Alphonse Mellot

Domaine de la Moussière
6, rue Porte César

18300 Sancerre
Tel : +33 (0)248 540 741

 

alphonse@mellot.com

http://www.mellot.com

Domaine Alphonse Mellot, Sancerre excellence

All you need to know about the Alphonse Mellot estate in the Loire Valley, Sancerre appellation.

 

The Mellot have been winemakers and wine merchants for over half a millennium, making them a very special family and wine name in the world of wine. Present in Sancerre since 1513, it was a certain César Mellot who became King Louis XIV's wine advisor in 1698. With such a historic pedigree, it's hardly surprising that the Mellot family carries the colors of Loire Valley winemaking excellence, from Sancerre and beyond, around the world. Another peculiarity: here, the name Alphonse has been passed down from father to son for 19 generations, as each eldest member of the family is named Alphonse, a traditional tribute to the founding father! Today, Alphonse Mellot Junior and his family, like their predecessors, excel in both Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir reds, producing wines from the Sancerre terroir that are emblematic of the place where they were born. 

 

 

A prestigious name rooted in the Sancerre region for 500 years.

 

The Alphonse Mellot estate covers almost 50 hectares and is located on a hilltop in the Loire Valley, in the commune of Sancerre. The Mellots have reigned in Sancerre for over half a millennium - in 2025, they will celebrate their 512th anniversary - and their passion for wine has now been passed down through 19 generations. So many generations succeeding one another on a wine estate, preserved for so long within the same family, is a rarity in the history of wine-making families the world over. The Mellots were originally illustrious winemakers and wine merchants. As early as the 16th century, in 1513 to be precise, local archives mention the Mellot family's activity as producers and sellers of quality wines. It was at this time that Pierre-Etienne Mellot planted the first vines on the slopes of the piton.

In the 17th century, César Mellot's name gained even greater prominence. In 1698, at the request of King Louis XIV, he became his personal wine advisor. To be one of the Sun King's advisors is no mean feat when you think about it. Then, at the beginning of the 19th century, Alphonse Mellot opened an inn in Sancerre in 1882, where he promoted the wines of the Loire Valley and Sancerre in particular. This activity gave rise to a flourishing business that benefited the wines of the future Sancerre appellation, and the Mellot brand in particular, since the government granted the family a license in 1881 to ship their wines not only in France, but throughout the world. Today, Alphonse Mellot sells in 45 countries and produces nearly 300,000 bottles.

This commercial success and the reputation of the wines in France and abroad are also a reminder that one of the Mellot family, Alphonse Edmond Mellot (father of Alphonse Senior), played a major role in this recognition. In 1946, his father opened a wine bar in Paris, introducing Sancerre to the city's squares, while at the same time initiating sales of the family's wines in the capital's top restaurants and brasseries.

In 1969, brothers Joseph Mellot and Alphonse Edmond Mellot decided to go their separate ways, creating two distinct wine estates: Domaine Joseph Mellot and Domaine Alphonse Edmond Mellot. In 1970, Alphonse Senior took over his father's 22-hectare estate in Sancerre, and decided to develop a trading activity.

 

 

A new turning point with Alphonse Mellot Senior then Junior.

 

In 1980, when he founded Domaine de la Moussière, Alphonse Senior, son of Alphonse Edmond Mellot, made a pioneering commitment to sustainable viticulture, equipping the vineyard with weather stations which, via a modem, provide quarter-hourly weather information to help him decide whether or not to treat his vines. In 1983, aware that the quality of his wines was a veritable priesthood and an ongoing commitment, Alphonse Senior scaled back his dual production/merchant activity, focusing instead on the quest for excellence in wine production, of which the estate at the time produced over a million bottles. In 1988, Alphonse Senior turned to organically grown grapes (AB), and then progressively to biodynamic viticulture (the estate was certified in 2009), in order to better meet his goals of excellence, by producing wines of impeccable quality and the promise of organoleptic emotions, whatever the cost. In 1999, on the initiative of his son Alphonse Junior, this major evolution in organic and biodynamic viticulture was followed by manual harvesting in small crates. Why did he do this? To avoid crushing the grapes and oxidizing the juice, since white grapes are more fragile than red ones on this estate. The estate used to pick the grapes and put them in skips. The result was rapid progress: pure whites from grapes returned to the vat room in the best possible condition, as they were no longer crushed prematurely before harvest reception. In 2005, the estate expanded by planting vines in the Côtes de la Charité vineyards, producing 95,000 bottles a year from 18 hectares.

 

 

Today, Alphonse Mellot Sr. and Sons (18th and 19th generations) continue to develop the estate brilliantly in memory of this very long winegrowing tradition begun over 500 years ago. The father, Alphonse Mellot Senior, made great strides in the late 80's, creating the Domaine de la Moussière (30 hectares today) with wines whose quality is authoritative and unanimous among connoisseurs of fine wines and Loire Valley wines in particular. The wines in question resonate with the most demanding consumers: La Moussière, Génération, Grands-Champs, La Demoiselle and more. These refined cuvées display the family's insolent mastery of the expression of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Wines of passion, bottles elevated to the rank of works of art, because that's how the Mellot family sees their profession: making wines as a sculptor carves stone, a painter paints canvas... Wines of artists? Yes, without a doubt. The Mellots are craftsmen with a true artistic sensibility.

