Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Blanc Generation XIX Loire 2017
Pale gold yellow in colour with light green sheen. Finely expressed lemon scented honeydew, with hints of menthol, acacia then dried fruits, St George's mushrooms from meadows and iodised mineral. When opened hints of beeswax, gingerbread and menthol lemon appear. The rich finish explodes in a hint of freshness accentuating the iodised mineral, Muscat and boxtree. Slight plant bitterness is mixed with long lasting quality. When older, it should change into terpenic aromas, white truffles on honeyed hazelnut background.
Harvesting
Like the Edmond Vintage, the white Génération XIX Vintage, is produced from 87 years old vines.
Average yield: 45 hl/ha
It is picked in small 25 Kg boxes. All the grapes have been sorted by a sorting table and transported into the press by conveyor belt.
Area: 6 ha
Grape variety: Sauvignon blanc
Exposure: South - Southwest.
Geology:
Soil: Saint-Doulchard marls (solids lumps).
Subsoil: Upper Lusitanian to Portlandian period cretaceous.
Planting density
10 000 vinestocks per hectare
All new plantations have 9000 to 10 000 vinestocks given that the Sancerre vineyard is generally planted in accordance with the appellation order with 6666 vinestocks per hectare.
Viticulture
The vines are pruned by the simple Guyot method.
The vineyard is trained in organic and biodynamic vine growing.
Winemaking:
Sequential pneumatic pressing.
Static settling at temperatures below 10°C for about 48 hours.
It is fermented in 900 litre truncated vats.
Depending on the year ageing on fine lees over a varying period (10 to 12 months on average).
About 6 000 bottles of white Génération XIX are produced and it is bottled by us on the estate.
| Winery | Alphonse Mellot |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Loire |
| Wine Type | White Wine |
| Grape variety | Sauvignon Blanc |
| Bottle Size | Bottle |
| Vintage | 2017 |
Browse all Alphonse Mellot Wines
Even in a region with such a venerable history as Sancerre, the Mellot family boasts an unusually rich heritage. Alphonse Mellot represents the 19th generation of a wine making dynasty: his ancestor, Cesar Mellot was appointed wine advisor to King Louis XIV in 1698.
Great wines are not made by obsessing with the past and this is a domaine which is very much focused on the present, but with an eye to the future. A total of 45 hectares of vineyards are immaculately managed according to biodynamic principles and the wines, particularly the top cuvees, benefit from being sourced from old vines; over 80 years in the case of generation XIX. These wines show precise flavours which combine fruit and minerality with a touch of wood.
