Biodynamic. Amid a sea of Sancerre, Les Pénitents is Alphonse Mellot’s single Chardonnay. It’s drawn from the historic hillside terroir of Nièvre—now part of the Côtes de la Charité appellation—just 35 kilometres southeast of the family’s Sancerre base. The region was almost destroyed by phylloxera in the late 19th century, but its renown goes back much further to when it was planted and farmed by the Benedictine monks of Cluny, who were gifted the land by Étienne, Count of Sancerre. Now reduced in size to some 50 hectares, the region was brought back to life in the late 1980s thanks to the dedication of several winegrowers, including Alphonse Mellot. 

Its terroir (Oxfordian limestone) is a stepping stone between the Loire Valley and Burgundy, resembling large parts of Sancerre and the Côte d’Or. The varieties (90% of the vineyard is planted to either Chardonnay or Pinot Noir) provide another clear link to the vineyards of Burgundy. Crafted from low-cropped vines planted in 1990, it is vinified in a mixture of wooden fermenters and cement tank. This gives a medium- to full-bodied, satiny and seamless Chardonnay redolent of ripe citrus fruits, flowers and pulpy stone fruits. Pure and fleshy, the long, salted-nut finish evokes quality grower Meursault. In short, it's a lovely addition to our range of Sancerre from this great wine grower.

Biodynamic. This jaw-dropping Sancerre is drawn from the oldest vines in the Moussière vineyard (approximately 100 years of age), cropped at Grand Cru Burgundy levels (at the lower end of this range, in fact). The wine fermented and aged in 2,000-litre, tronconique wooden tanks for 12 months before a spell in steel on lees. Only 500 cases per year see the light of day.

With its sister-in-arms, Edmond, Dix-Neuf is the antithesis of modern textbook Sancerre. Instead, it is an intense, arresting wine, unfolding in a dizzying array of candied citrus, gingerbread, crystalline tropical notes, pear sorbet and iodine. These complex aromas play behind virile, extract-rich structure and crackling inner tension. Imagine the intensity and texture of great white Burgundy but with the racy core of acidity of exceptional Riesling or Chenin Blanc. As difficult as it is to describe, this stacks up with the most distinctive whites on the planet. A super mineral, no-holds-barred Sancerre that makes a bold statement about what Sauvignon Blanc can be.

Biodynamic. La Demoiselle was established on a small, east-facing hillside in 1951 and is one of Sancerre’s easier vineyards to locate, just below the Panoramic Hotel on the edge of the village. The deep soils are a mix of flint and flinty clay, the town being situated over the fault that runs through the appellation. While the winemaking essentially mirrors La Moussière, the yields here are somewhat lower still.

You can expect a more restrained aromatic profile than La Moussière, with scents of chalky, flinty minerality, nettle and Conference pear in the lead, supported by citrus backing. It packs a serious punch on the palate with delicious midpalate juiciness shot through with vibrant acidity, finishing with spicy, zesty persistence and understated power.

Biodynamic. La Moussière is one of the great vineyards of the Loire Valley. Cultivated with incredibly rocky, limestone-rich soils, this gently rolling vineyard lies on ancient Saint-Doulchard marls, which form part of the great Kimmeridgian chain (à la Chablis). Coupled with Mellot’s meticulous biodynamic farming and low yields, this terroir is responsible for some of Sancerre’s most striking and atypical wines.

As usual, 50% of this wine fermented in huge wooden fermenters and was raised in oak casks—a fact that in no way compromises its fabulous purity and energy. The balance fermented and was raised in traditional concrete vats before blending. The wine aged on fine lees for roughly 12 months, further enhancing its famously deep, pulpy texture. Reminiscent of a topflight Chablis, those who crave flesh, purity and tension in their white wines will find great company here. Full of supple nectarine and ripe grapefruit, the wine unfolds on the palate like a coiled white Burgundy. A great La Moussière—is there any other kind?!

Biodynamic. La Moussière is one of the great vineyards of the Loire Valley. Cultivated with incredibly rocky, limestone-rich soils, this gently rolling vineyard lies on ancient Saint-Doulchard marls, which form part of the great Kimmeridgian chain (à la Chablis). Coupled with Mellot’s meticulous biodynamic farming and low yields, this terroir is responsible for some of Sancerre’s most striking and atypical wines.

As usual, 50% of this wine fermented in huge wooden fermenters and was raised in oak casks—a fact that in no way compromises its fabulous purity and energy. The balance fermented and was raised in traditional concrete vats before blending. The wine aged on fine lees for roughly 12 months, further enhancing its famously deep, pulpy texture. Reminiscent of a topflight Chablis, those who crave flesh, purity and tension in their white wines will find great company here. Full of supple nectarine and ripe grapefruit, the wine unfolds on the palate like a coiled white Burgundy. A great La Moussière—is there any other kind?!

Biodynamic. La Moussière is one of the great vineyards of the Loire Valley. Cultivated with incredibly rocky, limestone-rich soils, this gently rolling vineyard lies on ancient Saint-Doulchard marls, which form part of the great Kimmeridgian chain (à la Chablis). Coupled with Mellot’s meticulous biodynamic farming and low yields, this terroir is responsible for some of Sancerre’s most striking and atypical wines.

