Domaine Armand Gaston Menetou-Salon 2016
Of all the satellite appellations, Menetou-Salon is most similar to Sancerre geographically, soil-wise and style-wise. Menetou Salon (330 hectares) is region adjacent to Sancerre, west of Loire River, comprised of a total 10 communes and 30 producers. Armand Gaston, a longtime grape grower in Menetou-Salon, sold his vineyards to Joseph Mellot in 2007. The Mellot family created this bottling as a tribute to the vineyard's former owner.
Kimmeridgian limestone and clay creates conditions for less drainage than typical for the surrounding appellation, yielding denser, broad and structured Sauvignon Blanc with more savory elements and heightened minerality.
In 2005, the winery found a fossilized seashell nearly the size of a bike wheel! This fossil bed dates back 150 million years, compiled of seashells from when the area was under water.