 

 

Alphonse Mellot Junior, who joined the family business in 1994, has since taken over the reins of the estate, infusing it with his own unique style. But he is well aware of the weight of tradition that weighs on his shoulders, a tradition where every action, every decision taken must be in line with progress, without ever denying the unique heritage begun over 500 years ago. Representing the 19th generation, Alphonse Junior and his sister Emmanuelle (who joined him in the family business in 2000) perpetuate the family tradition of excellence. This tandem works wonders.

They are also responsible for another family estate. Alphonse Junior manages Domaine des Pénitents (Vin de Pays Coteaux Charitois located in the Nièvre region of Burgundy), an 18-hectare south-facing vineyard 35 kilometers from Sancerre, where he skilfully produces brilliant whites and carefully-crafted Pinot Noir reds in the Vin de France category (Chardonnay is a must!).

 

Alphonse Mellot's quintessential Sancerre.

 

The Alphonse Mellot estate occupies part of the Sancerre hillside and the old town of Chavignol on the south-western slope of the hill, built in a natural amphitheatre. The hill, at an altitude of 312 meters, offers a lovely panorama where Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir flourish on limestone soil known locally as “caillottes”. Domaine de la Moussière and its 30 hectares in a single block are located on the heights of the vineyard. Its privileged position at the south-western tip of Sancerre offers the best conditions for producing great dry whites for prestige wines.

Sancerre Blanc is made from Sauvignon Blanc, the same famous grape variety that produces the finest dry whites in Bordeaux, or the dry whites of the Pouilly-Fumé appellation in Central Loire. The grape variety, which produces small, tightly packed grapes, gives the wine its finesse, bouquet and fruitiness. Alphonse Mellot, like other Sancerre producers, also makes a red Sancerre and a rosé Sancerre from Pinot Noir. The Mellots grow Pinot Noir on the old vines of Vieux Clos Chambrastes.

To understand the minerality and generosity of Alphonse Mellot wines, let's talk about the terroir, which is meticulously worked (pruning, wound care, disbudding, green harvesting, manual harvesting). The grapes draw their expression from a wide variety of subsoils: Kimmeridgian marl, flint, clay and Buzençais limestone. All this raw material is then transported with respect, and in the shortest possible time (especially for the whites) to the cuvier. This is an absolute prerequisite for obtaining pure wines from grapes that have retained their original texture. If nature is generous, we must also know how to show ourselves worthy of it, with methods that all converge towards the search for absolute balance in the wines. The family is relentless in its pursuit of this goal, with exemplary rigor.

 

Alphonse Mellot: wines of great purity, freshness, elegance and rare depth.

 

All Domaine Alphonse Mellot wines have one thing in common: exceptional quality, great consistency, and excellent ageing potential for those who prefer wines with a more aged character. The range is rich and extensive (one could get lost in it, yet the segment's proposition is very clear), covering the whole spectrum of the best expressions of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. For example, Domaine de la Moussière produces Sancerre La Moussière (a fruity dry white with a lively, frank mouthfeel), Sancerre La Demoiselle (both white and red, with uncommon expressions due to its flint and clay soils), Sancerre Les Romains (a 100% Sauvignon matured on lees, with great delicacy, generosity and freshness), Sancerre Cuvée Edmond (a fine white Sancerre, rich and mineral, with great aromatic complexity and depth). To these existing cuvées have been added parcel-based cuvées such as Sancerre Le Manoir, Sancerre Satellite, Sancerre Les Herses, Sancerre Le Paradis (with great minerality, concentrated, aromatic with lots of tension) and finally the emblematic Sancerre Génération XIX (as a tribute to the current generation, the 19th; a Sancerre of great class, taut, chiselled, deep, vibrant).

On the red side, the range is just as generous, with Sancerre La Petite Moussière (a very pretty Pinot Noir, fruity to perfection, greedy and pleasantly complex), Sancerre La Moussière (as in its dry white version, but here with a very greedy Pinot Noir, with very crisp fruit and lots of openness), Sancerre La Demoiselle (a mineral Pinot Noir, delicately fruity, suave on the palate), Sancerre En Grands Champs (complex, spicy, black-fruited, pure, very straightforward on the palate with a tannic structure of rare elegance, making this Pinot Noir probably the most accomplished in the Loire Valley, on a par with the best red Burgundies), Sancerre Le Paradis (all finesse and elegance, an example! ) and finally the red version of Sancerre Génération XIX (a powerful nose of black fruits such as blueberry, burlat cherry and blackberry; a full, generous palate with dense but perfectly ripe and therefore well-integrated tannins and impressive ageing potential in great vintages; a wine produced in only 2,800 bottles and made from vines over 60 years old, the oldest on the estate).

