Alphonse Mellot - Sancerre La Demoiselle rouge 2019

Bettane & Desseauve

About wine:

A lady you want to ask for her hand in marriage, with her very pure Burlat cherry accents, tremendous floral finish, and very long silky tannins. The flint terroir ensures the final elevation.

About the estate:

Skilled winemaker Alphonse Mellot offers a fascinating interpretation of Sancerre, with single-vineyard wines that showcase each terroir. The average age of the vines, 75 years, allows him to offer an impeccable range, the top tier of which—the domaine cuvée—is already at the highest level. Eighteen hectares in the IGP La Côte de la Charité also testify to his mastery of Chardonnay. We salute the work and inspiration of this tireless enthusiast, crowning more than 30 years of research and uncompromising dedication.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

The Sancerre La Demoiselle Rouge 2019 opens deep, fresh, pure, and intense with a spicy nose revealing aromas of ripe black fruits intertwined with iodine notes. The palate is silky, fresh, and elegant. This is a full-bodied, fleshy red Sancerre with persistent liveliness, power, intensity, and tannins. Still young but also quite oxidative.

About the estate:

Alphonse Mellot Junior, the 19th generation of the leading Sancerre estate, owns 53 hectares of biodynamically cultivated vineyards and offers a range of remarkably clear, elegant, and refined single-varietal Sancerres. Several of these wines—Edmond, Les Romains, and Génération Dix-Neuf—are remarkable for their concentration, precision, and expression. This year, I expanded my notes a bit, as I really felt differences in complexity between the wines, rather than just differences in style. Pinot Noir lovers should try Les Herses 2014.

Vinous

About wine:

La Demoiselle 2019 is an elegant yet ripe Pinot Noir that entices you with its savory, spicy fruit and notes of smoked bacon. Succulent yet long with delicious acidity, this is a rare Pinot planted on flint. The finish is long and fragrant, with tea leaf adding to the palette of aromas. It is seductive today, but it is still a young wine and will be delicious in a few years, when its savory development has progressed.

About the estate:

Founded in 1513, the current owner of the estate, Alphonse Mellot, is the 19th generation to run the family vineyard. The estate is located in the center of the village and has an extensive network of cellars. With 56 hectares of vineyards, Mellot produces Sancerre for supermarkets (the La Moussière cuvée, made from young vines, is stocked at Sainsbury's in the UK, for example) as well as high-end cuvées from old vines, such as the Cuvée Edmond, whose fruit comes from a 6-hectare plot of old vines within the 38-hectare La Moussière vineyard. The resulting style, fermented in wooden vats of different sizes, is pure and precise and manages to retain an enticing acidity even in hot vintages such as 2018, 2019, and 2020. The flagship cuvée, Génération XIX, comes from a one-hectare plot in La Moussière where the vines are on average nearly 90 years old. Handled with delicacy, it is fermented in 900-liter vats, resulting in an exceptional and seductive Sauvignon with intense purity and a structure that will allow it to age gracefully. The estate also produces Pinot Noir: La Demoiselle comes from a rare flint terroir that gives it a smoky, spicy and firm style, while the limestone soils of the Le Paradis vineyard, which contributes to Génération XIX red, offer a more seductive elegance, and the clayey part of Chambrates offers softness and ease. Pinot Noir is also not skimped on when it comes to quality oak. Having adopted biodynamics very early on, the estate has been certified since 1999.