As usual, 50% of this wine fermented in huge wooden fermenters and was raised in oak casks—a fact that in no way compromises its fabulous purity and energy. The balance fermented and was raised in traditional concrete vats before blending. The wine aged on fine lees for roughly 12 months, further enhancing its famously deep, pulpy texture. Reminiscent of a topflight Chablis, those who crave flesh, purity and tension in their white wines will find great company here. Full of supple nectarine and ripe grapefruit, the wine unfolds on the palate like a coiled white Burgundy. A great La Moussière—is there any other kind?!

Biodynamic. Mellot’s village Pinot is drawn from 5.5 hectares of densely planted vines in La Moussière on Saint-Doulchard marl. The older vines and lower yields (about the same as a Burgundy winemaker would take off Clos de La Roche) gift a linear yet supple red in the mould of a fine Côte de Beaune. Mellot ferments this cuvée in 60-hectolitre wooden vats, beginning with a five to 10-day cold maceration before alcoholic fermentation with punchdowns. The wines then go into young ex-Burgundy oak for 10 to 18 months.

The best Sancerre Pinots can give good Burgundy a run for its money, and few would argue there is a finer address for Sancerre rouge than Alphonse Mellot. Indulged by another warm, sunny growing season, the 2020 is packed with vitality and bustles with black raspberry fruit, pink peppercorn and winter spice. Fine-boned tannins and a wonderfully voluminous palate of succulent fruit and forest floor stream into a refreshing, chalky structure brightened by a fine line of acidity. It finishes with substance and tapering length. It is a deeply impressive Sancerre rouge that begs for a few years to really come into its own.

Biodynamic. Petite Moussière is Mellot’s entry-level Pinot Noir, drawn from younger vines (45 to 55 years old!) on the Saint-Doulchard marls of La Moussière. Although the name of the wine suggests something light and crunchy, there is a lovely plumpness of fruit and vinous depth even here. That said, Alphonse Mellot is aiming for a more open, approachable style here, so this fruit macerates more delicately and ages for a shorter time than the Moussière proper.

The nose is open, with bright, fresh red and black cherry dusted with lavender, earth, spices and a touch of smoky reduction. The long, cool 2021 harvest resulted in a string of successes for this grower’s reds. The result is a super poised red with finessed tannins, radiant acidity and waves of ample, succulent, spiced red berries. A seam of chalky minerality creeps onto the lengthy finish. A Sancerre rouge built for Burgundy lovers.

Biodynamic. The lieu-dit of Les Romains is named after the Roman road that led down to the Loire River crossing. It lies almost directly south of the town, over the fault line marking a vein of flint. While these soils may suggest a strong resemblance to nearby 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. In general terms, Mellot’s Les Romains gives you racier acidity and more lime and citrus than the nearby La Moussière.

Like all Mellot’s wines, the grapes are handpicked, and here fermentation takes place in 13-hectolitre tronconique cask. The wine aged on fine lees for 12 months. It’s a lacy, super-charged Sancerre: firm yet fleshy, with succulent white orchard fruit and creamy citrus supported by the vibrant mineral backbone. Substantial texture entwines with mineral freshness, and the wine finishes with exceptional focus and length and a tingling note of chalk.

Biodynamic. The domaine has held vines in Chavignol for over 50 years, yet the first bottling of Satellite was as recent as 2008—what took you so long, Alphonse? Spread over five separate parcels—all on Kimmeridgian soils—the Mellot’s four hectares include two precious hectares on the revered terroirs of Le Cul de Beaujeu and Les Monts-Damnés. The old, low-cropping Sauvignon Blanc vines are between 40 and 77 years old. The wine fermented spontaneously, aged in large, mature oak barrels and was bottled without filtration.

The most Burgundy leaning of Mellot’s 2022, it harnesses both the deep texture and natural chalky electricity of the Chavignol slopes, offering dense orchard fruit, mandarin, orange oil and a lick of classy oak, all wrapped up in a frame of salinity and stony energy. The finish is intense and wonderfully refined, lingering with mouthwatering grip. By the way, the wine was named by Alphonse Mellot Sr as a tongue-in-cheek riposte to his friends in Chavignol, pointing to where he believes the village stands in the Sancerre pecking order! Mellot’s great friend Gérard Boulay was only mildly amused. It’s a striking Sancerre that really needs another two to three years to show its true colours.

Biodynamic. Like the Dix-Neuf, Edmond is harvested by hand from old vines in the Moussière vineyard. Here, the wine comes from a range of 50- to 90-year-old vines on the southerly slope of the site where the Saint-Doulchard marls give way to a blanket of weathered limestone rocks locally called calcaires à astartes.

Cropped even lower than the Dix-Neuf, Edmond’s fermentation and maturation took place in 600-litre barrels, with a portion raised in a 2,000-litre wooden egg-shaped Taransaud Ovum (the only other Ovum we have encountered in the Loire is across the river, chez Dagueneau). It was aged on fine lees for 10 to 14 months.

As if carved from the stones themselves, this is a profound, structured white wine with intense depth of creamy, silk-lined citrus and white peach underscored by savoury, earth flavours of aniseed, menthol, liquorice and spices. It has layers, aromatic complexity, grip, precision, profound minerality and striking length. These wines can live 20 to 30 years easily and typically only start to peak after five to 10 years. Once again, each sip extends the boundaries of what we understand Sauvignon (and Sancerre) to be capable of. Give it at least a couple more years if you can.