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Our Newest Sauvignon Blanc
Our Newest Sauvignon Blanc
by Jane Augustine by Jane Augustine
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
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Joseph and Marie de Maistre, and their daughter Valentine
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Joseph de Maistre
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Joseph de Maistre
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire | Menetou-Salon
Menetou-Salon is a small but mighty appellation that boasts an impressive soil loaded with fossilized oyster shells. Our group arrived at the vineyards of Joseph de Maistre after a brisk rain, so the air smelled salty and damp, as if we’d detoured from continental Loire to the Atlantic coast. Tasting his 2023 Menetou, a classic representation of the region’s lofty potential, I wondered how some appellations become more popular than others; why some get to be household names and others are relegated to “satellite” status. Joseph’s Menetou is in its own orbit. It’s peachy, finely textured, and pleasantly verdant—one of the most delightful apéritif wines I’ve tasted recently.
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Joseph and Marie de Maistre, and their daughter Valentine
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Joseph de Maistre
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Joseph de Maistre
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Sauvignon Blanc |
Appellation: | Menetou-Salon |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Prieuré de Saint-Céols |
Winemaker: | Joseph de Maistre |
Vineyard: | Planted in the 1990s; 9.86 ha |
Soil: | Clay, limestone, kimmeridgian marl |
Aging: | Aged on fine lees with regular batonnage for 12 months |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
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Simon refers to Hameau de Reigny as a “nature” wine. The result is textured and tropical-fruited, yet not so much a departure from the region’s typicity, as rather, a riff on it.
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Intensely dry and mineral, the structured Les Arceaux is a bottle to pair with a meal rather than to drink as an apéritif.
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It combines the racy acidity and taut mineral structure imparted by the Kimmeridgian limestone terroir with a subtle kiss of oak and a fine wood grain on the finale.
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About The Producer
Prieuré de Saint-Céols
Located just southwest of Sancerre, Menetou-Salon is home to over 600 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Little Menetou is exported relative to nearby Sancerre, yet its vineyards enjoy the same climate and distinguished soils of Kimmeridgian marl as its neighbor. Having grown up in the region, Joseph de Maistre was well aware of the appellation’s potential, so when he learned that Prieuré de Saint-Céols was up for sale, he pounced at the chance to run a domaine with vineyards in some of Menetou’s most esteemed sites. Joseph and his wife, Marie, farm twelve hectares, nine of which are planted to Sauvignon Blanc, and they recently completed a conversion to organic viticulture. They favor low-intervention winemaking, including natural fermentations, to allow the Kimmeridgian terroir to shine through in full. Joseph’s wines are elegant and lively with excellent minerality, showcasing the qualities that led Menetou to grace noble tables in centuries past.
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
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2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
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Kermit once said...
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Kermit once said...
Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.
Inspiring Thirst, page 236