Some of the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc comes from a small village in central France. Unless you’re a dedicated Francophile — or you’ve been reading our newsletter for a few years — you’ve likely not familiar with Menetou-Salon, or the high-quality wines found there.

By now, everyone — and their mother, and their mother’s cousin’s neighbor — is familiar with Sancerre, Menetou-Salon’s famous neighboring village. It’s virtually synonymous with lightly aromatic, elegant, fresh and dry French white wine. Walk into any decent bar or restaurant in the five boroughs and you’re almost guaranteed to see it on the bottle or by-the-glass list. Just like with NYC real estate, location is everything — it’s also what drives prices up.

Paul-Henry Pellé is a young vigneron, a 4th generation winemaker who farms his 40 hectares of vines organically. His grandfather helped establish the Menetou-Salon AOC, believing that their home village of Morogues, with its Kimmeridgian limestone (the limestone that snakes from Chablis to Champagne to Dover’s famous white cliffs), could produce extraordinary wines at least on par with those of Sancerre. Grandpère Pellé was certainly on to something, and Paul-Henry’s number among some of our favorite wines, regardless of variety or country of origin.

The Pellé wines just keep getting better and better. They are intensely mineral and elegant, but they never lack for fun, fresh fruit, either. There’s no better proof of this than Pellé’s trio of single-vineyard wines. There’s a common thread tying them all together, of course — that delightful Kimmeridgian minerality, the sleek body, the limpid texture — but they each have their own personality, too. 



‘Les Caroirs’ is all about dialed-back fruit, highlighting instead flavors of smoke, salt and stones. ‘Vignes de Ratier’ is more opulent, with hints of savory oyster shell, ripe pear and melon, and a dash of pepper. Lastly, ‘Blanchais’, with a mix of flint and limestone soils, tastes of lemon curd, peach, salt, and seashell – almost like a 1er cru Chablis – and it’s substantial enough to improve with cellaring.

Loyal readers already know and love these wines, and we’re so happy to have them back on our shelves. Take advantage of this special discounting to stock up on seriously exceptional Sauvignon Blanc:

Pellé, Menetou-Salon Morogues 'Le Carroir', 2022 $33.99

Pellé, Menetou-Salon Morogues Vignes De Ratier, 2022 $33.99

Pellé, Menetou-Salon Morogues 'Blanchais', 2022 $36.99