Pierre Ménard Pluton wine bottle

Pierre Menard Pluton 2020

Pierre Menard
$79.00

Grape: Chenin Blanc
Vintage: 2020
Type: White

This white wine represents Pierre Menard's flagship cuvée, with an extremely limited production of only two barrels. The old chenin blanc vines grow inside the Clos de Mailles vineyard on a distinct vein of blue schist and quartz. The hand-picked grapes undergo soft pneumatic pressing and a completely spontaneous fermentation driven by native vineyard wild yeasts. The liquid undergoes a natural maturation process, aging in French oak barrels and a single small stoneware jar.

It displays a bright gold-straw hue, releasing a complex nose of ripe yellow apple, quince, and wild field flowers. On the palate, the full-bodied, structured frame balances a serious depth with a sharp line of mountain acidity. Savory flavors of grapefruit pith and chamomile seamlessly wrap around a dense mouthfeel that quivers with tension. The unique stoneware aging provides a subtle structural focus that preserves intense mineral components cleanly. It concludes bone-dry and persistent.

Pierre Menard grew up in a winemaking family in Anjou. He went on to study winemaking in Angers and to work stints in Pauillac at Chateau Latour, in the Duoro, Canada, New Zealand and in Tokaj, Hungary.

When he returned home to Anjou, he began farming a few rows of his family’s old vine Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc. Traditionally his parents sold the grapes from all 13 hectares of their vines to a cooperative, but they agreed to let him keep some for his own project. In 2013, while still in his twenties, he bottled a miniscule number of bottles in a garage turned wine cellar. This inaugural vintage was received with great critical acclaim and a rising star of Anjou was born. Since then, Pierre has expanded his holdings to more than 1.5 hectares, all farmed biodynamically. He makes several bottlings of Chenin Blanc from these old vines, all dry.

Hand harvesting, gentle pneumatic pressing, fermentation, and aging in a combination of used barrels, sandstone amphora, and tank.