Pierre Menard
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Pierre Menard seems poised to join the pantheon of legendary producers working with Chenin Blanc on the complex array of soils in Anjou. Despite being located squarely in sweet wine country, Pierre is making fascinating and delicious dry bottlings (in addition to one sweet wine) that rival some of the top wines being made with the grape today. These wines are highly recommended for lovers of Richard Leroy, Mark Angeli, and Thomas Batardiere.
Pierre Menard comes from winemaking stock in Faye d'Anjou, but the grapes grown by his parents were sold off to a local cooperative. After attending winemaking school in Angers and staging around the world (most notably at Chateau Latour), Pierre returned home and convinced his parents to let him start a small project with some of their old-vine plots of Chenin Blanc in the Quarts de Noels and Clos des Mailles. 2013 was the first vintage produced, and Pierre has slowly increased his production since.
Pierre's vision is centered around producing dry, single-parcel Chenin Blanc from old vines. The schist-dominated soils of Anjou are among the most diverse and unique in the Loire, and Pierre thinks the terroir of each of his vineyards is expressed best when fermented totally dry. He also works with Cabernet Franc and has acquired some old-vine plots of Sauvignon Blanc from which he makes a delicious bottling named Laika.
In the cellar, things are quite minimalist. Pierre prefers slow, cold fermentations in used barrels, which usually rest on lees before bottling 10 months later. The beautiful labels are also of Pierre's own creation, as he is an artisan and musician in addition to a winemaker. This is a small winery of under five hectares, and the wines are sure to increase in price and recognition in the near future.
