Alphonse Mellot

The original Alphonse Mellot can be traced back to a Sancerre tavern he founded in the early C19th. The current custodian of the unbroken family winemaking tradition is also called Alphonse Mellot, the 18th to bear the name. The key Mellot holding is Domaine de la Moussiere, a single vineyard of over 30 ha, unofficially but also undisputedly the Grand Cru of Sancerre. SW facing, with an ideal aspect and characteristically chalky soil, Sauvignon Blanc grown here produces small, tightly  packed grapes. Fully converted to both organic and biodynamic practices, Alphonse Mellot’s wines are powerful and  intense, and not afraid to use oak ageing to add breadth and heft. Some examples - Generation XIX Sancerre Rouge is dark coloured, generously oaked for 14 months and Burgundian in scope. The benchmark La Moussière Sancerre Blanc has a pithy intensity from the extended fine lees contact over 8 months. An unusual addition is Les Pénitents, a range from little-known local IGP Côtes de la Charite, home to some exceptional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, being given the same full-throttle Mellot treatment as their Sancerre range.