Say “sancerre”, and you will see the wine lover’s face light up. For the quality of the whites of this vineyard in the far east of the Loire Valley, but also for its reds, fruity and silky. But say the name “menetou-salon” and only connoisseurs will follow you. An unfair notoriety difference.
The two appellations are only separated by about thirty kilometers, and their relationship is reinforced by the grape varieties used, exclusively Sauvignon for the whites and Pinot Noir for the reds. But it is true that they do not have the same firepower: on the Menetou side, 612 hectares in production (a total surface area of 1,000 ha), in ten municipalities, around sixty estates and less than 4 million bottles; on the sancerre side, 3,000 hectares, fourteen towns, more than 300 families and 24 million bottles.
A bulky neighbor
Even in their history, the two vineyards have links. That of the Menetou vineyard, cultivated on Kimmeridgian marls, located north-east of Bourges in the Cher, dates back to the XIe century. Four centuries later, the great treasurer of Charles VII, Jacques Cœur, acquired the seigneury of Menetou and made it his favorite wine. The local winegrowers created in 1959 their controlled designation of origin (AOC) menetou-salon. But four years earlier, they first requested an extension of the AOC Sancerre, which dates from 1936. The Sancerrois refused, just as they had refused in 1949 the appellation “coteaux-du-sancerrois” to designate the wines around Menetou-Salon.
Today, the two appellations live in harmony. And the anecdote makes Francis Audiot, current president of the AOC menetou-salon, smile. “We all went to the same schools, we know each other, and a third of the Menetou vineyard is worked and sold by people from Sancerre”, declares this 50-year-old winegrower, at the head of Domaine de Coquin.
The winegrowers of menetou-salon celebrated in 2019 the 60 years of their appellation. And the question today is to keep a name alive, whose fame is less, while the merits are there. The answer is to be found in the regional identity, and not in the confrontation with the cumbersome neighbor.
Catherine Corbeau-Mellot, in fact, at the head of Joseph Mellot wines since 2005, illustrates this approach. Offering both Sancerre, Quincy, Pouilly, Reuilly and Menetou-Salon, the winemaker rejects the idea of competition. Of course, the customers who push open the doors of its shops in Sancerre come mainly for the local wines. “But we take the opportunity to introduce them to other appellations and they are quickly won over, explains Catherine Corbeau-Mellot. We took the opportunity of the 60e menetou birthday to grow these wines. “
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