Alphonse Mellot, Sancerre Rouge ‘La Moussière’ 2020

£57.50 (75cl)

In stock

SKU: LOME0820B

About the wine

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Description

The vines are pruned by the simple Guyot method. The vineyard is trained in organic and biodynamic vine growing. Wine - making Cold maceration is carried out for 5 to 10 days then fermentation starts. During this time, the cap of skins is punched and a little must is added (about once a day). Fermentation temperatures do not exceed 28°C to retain all the Pinot Noir aromas. Fermentation lasts on average 4 weeks. It is taken from the vats by conveyor and then delicately pressed. Press wine is blended with free run wine or made into wine separately. All the wine is pumped straight into casks for malolactic fermentation after settling. 80 to 100% new casks are used for ageing on fine lees over a period varying between 10 and 18 months. About 23 000 bottles of the La Moussière Vintage are produced and it is bottled by us on the estate.

Tasting note

Appearance: Very fine deep crimson colour. Nose: Hints of small red and black fruit like raspberries, currants, mulberries and morello cherries, with spicy traces of pink peppercorns, vanilla and cinnamon. Mouth: It is mellow, well rounded and well structured. A woody background goes with spicy traces and aromas of fruit. A wine long in the mouth,high in alcohol and pleasant, a real winner.

Food pairing

Quail and boletus pie, cod with wine sauce, calf's head with mayonnaise flavoured with chopped hard boiled egg and carpers, blanquette of veal, cabbage stuffed with chestnuts, duck and olives, lamper eels cooked in red wine, grilled meats with Aligot potato puree, Sologne leg of lamb, rabbit cooked with onions, cowsmilk cheese, etc...

About the producer

Always fiercely proud of his family history, that stretches all the way back to the 16th century, Alphonse Mellot Junior (19th generation no less!) has elevated the family domaine to the highest level and is widely acknowledged as one of the best producers in Sancerre.

Using biodynamic methods, the wines are produced from the upper Sancerre vineyard, the most famous of which is the LaMoussière, with its Kimmeridgian limestone soils. Outcrops of flinty-clay and chalk add to the mosaic in which the vines descend their sroots. Its exceptional terroir and the resulting wine quality has led to La Moussière being officially classified as a unique category amongst all Sancerre wines.

La Moussière comprises one single vineyard of 34 hectares. Ideally sited on the southwestern tip of Sancerre, its chalk soils provide perfect conditions for the cultivation of the vine. Following biodynamic methods, each and every wine is fine and precise, with piercing acidity and purity, despite the fact that most of them are fermented in new or nearly new oak barrels. The estate’s atmospheric vaulted cellars, built between the 15th and 17th century, lie right at the heart of the town of Sancerre.