river. The soils are various types of schist.

A wide variety of wines is produced: the whites from Chenin Blanc: a noble sweet Côteaux du Layon, an
every day Anjou Blanc, a top Chaume 1er Cru, and a top Savennières “Clos des Perrières”. Grape varieties planted are Gamay, Grolleau, Cabernet Franc for the reds and Chenin (94%) and Chardonnay (6%) for the whites.

Arriving at Domaine de la Soucherie in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Anjou