A Visit to Alphonse Mellot, 2016: The Memory of the Ground
We started out with the 2014 La Moussière, at the time residing in a bank of vats in the Alphonse Mellot cellars, tasting from several vats in turn. It was fascinating to see the differences between the components of the blend at different stages, one having just been fined, others already fined and filtered and now resting, waiting for bottling. Quality was very high, and this was just the entry-level wine. Thereafter we headed into another corner of the cellars, a veritable rabbit warren running beneath the streets of Sancerre, in order to check on the 2014 single-vineyard white cuvées, all of which are fermented in oak, with élevage in oak. On the way Alphonse came to a sudden halt, and as he gently rubbed his hand over a nearby barrel, as if it were a tender caress, he looked at me with a glint in his eye.
“If you don’t have sensuality in wine, forget it. This barrel – it is like a beautiful woman, no?”
What else could I do but murmur some agreement? Although I was keen to hear more about Alphonse and his women, or his barrels, I asked him for more detail on his vineyards and approach to viticulture.
Please log in to continue reading: