2019 Grand Champs

Alphonse Mellot was founded in 1513 and is now run by the 19th generation of the family. The winery sits pretty in the center of the village with an extensive network of cellars. With 56 hectares of vineyard, Mellot produces Sancerre for supermarkets (the younger-vine cuvée La Moussière is stocked by Sainsbury’s in the UK, for example) as well as top-drawer, old vine cuvées like Cuvée Edmond, which sources its fruit from a 6-ha plot of old vines within the 38-ha La Moussière vineyard. The resulting style, fermented in differing sizes of wooden tanks, is pure and precise and manages to retain mouth-watering acidity even in warm vintages like 2018, 2019 and 2020. The flagship cuvée, Génération XIX, hails from a 1-ha plot of La Moussière where the vines average close to 90 years old. Delicately handled, it is fermented in 900-liter tanks resulting in an outstanding, seductive Sauvignon that offers intense purity and has the structure to age gracefully. The domaine also makes Pinot Noir: La Demoiselle comes off a rare piece of flinty soil, giving a smoky, spiced and firm style, while the chalk soils of Le Paradis vineyard, which contributes to the Generation XIX red, provides more seductive elegance while the clay portion of Chambrates offers softness and ease. There’s no stinting on classy oak when it comes to the Pinot either. An early adopter of biodynamic farming, the estate has been certified since 1999.