FRANCE
Alphonse Mellot
Sancerre is a small village situated on an isolated hill that rises up, overlooking the Loire river valley, on the Eastern side. The origins of the village are unclear, it is said that the village existed at the time when the Celtic tribe inhabited this regions of Gaul.
The Mellot family can be traced back to 1513 in Sancerre where the local records mention that the Mellots were “governed by the season producing wines of excellent quality”. In 1698, César Mellot was appointed Wine Advisor to Louis XIV. At the beginning of the 19th century, Alphonse Mellot opened a tavern in Sancerre where one could savor wines from Sancerre, later he was granted a license to ship wine throughout France and all over the world. Ever since, the tradition to pass the name of Alphonse from father to the oldest son became a tradition. Today, this centuries old winemaking tradition is perpetuated by Alphonse Mellot, father and son, the 18th and 19th generations to bear the name, with Alphonse junior taking care of the winemaking process. Today Alphonse Mellot wine estate covers 38 hectares in total with 20 in Sancerre and 18 located in Coteaux Charitois.
The Coteaux Charitois estate is called Les Pénitents, located 35 km away from Sancerre. Les Pénitents was recently acquired by Alphonse Junior as a new project; it is planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Originally the monks from Cluny created this vineyard, Burgundian at heart, founders of Burgundy they saw a great potential for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in this terroir made from limestone rich in entrochus. The vineyard is crossed by the path of Santiago de Compostella and it is mentioned in the Via Podiensis, 1140, the first pilgrim’s guide book, hence the name given Les Pénitents.
In Sancerre different cuvées are made from various vineyards, with La Moussière, located at the foot of the village where Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc produce La Moussière, Génération XIX, Edmond and Les Romains. En Grands Champs is just above La Moussière it is home to Pinot Noir. Generation XIX red is also made from this vineyard. La Demoiselle vineyard is located against the Sancerre slope, here the soil is very unique, made of clay and flinty stones, also called silex. The soil impairs unusual notes to the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.
La Moussière cellar is a true historic monument, situated right in the heart of the town of Sancerre, under the main square. It was built between the 15th and 17th century. It is an incredible succession of ancient vaults and alleys, witnesses of history for over 500 years of winemaking and evolution.
Alphonse Mellot believes that winemaking is a work of art, where nothing must be spared to create the best. 19 workers are employed all year around in the vineyards, 1 person for every 2 hectares of vines.
“A wine reflects exactly the knowledge, skills, imagination, the integrity and in a certain manner the courage of the winegrower who has, throughout the course of the year nurtured this transformation from vegetal to mineral.”
An exceptional wine is first made in the vineyard by understanding the intrinsic correlation between the soil, the plant and climatic conditions that will result in biological equilibrium. In the cellar the winemaker adapts to what nature has given “Mother Nature is a mirror to ourselves and yields all that we have given her, in her generosity she even gives us back more than we deserve.”
Alphonse Mellot uses biodynamic and Organic methods. During Harvest the grapes are first sorted in the vineyard, then twice in the cellar, one berry at the time, giving very low yields where only the best fruits are used to make the wines. La Revue des Vins de France 2009, a very strict and highly respected French publication, says that Mellot Pinot Noirs are “the most sumptuous Pinot Noirs produced in France outside Burgundy”, the winery also bears a 2 Stars rating which is only awarded to the very best, 3 stars being the highest rating.
Alphonse Mellot is a benchmark for Sancerre wines.