Menetou-Salon, Featuring the Delicious 2018 Morogues Rouge of Domaine Pellé!
6/4/22 -
Just east of the town of Menetou-Salon, and just southwest of Sancerre, is the sleepy village of Morogues with its great terroirs of Kimmeridgian limestone and silex. Here we find Domaine Pellé, known as one of the regions finest producers of white Menetou-Salon from Sauvignon Blanc, and red Menetou-Salon from 100% Pinot Noir.
Domaine Pellé is a fourth generation family estate run by the talented and hard-working Paul-Henry Pellé. Paul-Henry's grandfather played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Menetou-Salon appellation, and lobbied hard to inlcude "Morogues" on the label. As Paul-Henry explained, “Morogues is comprised of 90% Kimmeridgian limestone. This is why my grandfather pushed so hard to give it the status it deserved”. This limestone is the same soil type that makes up the great terroirs of Chablis, Chavignol, and parts of the Aube in Champagne. Whether with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, or Pinot Noir, it helps to create complex, elegant, mineral-laden wines that can age well too. The estate farms with organic methods, though not certified. "The soil, accordingly, must be full of life, and our work is therefore respectful of the vineyard’s biodiversity. We do not use weed killers or pesticides and the soils are ploughed throughout the estate - winter ploughing and hoeing during the growing season."
Wine prouction in the region goes back 1,500 years and its fame was due to superb red wines from Pinot Noir planted by monks in the 12th century. It was only after phylloxera destroyed the vineyards in the late 1800s that Sauvignon Blanc became the dominant variety, but in fact the kimmeridgian and silex terroirs produce beautifully vibrant Pinot Noirs that deserve to be better known. The 2018 Pelle Menetou-Salon Morogues Rouge is produced from Pinot Noir grown on Kimmeridgian marl and Portlandian limestone soils with silex. The grapes are mostly de-stemmed and are fed by gravity into wooden vats for a 3 to 4 week fermentaion with indigenous yeasts; the wine ages in large barrels, none new. Hailing from the warm 2018 vintage, this is not your typical Loire Pinot Noir. The wine is extremely elegant, ripe, mineral - laden and definitely age worthy - capable of giving Burgundy, let alone Sancerre, a serious run for the money!
Saturday Special - Take 10% off on a 6 bottle purchase of 2018 Pellé Menetou-Salon Rouge!
Speaking of Sauvignon Blanc, two of the Pellé single vineyard Menetou-Salon whites will arrive in about a week - only 12 bottles of each are available; the 2020 "Les Blanchais" grown on Kimmeridgian marl, and the 2020 "Carroir" from 50 year-old massale selctioin vines on silex soils. Please, 3 btl maximum on these rare and beatiful wines.
The devastating frost of 2021 and low yields in 2020 have severely limited shipments of Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, so we're very happy that the 2020 Menetou-Salon Blanc from Philippe Gilbert should arrive next week. Philippe returned to the family domain after a career in theatre and promptly converted to organic and biodynamic farming, certified since 2007. The wine is grown entirely on Kimmeridgian marl soils, it's hand-harvested and ferments with indigenous yeasts, then spends 14 months on the lees before bottling. The biodynamic farming is quite evident in the wine which always shows excellent ripeness combined with pronounced mineral flavors and bright citrus and white fruits with firm acidity.
