Pierre Ménard
Anjou, Loire Valley, France
Winemaker: Pierre Ménard
Pierre Ménard
www.domainepierremenard.com
After studying wine in the Agronomic school of Angers, Pierre travelled the world to learn about the different processes and made wine in Canada, New Zealand and Hungary. Only in his late twenties, Pierre started to produce wine in the Layon in 2013, using a 100-year-old Chenin Blanc vineyard laying on schist called “Le Quart des Noëls”. The plot used to belong to his parents who withdrew some of the vines from the cooperative contract. Since his first vintage Pierre’s wines have been met with critical acclaim. There is no botrytis in his dry wines and although wines of this region have typically had botrytis, today, a number of up-and-coming young vignerons have recognised the negative impact botrytis can have on a dry wine, and they see the precision and energy that can be found in vinifying Chenin Blanc grown on the slate and schist of western Anjou totally and truthfully dry, with not a whisper of botrytis in the blend. These wines are super limited.
www.domainepierremenard.com
After studying wine in the Agronomic school of Angers, Pierre travelled the world to learn about the different processes and made wine in Canada, New Zealand and Hungary. Only in his late twenties, Pierre started to produce wine in the Layon in 2013, using a 100-year-old Chenin Blanc vineyard laying on schist called “Le Quart des Noëls”. The plot used to belong to his parents who withdrew some of the vines from the cooperative contract. Since his first vintage Pierre’s wines have been met with critical acclaim. There is no botrytis in his dry wines and although wines of this region have typically had botrytis, today, a number of up-and-coming young vignerons have recognised the negative impact botrytis can have on a dry wine, and they see the precision and energy that can be found in vinifying Chenin Blanc grown on the slate and schist of western Anjou totally and truthfully dry, with not a whisper of botrytis in the blend. These wines are super limited.
2022 Laïka Vin de France - Sauvignon Blanc
"Tasted from barrel, this vintage of Pierre’s Sauvignon Blanc presents a remarkably bright aromatic profile filled with the scents of peach, passionfruit, rose and lychee. It certainly serves as evidence against anyone who claims Sauvignon is not an aromatic variety. The palate reflects this bright character, kicking off with a polished and voluminous substance, which is partnered with an unexpectedly fresh vein of acidity and a pithy bitterness, neither of which I was really expecting to find. The end result is a charming and distinctive expression of the variety. For drinking soon after bottling. 90-92/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com.
2022 Le Clos des Mailles Anjou Blanc
This is a large lieu-dit within which Pierre has three parcels of vines, including one parcel aged more than 100 years. The vines are planted on clay soils over schist.
Tasted from barrel, the 2022 vintage from Le Clos des Mailles, which has mostly schistose soils, opens with layers of orange blossom and crushed chalk aromatics. This comes across on the palate which wraps up a core of orange peel and orange blossom in a supple, bright and pithy frame. In keeping with the warm and dry nature of the vintage this particular samplepresents only modest acidity, although there is plenty of pithy grip to give the wine some structure, and this persists through into the finish. Delicious, but I suspect one which will be better drunk younger rather than older. 92-94/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com
2022 Quarts de Gastines Anjou Blanc The fruit is sourced from a few rows of old vines close to Le Clos des Mailles.
Tasted from barrel during the course of the élevage, this opens with an entirely welcoming profile dominated by white peach and streaks of pine kernel. This composed character continues on the palate which shows a deliciously sinewy breadth filled out with orchard fruit perfume from the nose, streaked with notes of powdered chalk, white pepper and blanched almond. It has length, but more importantly it also has a sense of drive and fine acidity, both noteworthy in this warm and dry vintage. This has delicious potential. 93-95/100 Points | Chris Kissack | Winedoctor
2022 Pluton Anjou Blancis also sourced from Le Clos des Mailles, but is distinguished from the principal cuvée in two ways. First, the fruit is sourced only from vines positioned on a vein of phthanite which runs diagonally through one of the three parcels. Secondly, the vinification and élevage takes place exclusively in stoneware jarres.
As usual, the Pluton cuvée is sourced from six rows of vines in the Clos de Mailles, those that Pierre has identified as sitting on the vein of phthanite which runs through this otherwise schistose site. It is vinified in stoneware jarres, which also sets it apart from the wine which carries the name of the clos. Those distinctions might seem subtle, but the nose is wildly different, with an explosively aromatic profile which calls to mind honeysuckle and vanilla, with a trace of sweet honey. This perfumed character continues across the palate, set in a svelte and silky substance, the floral notes intertwined with a chalky freshness and, for the vintage, very good acidity. The whole package here feels simply beautiful. I suspect this will go a little longer in bottle than the Clos des Mailles, so would be a good choice for the cellar. 92-95/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com
2022 Orion Alpha Anjou BlancThis is Pierre’s sole cuvée of Anjou Rouge, sourced from two parcels of Cabernet Franc, aged 15 and 70 years.
