Henry Pellé invested with confidence: he bought vineyards whenever he could and in 1970 he had wine cellars built below his Les Cris vineyard. Wheels were in motion but there was still some risk involved; in order to sell all the production, Henry and his wife, Alberte, tirelessly visited wine fairs in nearby départements and started to envisage distribution both in France and abroad. But Menetou-Salon was still the younger, less famous sister to Sancerre, the appellation which was systematically preferred.

Then in the late 70’s Henry acquired 5 hectares of vineyards in Sancerre. He took advantage of the quality of this new production to promote his Menetou-Salon and Morogues. When his son, Eric, joined him in 1980, the Domaine was already a reference for Sauvignon Blanc wines. The hard toil continued but now there were two of them and some fresh ideas. New terroirs were identified and acquired and “Les Blanchais” became a quality addition to the range.

More and more customers, from further and further away, needed to be attended to. Eric’s young wife, Anne, joined the Domaine to help her mother-in-law in the office. By then, the Domaine had grown to the size it is today. Henry’s gamble had paid off.

Tragically Eric died in an accident in 1995. Anne and Henry were fortunate enough to find Julien Zernott, a young oenology graduate at the time, to take over Eric’s work. Together they continued the work. 1996 saw the appearance of the “Vignes de Ratier” and “Les Cris” wines. Julien’s work on the reds in particular enabled the Domaine to remain at the forefront of the appellation. In 2007, Julien handed over to Paul-Henry Pellé, Ann and Eric’s son, who created his very first vintage. We hear that a new wine is on the way.