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| Jacques Coeur looking out of his Palace |
Following my recent posts on Sancerre alternatives, Reuilly
and Quincy, it seems unfair not to give Menetou-Salon a mention. This is especially true as I tend to drink this
wine rather often during my monthly trips to Bourges. Although, I have only been drinking
Menetou-Salon for a little over ten years, this region has been famous for wine
for many centuries; Jacques Coeur, who was the somewhat adventurous and allegedly
corrupt treasurer of France in the fifteenth century, loved the wines of
Menetou-Salon and bought up most of the area.
His palace in Bourges, by the way, is well worth a visit if in the area.
From a wine point of view Menetou-Salon is really a
southwest extension of Sancerre and their best wines definitely hit the heights
of its more famous neighbour. As with
most French appellations there is quite a lot of below par wine produced as
well; hopefully you’ll find this post helpful in picking up the jewels of the
region.
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| Beautiful window in the Jacques Coeur Palace |
The wines of Menetou-Salon, just like Sancerre, are made
with either Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir grapes, and they produce white, red
and rosé
wines from those varietals. The whites
are probably the best but I also love the rosé wines produced by Domaine Philippe
Gilbert and Domaine du Prieuré, and the reds produced by
Isabelle and PierreClément (try the tradition) and Henri Pellé.
The reds tend to be light but can have a beautiful cherry flavour. Many of the top producers oak their top cuvees,
whether red or white.
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| Menetou-Salon Vineyard |
The best area of the Menetou-Salon is regarded as Morogues, which is
where
Henri Pellé is based, and thus no surprise that he is on everyone’s list
of top wines from this region. Of the
vineyards in Morogues perhaps Clos de Ratiers is the best. Thus if you want to taste one of the best
Menetou-Salon whites, go for a Henri Pellé Morogues Ratier Blanc. Morogues and the other better sites gain from
limestone soils.
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| Me tasting at Henri Pelle |
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| Jane prefers the two-handed approach! |
If you are interested in biodynamic wines, then the wines of
DomainePhilippe Gilbert are for you. Many of
his wines take a few years to mature, particularly the oaked ones that are
named Les Renardiéres. However, his rosé
is good to drink early on and rarely fails to please me. His wines that need to mature can also be
lovely. I have had a good welcome at Philippe Gilbert over the years so do visit them and buy some wine.
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| Domaine Philippe Gilbert |
So my favourite names to look out for are:
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| Impressive door at Henri Pelle |
But they are many other good producers as well (use your useful little
Hugh Johnson, Oz Clarke or Robert Joseph handbooks to identify these). Shame we
rarely get a full range of these wines in the UK, as they are often better
value than Sancerre. Still it’s a good
excuse for a long weekend in the Loire Valley!
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| Inside Domaine Philippe Gilbert's winery |
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| Part of Henri Pelle's range of wines in 2012 |
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