This was a tasting of two components, the first a mix of the fruit from two parcels, combining 15- and 70-year-old parcels; it has a floral nose, rich in black cherry fruit, while the palate is rich in notes of powdered chalk, with modest acidity, laden with fruit, textured and nicely grained. The second represents only the fruit from the 70-year-old vines; it is dense, with blackcurrant and chalk notes on the nose, floral, savoury and saline, followed by a palate which is textured, dark and floral with currant fruits. Deliciously ripe potential here, but obviously early days, an unblended cuvée, and a guarded note to my score as a result. 89-92/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com
2022 Cosmos Coteaux du Layon
It is produced using the meticulously selected fruits displaying signs of botrytis which Pierre is so keen to exclude from his dry wines. It presents a polished and lightly bronzed appearance in the glass. This is followed by an aromatic profile of sheer beauty, with lightly caramelised peach and orange fruits, set within a fresher bed of white nectarine, white pepper and biscuit. This purity is matched by a beautiful intensity on the palate, with an astounding composition, all mango sorbet, crushed tangerine, citrus cream and crushed quartz minerals, finely interwoven. This is a truly brilliant wine; it is the intense purity and definition that earns it this high score. And it is so long! Remarkable potential for future development here, but I challenge you to resist drinking this now. The alcohol on the label is just 11%.
"Tasted from barrel, this vintage of Pierre’s Sauvignon Blanc presents a remarkably bright aromatic profile filled with the scents of peach, passionfruit, rose and lychee. It certainly serves as evidence against anyone who claims Sauvignon is not an aromatic variety. The palate reflects this bright character, kicking off with a polished and voluminous substance, which is partnered with an unexpectedly fresh vein of acidity and a pithy bitterness, neither of which I was really expecting to find. The end result is a charming and distinctive expression of the variety. For drinking soon after bottling. 90-92/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com.
2022 Le Clos des Mailles Anjou Blanc
This is a large lieu-dit within which Pierre has three parcels of vines, including one parcel aged more than 100 years. The vines are planted on clay soils over schist.
Tasted from barrel, the 2022 vintage from Le Clos des Mailles, which has mostly schistose soils, opens with layers of orange blossom and crushed chalk aromatics. This comes across on the palate which wraps up a core of orange peel and orange blossom in a supple, bright and pithy frame. In keeping with the warm and dry nature of the vintage this particular samplepresents only modest acidity, although there is plenty of pithy grip to give the wine some structure, and this persists through into the finish. Delicious, but I suspect one which will be better drunk younger rather than older. 92-94/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com
2022 Quarts de Gastines Anjou Blanc The fruit is sourced from a few rows of old vines close to Le Clos des Mailles.
Tasted from barrel during the course of the élevage, this opens with an entirely welcoming profile dominated by white peach and streaks of pine kernel. This composed character continues on the palate which shows a deliciously sinewy breadth filled out with orchard fruit perfume from the nose, streaked with notes of powdered chalk, white pepper and blanched almond. It has length, but more importantly it also has a sense of drive and fine acidity, both noteworthy in this warm and dry vintage. This has delicious potential. 93-95/100 Points | Chris Kissack | Winedoctor
2022 Pluton Anjou Blancis also sourced from Le Clos des Mailles, but is distinguished from the principal cuvée in two ways. First, the fruit is sourced only from vines positioned on a vein of phthanite which runs diagonally through one of the three parcels. Secondly, the vinification and élevage takes place exclusively in stoneware jarres.
As usual, the Pluton cuvée is sourced from six rows of vines in the Clos de Mailles, those that Pierre has identified as sitting on the vein of phthanite which runs through this otherwise schistose site. It is vinified in stoneware jarres, which also sets it apart from the wine which carries the name of the clos. Those distinctions might seem subtle, but the nose is wildly different, with an explosively aromatic profile which calls to mind honeysuckle and vanilla, with a trace of sweet honey. This perfumed character continues across the palate, set in a svelte and silky substance, the floral notes intertwined with a chalky freshness and, for the vintage, very good acidity. The whole package here feels simply beautiful. I suspect this will go a little longer in bottle than the Clos des Mailles, so would be a good choice for the cellar. 92-95/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com
2022 Orion Alpha Anjou BlancThis is Pierre’s sole cuvée of Anjou Rouge, sourced from two parcels of Cabernet Franc, aged 15 and 70 years.
This was a tasting of two components, the first a mix of the fruit from two parcels, combining 15- and 70-year-old parcels; it has a floral nose, rich in black cherry fruit, while the palate is rich in notes of powdered chalk, with modest acidity, laden with fruit, textured and nicely grained. The second represents only the fruit from the 70-year-old vines; it is dense, with blackcurrant and chalk notes on the nose, floral, savoury and saline, followed by a palate which is textured, dark and floral with currant fruits. Deliciously ripe potential here, but obviously early days, an unblended cuvée, and a guarded note to my score as a result. 89-92/100 Points | Chris Kissack | winedoctor.com
2022 Cosmos Coteaux du Layon
It is produced using the meticulously selected fruits displaying signs of botrytis which Pierre is so keen to exclude from his dry wines. It presents a polished and lightly bronzed appearance in the glass. This is followed by an aromatic profile of sheer beauty, with lightly caramelised peach and orange fruits, set within a fresher bed of white nectarine, white pepper and biscuit. This purity is matched by a beautiful intensity on the palate, with an astounding composition, all mango sorbet, crushed tangerine, citrus cream and crushed quartz minerals, finely interwoven. This is a truly brilliant wine; it is the intense purity and definition that earns it this high score. And it is so long! Remarkable potential for future development here, but I challenge you to resist drinking this now. The alcohol on the label is just 11%.
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