Cloudy ruby in the glass with layers of cherry pit and plum. The palate has loads of dark red fruit flavors boosted by scintillating minerality and silken folds of acidity. This is a complex, glouglou and vibrant red, that once tasted will never be forgotten!
Domaine des Sablonnettes
Christine and Joël Ménard were making natural wine in Anjou long before anyone was calling it a movement. They settled in Rablay-sur-Layon in the early 1980s, taking over vineyards belonging to Joël's family and setting out to make wine according to their own convictions. They converted to organic farming in 1996, eventually embracing biodynamics, and became part of a small group of growers who helped establish Anjou as one of the most important regions in the natural wine world. Today, their son Jérémy and his wife Ambre are carrying that work forward.
Joël grew up in a family of winegrowers, although his father initially encouraged him to pursue a different life. After spending time working away from home, he returned to the vineyards with Christine, and together they began questioning many of the practices considered essential to modern winemaking. They stopped using chemical treatments in the vineyards, rejected commercial yeasts and other cellar corrections, and committed themselves to making wines that reflected the character of their fruit rather than the expectations of an appellation. Their refusal to add sugar or manipulate their wines eventually led them to release their bottles under the more flexible Vin de France designation.
The family's vineyards lie in the Coteaux du Layon, an area historically associated with sweet Chenin Blanc. Here, schist, clay, and sandy soils support vines ranging from a few decades old to well over a century. Chenin Blanc, Gamay, Grolleau, and Cabernet varieties form the backbone of their work. The farming is certified organic and biodynamic, with everything harvested by hand. Years of careful attention have helped build healthy, living soils, something the family considers fundamental to the quality of their wines.
Jérémy grew up surrounded by this way of life and gradually took over responsibility for the cellar before his parents retired in 2020. Ambre joined him in 2021. Their approach remains faithful to the principles Christine and Joël established: spontaneous fermentations, no fining or filtration, and no added sulfur.
There's a wonderful sense of humor and generosity running through the wines. Bottlings like Les Copains d'Abord, Les Copines Aussi, and Ménard le Rouge have become favorites among natural wine drinkers for their juicy fruit, earthy character, and straightforward pleasure. Ménard le Rouge is particularly unusual, made by layering different grape varieties into the fermentation tank as they ripen, building a wine from successive harvests rather than a conventional blend. It's an inventive approach that says a lot about the family's willingness to experiment.
The Ménards have also played an important role in the wider community of Loire Valley growers. Christine and Joël helped guide Richard Leroy during his early years as a winemaker, sharing their experience in both the vineyards and cellar. Jérémy continues that spirit of generosity through his involvement in the Salon de Rablay, an event that gives smaller natural wine producers, including those transitioning to organic farming, an opportunity to share their work.
More than forty years after Christine and Joël first began, Les Sablonnettes remains a family story built around good farming, independence, and a genuine love of wine. They've never needed fashionable labels or elaborate techniques to justify what they do. The wines are honest, sometimes a little wild, and unmistakably their own. And with Jérémy and Ambre now at the helm, there's plenty more to look forward to.
