Wine of the week: a vital and perfectly flavoured Menetou

published 6 September 2019

2017 Menetou-Salon, Domaine de l'Ermitage, Laurence et Graud de la Farge, Loire, France£15, Robert Rolls, 020-3215 0011, robertrolls.com

There are few people as respected in our wine trade as Robert Rolls. I have known him for more than 30 years, but I rarely taste his wines and I am not sure why this is. Perhaps it is that he keeps himself to himself, and his modesty and the scarcity of stock of many of his wines mean that he doesn't make too much of a fuss about his business. We bumped into each other the other day and he said he would send me a case of samples and every wine was not only superb, but they were also all stunning value, too.

Loires, Rhnes and Burgundies, and all under £25, it was this keenly priced Menetou that completely amazed me with its finesse and control. A couple of months ago I wrote up a Pouilly-Fum, which was one of the most imposing, intense and age-worthy sauvignon blancs I have ever tasted.

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Domaine de l'Ermitage is almost the complete opposite. It is vital, immediately appealing, open and giving, and perfectly flavoured from the bright citrus and herb nose to the cool, stony, mouth-watering finish. It is drinking right now and you are guaranteed to be amazed at the energy and pristine freshness of this wine.

I hope that you feel moved to buy it and then take a look at Robert's collection of fascinating Domaines. I am sure he would be gracious enough to add a few MoneyWeek wine fans to his elite client list.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.