Notify me
2024 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols
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 20234 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.
—Jane Augustine
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2024 |
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% |
More from this Producer or Region

2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Cuvée des Bénédictins”
France | Loire
Pure and precise, this chalky Sauvignon Blanc offers a combination of bright citrus with a creamy depth that is simply hard to resist.

Vouvray Brut “La Dilettante”
France | Loire
Dry Champagne-method sparkler that delivers tremendous value.

2023 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
France | Loire
Sourced from the village of Beaumont, it is utterly delicious, with a perfect balance of fruit and earth.

2021 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
France | Loire
Germain’s reds are grand examples of the heights biodynamic wines can achieve.

2022 Quincy “Château de Quincy”
France | Loire
Textured, lush, full of aromatic gooseberry and passionfruit—all supported by spiny minerality.

2024 Sancerre Rosé
France | Loire
Sancerre Rosé is made from Pinot Noir grown in Kimmeridgian limestone soil, and the Neveu family’s interpretation is fine, floral, crisp, and bone-dry.

2023 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
France | Loire
A fleshy, full-bodied Sancerre with great freshness and the ability to age in bottle for a few years after release.

2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
France | Loire
Previously blended into the domaine’s Sancerre rouge, the Champs d’Alligny is now its own bottling, a successful experiment if there ever was one.

2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
France | Loire
From a small but mighty appellation boasting an impressive soil loaded with fossilized oyster shells. Peachy, finely textured, and pleasantly verdant.

Vouvray Brut MAGNUM
France | Loire
A bubbly for any day of the week–bone-dry and super fresh
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 Kimmeridgian 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.
More from Loire or France
2023 Savennières
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2016 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” MAGNUM
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Sancerre “Racines”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2023 Savennières
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2016 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” MAGNUM
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Sancerre “Racines”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.
Inspiring Thirst, page 171