Menetou Mentions

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.

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.

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.

Me tasting at Henri Pelle

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.

Domaine Philippe Gilbert

So my favourite names to look out for are:

Domaine Henri Pellé (available in the UK from virginwines.co.uk, lescaves.co.uk and also seen in Waitrose in past years)

Domaine Philippe Gilbert (available in the UK from artisanwines.co.uk)

Domaine de Châtenoy, Isabelle et Pierre Clément (available fromNicolas.co.uk)

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!

Inside Domaine Philippe Gilbert's winery

Part of Henri Pelle's range of wines in 2012

TonghamTaster’s French Wine Tasting Course – week 9 Loire Sauvignon Blanc Whites

The 12 month on-line course to help you learn about French wines - Top tips on how to get value when buying them - Reasonably priced up-to-date recommendations of what to buy and try in the UK - Bringing you the best of Tongham Village Hall wine tastings.

INTRODUCTION
Sauvignon Blanc is one of the top grape varieties in the world because of the wines produced with this varietal in the Loire Valley. This week we cover these great wines which are still amongst the best, despite the efforts of New Zealand and others to topple them.

Tongham Taster in Sancerre 2008

LOCALITY
The upper Loire, sometimes called Le Berry or the Central Vineyrads, around Vierzon and Sancerre produces the most famous Sauvignon Blanc wines of the Loire. Vierzon has the reputation of being one of the ugliest towns in France but Sancerre is one of those beautiful hilltop towns they seem to have everywhere in France. This area is also famous for goats cheese such as Chavignol, so no surprise that this is one of the top food pairings with this wine. The area of Touraine near Tours also produces some good value Sauvignon Blanc wines.


The vineyards and town of Sancerre

VARIETALS
The grape we are covering this week is just the Sauvignon Blanc varietal, apart from a few notes about the roses from the area which are produced from red grapes. Sauvignon Blanc produces a direct, easy to appreciate style of wine that is always dry– hence its popularity.

THE WINES
There is really just one main style of Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire; a very dry, fruity white without any oak. The world famous AOCs producing this style are of course Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. These two wines are produced almost opposite each other on each side of the Loire. The latter is not to be confused with Pouilly Fuisse which is a wine produced from Chardonnay grapes from relatively nearby Macon in Burgundy. The Sancerres of Pouilly Fume can be the greatest expressions of Sauvignon Blanc in the world when from a top producer in a good year. One of the joys of tasting Sancerre in the region is to discover that they do not all taste the same and experiencing the subtly different tastes that come from thev slightly different soils – different combinations of clay and limestone and different amounts of flint. Over the years I have grown to love the wines from Alphonse Mellot, Serge Laporte, Didier Dagueneau and may others. The best are wonderfully complex but still refreshing. I first visited Sancerre in 1981 and have been back many times over the years.

The other AOCS in the upper Loire that produce this style of Sauvignon Blanc wine are Menetou Salon which is next door to Sancerre to the west, plus Quincy and Reuilly which are even further west clustered just south of Vierzon. Their wines are often good value but expect to pay high prices for good Menetou Salon producers like Domaine Philippe Gilbert or Henri Pelle. Over the years I have grown vary fond of the wines from Quincy with their often vary grapefruity taste.

Way to the west of Sancerre, in the middle Loire, is the AOC of Touraine and this area also produces some good value Sauvignon Blanc but with a subtly different taste due to the terroir. I would have to admit that I tend to be disappointed in them but suspect that is just me.

Inside the winery of Domaine Philippe Gilbert

A more unusual style of Sauvignon Blanc that some producers have experimented with is an oaked style. Examples are Domaine Philippe Gilbert’s Les Renardieres wines in Menetou Salon and Alphonse Mellots Cuvee Edmond in Sancerre. If you are a serious wine drinker, you really should try these and I have seen both available in the UK over the years.

Although nothing to do with Sauvignon Blanc I wish to mention the Roses of the region. I tend to think that Pinot Noir can produce some of the best Roses in the world and although some of the Sancerre Roses can be disappointing, the rose from Domaine Philippe Gilbert in Menetou can be really excellent. I also enjoy the Gris de Gris that Valerie Renaudat produces in Reuilly. It is a Vin Gris (something which we would call a blush wine) from Pinot Gris grapes and again is rather pleasant.

Sancerre Town Square

THE TASTE
Loire Sauvignon Blanc wines tend to have a dry, crisp taste with notes of gooseberry, citrus, grass and even cats pee! There is often also a distint flinty minerally taste that comes from the terroir.

TOP TIPS
• The wines of Menetou Salon, Quincy and Reuilly can be good value alternatives to Sancerre and Pouilly Fume.
• Look out for one of the oaked Sauvignon Blancs if you want to impress a wine buff!
• Don’t buy cheap Sancerre or Pouilly Fume, ie under £12 a bottle – it is almost always a disappointment.

HOMEWORK
For your homework this week you need to buy and try any Loire Sauvignon Blanc. You might want to try one of my recommendations below:

Waitrose – Domaine Naudet 2008, Sancerre – about £13.

The hilltip town of Sancerre, August 2003

Or if feeling flush, Waitrose - Domaine Henry Pellé, Clos des Blanchais 2007 Menetou-Salon – about £16.
or Sainsburys – Alphonse Mellot La Moussierre, Sancerre, about £16.
Or if on a budget – Majestic, La Grille Touraine Sauvignon 2009 Paul Buisse, about £7. Majestic always have an interesting selection of more expensive Loire whites so you might wish to try some of theirs such as the Domaune Vacheron at about £17
You might also consider a trip down to Les Caves des Pyrenes in Guildord to see their selection. It normally includes Henri Pelle from Menetou.

A good reference guide

FOOD PAIRINGS
The Loire Sauvignon Blancs make a great aperitif wine for drinking on their own. After a hard day I like nothing better than a glass of good Sancerre, Pouilly or Menetou. Very refreshing!
The classic food pairing is goats cheese.
Other food pairings would include sea food and fish but don’t stop there, try chicken dishes such as lemon chicken or chicken Marengo as well.

COMING SOON
Next week we move on to the Languedoc-Roussillon area of Southern France and some of its great value red wines.

If you missed the early weeks of this course, it is not too late to catch up. Just click on the French Wine Course link at the top of this page.