Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Les Romains 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

One of a handful of Mellot cuvées from outside La Moussière, the lieu-dit of Les Romains is named for the Roman road that led down to the Loire River crossing and lies almost directly south of the town, over the fault line marking a vein of flint. While these flint-dominated soils may suggest a strong resemblance to the nearby terroir in Pouilly-Fumé, the vines don’t have to dig deep before hitting pure limestone. The vineyard covers 1.9 hectares and is planted to a density of 9,000 vines per hectare. Vacheron and Gitton Père also tend vines in this great vineyard, which is home to a number of biodynamic domaines. In general terms, Les Romains provides racier acidity and more lime and citrus than the Mellot cuvées from La Moussière.

About Alphonse Mellot

“… [the Mellot family’s] worthy aspirations have gradually raised them to the peaks of the great Sauvignons of the world. Alphonse Mellot’s white Sancerres are amongst the most brilliant and pure illustrations of the genius of the Sauvignon grape.”

Michel Bettane & Thierry Desseauve, The World’s Greatest Wines

If you’ve every doubted Sauvignon Blanc’s place in the pantheon of Noble White Grapes (and many do), a taste of any bottle of Mellot Sancerre should set matters straight. Mellot’s Sauvignons are capable of recalling great white Burgundy, sometimes Chablis, sometimes Côte d’Or. And they typically age better than most white burgundies do these days! Jacqueline Friedrich summed it up perfectly when she wrote; “Each Sancerre [from Mellot] is at its most elegant: discreetly herbaceous, a beautiful weave of citrus, oak and minerals.”

Founded in 1513, the current guardian of Alphonse Mellot is the 19th generation of Mellots working the family winery. It sits pretty in the center of the village with an extensive network of cellars. The estate covers 56 hectares of vineyard, 38ha of which comprises the estate’s notable 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.

For much of its recent history, the Mellot family has crafted its miraculous Sauvignons in a highly popular region where standards were continuously dropping and the viticulture and wine making was becoming more and more industrial. Alphonse Mellot was, and is, one of the beacons of quality in a region where today, some 98% of fruit is machine harvested. Instead, the fruit is delicately handled and fermented in 900-litres tanks creating outstanding, seductive Sauvignon that offers intense purity and has the structure to age gracefully.

The terroir of Sancerre is beautiful, one of Europe’s great limestone soils. Unfortunately, the region’s immense popularity has encouraged apathy and opportunism and Sancerre remains very much a great terroir full of largely untapped potential. Of course Mellot is not alone in bucking the trend: names like Cotat, Vacheron, Pinard and Boulay have also maintained very high standards. But the outspoken Mellot is the most visible, as the late Didier Dageneau had been in Pouilly.

In the video below, we meet Alphonse Sr. and Alphonse Jr. and learn about what makes Sauvnignon from Sancerre truly magical wine.

In the Vineyard

La Moussière, where the estate’s most historic white wines are grown, is one of the most remarkable and best kept vineyards in France. It is a beautiful, south facing, rolling slope, with deep, limestone-rich, ploughed soils. The vines are densely planted (8,000-10,000 vines per-hectare) and there is a large percentage of old vines. Incredibly, 40 people are employed to manage 47 hectares! If anyone can be said to be guardians of Sancerre terrior, it is these hardy souls pruning through winter on the frigid slopes of La Moussière. Here, everything is done by hand, biodynamically and to immaculate standards.

In the Winery

The winery is full of the kind of equipment (sorting tables, conveyor belts, pneumatic presses, large wooden temperature controlled fermentation tanks, etc.) that you only typically find in the finest Burgundy domains – absolutely no expense has been spared.

The 2019 Vintage at Alphonse Mellot

The 2019 vintage in the Loire Valley was a good vintage, producing wines that are drinking beautifully in their youth but have the potential for ageing.

The spring was chilly and dry and some vineyards were affected by April frosts. The cold conditions delayed vine growth to a certain extent but a hot, dry summer finally kicked in mid-June. Temperatures rose quickly but with little rainfall, drought became an issue for many and summer heatwaves saw some vines suffer.

The harvest for many parts of the Loire began in September and was generally successful with the surviving grapes generally rich and concentrated from the summer drought. It is perhaps too early to determine the overall quality of the vintage, but early reports suggest it’s looking good.

Where in the World is Alphonse Mellot?

Alphonse Mellot is located in the Upper Loire, in the village of Sancerre.