Description
Domaine Pierre Ménard, “Le Quart des Noëls” Chenin Blanc
It’s true: Ménard’s “Le Quart des Noëls” is the finest dry Chenin I’ve tasted since enjoying an old 25-year-old Nicolas Joly two years ago, and yet, I only have 30 bottles to offer. As someone who can generally find back-vintage Lafite within a single text/email, I admit the failure to source more of this wine is frustrating and a little humbling. It goes to show that, sometimes, certain wines really are that limited—in 2020, Ménard only produced 132 cases of “Quart des Noëls.”
This ancient, schistous, south-facing vineyard was planted in 1920 and Pierre has been biodynamically farming his family’s 0.2 hectares here since his inaugural vintage in 2013. In the cellar, fermentation is slow and spontaneous, and maturation occurs in once-, twice-, and third-use French barrels for approximately 15 months. This is deeply textural, flavor-shifting, mind-expanding dry Chenin that overflows with dense apricot, peach, and pear before a scintillating tidal wave of wet stone, lanolin, kiwi, salt-preserved green/yellow apple, and grated nutmeg. Savor slowly over 3-4 hours and if you buy two, save the second one until at least 2025. I wish I could hoard all 30 bottles to myself…