 

 

Alphonse Mellot, Génération XIX 2019, dry white Sancerre

 

Produced at 6,000 bottles, Génération XIX 2019 comes from a small parcel of 1 hectare 10, with low yields (45 hl/ha) and vines over 87 years old (probably the oldest on the Domaine de La Moussière) facing south-southwest on Marnes de Saint-Doulchard (caillottes) and a subsoil of upper Kimmeridgian. Produced like Cuvée Edmond, the Sauvignon grapes are harvested in small 25kg crates, then sorted on a sorting table before whole-berry pressing, fermentation and ageing in 900-liter truncated-conical vats. Génération XIX 2019 is a powerful, yet fine wine that plays on the contrast between evolution, freshness, richness and firmness (tension). It has a beautiful, limpid, brilliant color, pale golden yellow with green highlights. The nose immediately expresses freshness and maturity, with notes of menthol, acacia, candied lemon and dried fruit, with a delicate scent of iodine. The agitation displays accents of lemon, menthol and beeswax. Rich, virile, lively (with a great sensation of freshness) and ample, the palate has a clear frankness on notes of toasted hazelnut with a velvety mid-palate, a tad mellow but with tension throughout. The finish offers a mineral, slightly iodized character with a hint of freshness characterized by tension. A well-balanced, long-lasting wine with good ageing potential, which is sure to develop white truffle and other honey-like aromas. Great art! A very aesthetic cuvée.

 

 

Alphonse Mellot, Edmond 2020, dry white Sancerre

 

This is undoubtedly the flagship of Domaine La Moussière and of all Alphonse Mellot wines, which often compete, while maintaining their respective styles, with the Cuvée Génération XIX. The “Edmond” cuvée is the estate's great white, a high-flying expression of pure Sauvignon with great ageing potential. In other words, moments of intense emotion guaranteed on tasting. Produced in a 26,000-bottle, 6-hectare parcel, this cuvée shares the same soils and subsoils as the Génération XIX cuvée, with old vines ranging in age from 40 to 87 years. On tasting, Alphonse Mellot cuvée “Edmond” 2020 dry white Sancerre appears very slightly less imposing than in recent great vintages such as 2018 or 2022, but still offers a resplendent style in 2020. The nose expresses a powerful, rich Sauvignon Blanc, as fruity as it is floral. The expression is intense, with notes of lemon, brioche and honey, and a light touch of new oak that's easy to digest. Agitation expresses notes of licorice, anise and spices, bringing character and freshness to this first stage of the wine. The attack on the palate is lively and full-bodied, with a mellow, suave, creamy mid-palate and a freshness sustained by a hint of acidity, as if to remind us that balance is assured. In the third quarter, notes of lemon (lime), anise and spices such as pepper return. On the finish, we appreciate the lingering spiciness with flinty mineral touches. A beautifully rich wine, with a taut, ample structure that just needs to become even more civilized. The legendary mineral signature of this cuvée is fully effective in this vintage. Not to drink it too soon would be to commit infanticide.

 

 

Alphonse Mellot, La Moussière 2020, red Sancerre 

 

The Pinot Noir for this red Cuvée La Moussière comes from a plot with a very low yield (32 hl/hectares) and an average vine age of between 5 and 45 years. The soil characteristics are the same as for the plots used for Cuvée Edmond and Cuvée Génération XIX. La Moussière 2020, like all the other vintages of this cuvée, is a wine of tenderness and generous fruitiness, made from fairly young vines. It doesn't seek density, but this doesn't prevent it from dazzling us with its openness and excellent craftsmanship, making it a success. The color is a deep, bright red. The nose is abundant, like a cornucopia, with notes of red and black fruits such as redcurrant, blackberry and raspberry. On agitation, it becomes a little spicier, with accents of cinnamon and white pepper. The palate is well-structured and round, with tannins that are well wrapped but not massive. The attack is quite nervous and the spicy finish delights us with its delicate woodiness and some of the black fruit aromas already detected on the nose. A pleasant wine with good length that calls for another glass. A successful wine.

 

 

Alphonse Mellot, Les Pénitents 2020, red wine, IGP Côtes de la Charité

 

This cuvée, a 100% Pinot Noir, doesn't come from Sancerre, since it's located in the IGP Côtes de la Charité vineyard, some 35 km from Sancerre. Born from a vineyard that was already well known in the 12th century (planted by Cluniac monks) and disappeared during the phylloxera crisis, the vineyard was revived in the 1980s and now covers some 50 hectares. The vineyard is crossed by the route to Santiago de Compostela, which explains the name given to the cuvée Les Pénitents. The vineyard, a 5-hectare plot replanted in 1990, is farmed organically and biodynamically, and the plots are certified AB and Demeter. Alphonse Mellot Les Pénitents 2020 is a singular wine with lots of character, offering aromatic complexity of spices and crisp red fruits. Fresh on the palate, with a clean attack and fine tannins, it has real length, auguring good ageing potential. A lovely wine that expresses all the geological subtleties of this vineyard (entrusted limestone), it also shows all the talent of the Mellots outside Sancerre, as they do in the dry white version of this wine (Chardonnay) or in Pouilly-Fumé in a cuvée elaborated by Emmanuelle Mellot. 

 

The great Alphonse Mellot vintages:

 

Red wine:

1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022.

 

Dry white wine:

1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023.