Domaine Pelle Menetou-Salon Vignes de Ratier, AOP Menetou-Salon [Organic]

From a vineyard once crashed into by an out of control 4x4. Those who attended our Christmas Tasting will understand.....

Production

From vines with an average age of approximately 35 years, grown on south west facing and clay/marl soils.

The winemaking is interesting … a bit goes into stainless steel whilst the rest goes into wood for fermentation. The wood element though is three separate, very ‘ovaloid’ barrels, one stands about waist-height, another stands maybe shoulder height and the last is a little taller at around 2 metres. They sound quite large but they are very sharply oval so don’t hold as much as you'd expect. The mixture of a sunny exposure, older vines that give depth in the middle and Pierre Henry's ability to play with the different fermentation vessels allows him to build in a little more texture with Ratier.

Tasting Note

It’s definitely Sauvignon but the grassy elements are almost non-existent, the stony notes are quite positive but subtle, there’s a sense of some wood without any direct flavour of it, and there’s a fine almost peachy fruit. Almost sounds like it doesn’t taste of much … but of course it does! It’s the combination of all these elements that gives such a serious wine, all about subtlety, finesse and textures at least as much as flavours.

Food Match

A great match for a variety of mid weight fish dishes, or cheeses such as goats or soft cheeses.