2018 Isabelle et Pierre Clement Menetou-Salon

For a wine that ranks among the Loire’s best Sauvignon Blancs, we’re offering the 2018 Clément Menetou-Salon for a fraction of what it’s really worth—this wine has everything we want in the category, plus the shine of a true original. Stock up now. Serve chilled all summer.

Clément is a must-have for anyone who loves crisp white wines. With its brilliant nose of lemony and floral aromas, the bright mineral core running like a laser beam through the palate, and the voluptuous citrus-oil finish, this is a wine that will keep you grinning morning, noon, and night.

The Menetou-Salon appellation has a deep tradition of making sophisticated wines in a uniquely snappy style. Nestled in the eastern nook of the dreamy Loire Valley and virtually unknown outside of France, winemakers in this tiny region can’t rest on their notoriety the way producers in next-door Sancerre can. Instead they have to win fans the old-fashioned way, with charming wines that offer serious value. 

“Thanks to a high proportion of limestone soil, [Menetou-Salon] is fast establishing a reputation as a more reliable name than its neighbor to the east,” according to Jancis Robinson. They’re still seen as up-and-comers for the moment. But that’ll change once word gets out. The real window of opportunity is upon us now.

The Clément family makes a crisp, quaffable wine that smacks of nectarines, grilled peaches, and wildflowers. The palate jumps out with focused acidity. But as the wine develops it takes on a smooth, ripe quality. It’s not fat, it’s lean—after all, these grapes are grown on the same underground seam of Kimmeridgian limestone that lends Chablis its distinctive qualities—but it’s giving in a way we found surprisingly generous. 

That fine balance is no accident. The Cléments have been making wines in Ménétou-Salon since 1560, and at this point the family is more or less synonymous with the A.O.C. they helped charter. After 16 generations of accumulated wisdom, developing their own vine clones and guiding the process gently from dirt to bottle, it’s hard to find a wine more drinkable and authentic at the same time. They also farm naturally, having garnered accreditation from Terra Vitis, an organization of French growers and producers who are committed to environmentally sustainable winemaking. And for the vegans among us, this is a vetted choice: no animal products are used in this wine.

Pierre Clément chairs the Menetou-Salon appellation board, providing leadership for an up-and-coming region that threatens to eclipse its neighbors with honest, consistent wines. Clément allows the pressed juice to ferment spontaneously with wild yeasts in the cellar, giving the final product a fullness where it might otherwise grow thin. 

Members who crave a salty-plump Albariño will adore the 2018 Clément Menetou-Salon. Tart acid, bright mineral, but so juicy you want to bite into it. It’s absolutely thirst-quenching on a sunny summer afternoon, or any afternoon in our opinion.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 12.50%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• % Sauvignon Blanc
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Cork