Henry Pellé Menetou-Salon Les Bornés

In the mid 1920’s, the first Pellé winemakers made wine for their own consumption; to have something good to drink with Sunday lunch and something thirst-quenching when working in the vineyard or fields. And then, because their wine was so good, it was sold to friends for parties and weddings, and to brasseries in Bourges by the barrel by Paul Pellé.

Fast forward to Sandiway in August 2023 and a sample bottle is presented at De:FINE by Alex, acting for the Pellés. Jon and Liam have a little taste and don’t say much. Alex gives a detailed spiel and tells us how sought after this particular bottling is, how it's never been exported before, sold exclusively in France, usually only on to prestigious wine lists in some of Paris’s top restaurants. They've managed to secure just 68 cases for the first time for the UK and we were the first to taste it in the UK. Alex departs.

*Liam can hear the cogs ticking in Jon’s head*

“Shall we do it?” asks Jon.
“Take it the lot?!?” exclaims Liam.
“We’ve done it before. If we don't sell out by October, we've failed!”

The deal is done. The exclusive rights to 'Les Bornés' sealed.

Ernest Pellé, son of Paul, also took to winemaking and created his own Sauvignon Blanc vine nursery. The plants were sold in the areas of Menetou-Salon and Sancerre and by 1959 the wines of these appellations began to build an image and reputation for themselves.

Then along comes Henry, son of Paul, who was well aware of the rich quality of the terroir on which their vines grew, and insisted that their village, Morogues, be allowed to appear on their labels. Henry invested heavily, and with confidence, and bought vineyards wherever he could. Another son in the family, Éric, joined Henry in 1980 with sheer determination and perseverance to establish the wine estate as a reference for both sauvignon blanc and Menetou-Salon. It paid off.

Éric’s young wife, Anne, joined the Domaine to help in the office and it soon grew to the size it is today. Tragically Éric died in an accident in 1995, aged just 38, and the reins were left to Anne and Henry. They found a young oenology graduate, Julien Zernott, to take over Éric’s work and from there he continued to work hard on the wines until 2007 when, you guessed it, another son, Paul-Henry Pellé, created his first vintage.

This is a wine to be snapped up, sipped, savoured and possibly saved. We’re unsure whether we will see this one again, so it really is a “when it’s gone, it’s gone” moment. Ask us for a taste and we guarantee you’ll have a six-pack (of wine) under your arms in no time!