Alphonse Mellot jnr in their cellars that run under the town of Sancerre

Quick visit yesterday afternoon to see Alphonse Mellot jnr.

Alphonse: "We started on 29th August. We have finished in Sancerre and are now picking in Les Pénitents (Charitois).  

 A bunch of Chardonnay from Les Pénitents (Charitois)

 Chardonnay arriving in case from the Charitois (above and below)

Pinot Noir

Half of the dozen importers were showing some Loire wines at yesterday's tasting. To respond to Chris Kissack's comment, I'd better start with H2Vin. On this occasion they were showing just two. Firstly the 2010 Les Roses du Clos (£8.00), AC Touraine from Xavier Frissant. Attractively mineral and long, Les Roses du Clos is made from Fie Gris (Sauvignon Rose/Sauvignon Gris). This has a delicacy that many Touraine Sauvignon Blancs do not have and once again underlines the lunacy of the INAO's plans to ban 100% Fie Gris from the right to the Touraine appellation.

2009 Génération X1X, Sancerre, Alphonse Mellot 

 

Les Alphonses' barrel fermented Génération Sancerre Blanc (£26.50) is far from your typical crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Rich, weighty, concentrated and long it gives more than a nod in Burgundy's direction. Its concentration in part reflects the warm summer of 2009 but also that the Mellot's along with many vignerons with vines around Sancerre town and Bué were severely hit by hail that year.   

 

2005 Chardonnay, Les Pénitents, Alphonse Mellot

On Sunday we had a small gathering of friends to mark late August. Among the bottles we put on the table were a couple of the 2005 Chardonnay, vin de pays des Coteaux Charitois, from Alphonse Mellot. We left people to help themselves. I was surprised that several friends remarked that they were taken aback that this was a Chardonnay. Used to big, oaky, blowsy Chardonnays from Australia, Chile etc. they didn't recognise this much fresher style as coming from the same grape variety, which they normally don't like.

2005 was the Mellots first vintage from the Coteaux Charitois having bought the vineyards that year from the consortium that developed the vineyards at Chasnay near La Charité. Initially quite successful the consortium ran into problems with frequent changes of winemaker and slow sales.

Of course it isn't really a surprise that this Chardonnay is very different from rich versions from hotter climes as Chasnay is only 100km from Chablis.      

Biplane in the cellar of Alphonse Mellot

Taking advantage of typically poor English Bank Holiday weather to sort out a few photos. It takes no time to take digital pics, much longer to catalogue them in a retrievable way. Here are some taken on a trip to Sancerre in mid-December 2008.  

Misty day's pruning above Bué

Looking towards Clos de la Poussie, Bué

 Crossroads near Bué

Gilles Guillerault and Sébastien Fargette: Domaine des Caves du Prieuré, Reigny

Pierre Martin of Domaine Yves Martin, Chavignol

Jean-Marie Cherrier: Domaine de la Rossignole, Verdigny

Arrival of the Vacheron cavalcade in the vines near to La Moussière. Echoes of the presidential entourage with the motorbikes already returned to base

28 September 2009: Sancerre

The harvest continues in brilliantly warm, sunny weather. Indeed it is almost too warm – it touched 27˚C around 3.30pm – as the potential alcohol is shooting up. Very few producers that I have seen are bringing in either Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir at under 13% and there are stories of someone picking a parcel at 15.5%. Fortunately the acidity levels are reasonable – mainly between 4.5-5.5 g/l. I have tasted the juice in a number of chais and although rich, it appears well balanced with a freshness in the finish and good aromas. Certainly all the juice that I have tasted here is very clean – there is hardly any rot around, expect for those vines hit by hail. 

Hail and its effects is really the big story here this year. Like Menetou-Salon the vineyards of Sancerre, Chavignol and Bué were hit by three successive hailstorms – two in May and one on 16th July – the day after the Tour de France passed through the region. Although the recent good weather has produced very high quality grapes, producers hit by the hail will make much less than normal.

A trailer load of grapes entering Montigny

Some of Sancerre’s best-known names have been hit badly. Overall it looks likely that the Vacherons will be down in the low 20s hl/ha. Jean-Michel Fouassier reports 20hl/ha average in those vines hit by hail and only 35 hl/ha elsewhere due to a petite sortie and poor conditions for the Sauvignon during the flowering. This compares to 45hl/ha last year. “30 hl/ha,” says Jean-Marie Bourgeois. For Jean-Max Roger in Bué it’s around 25hl/ha, while for both Gilles Crochet (Lucien Crochet) and François Crochet the Sauvignon yield is around 30hl/ha, with Pinot Noir in the region of 35/40hl/ha. For Les Alphonses (Alphonse Mellot the yields are between 25-35 hl/ha depending on the parcel but as Alphonse junior points out this is about a normal yield these days for them." As the Pinot Noir flowered earlier, it was less affected by the poor weather in June that disrupted the Sauvignon Blanc flowering.

Sorting Pinot Noir (Sancerre)@Domaine Alphone Mellot

However, once you move away from Sancerre – Bué to Verdigny yields are normal: André Vatan in Verdigny reports around 60hl/ha and Pascal Reverdy in Maimbray estimates that his Sauvignon Blanc will be around 45-50hl/ha with the Pinot Noir at 45-50hl/ha. “We need to pick very quickly now,” says Pascal, “as the degrees are going up fast and I’m worried that the acidity levels will drop. It’s now a race – we hope to finish this week.”

Pumping over Grands Champs@Domaine Alphonse Mellot

Trio of 2008 wines: La Moussière, Cuvée Antique and taste the difference Sancerre

Today it was the turn of Sainsbury’s to hold their Spring/Summer tasting. Of the 109 wines on show, there were eight wines from the Loire – seven whites and a solitary red.

First up the lean and lemony 2008 Jacques Lurton Selection Sauvignon Blanc (£4.99), this wine is made in association with Ackerman–Rémy Pannier.

Next Taste the difference 2008 Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie (£5.99) from Domaine Jean Douillard, who has long supplied Sainsbury’s with Muscadet. This has some citric weight, a touch of grapefruit and good length. Obviously not the same grape variety as the previous wine but an indication that unfashionable Muscadet often offers much better value.

Another taste the difference: 2008 Pouilly-Fumé from André Figeat (£10.98) – quite ripe, crisp but two dimensional and lacking length. Instead the 2008 Pouilly-Fumé Antique from Florian Mollet’s Domaine Mollet-Maudry (£14.99) is worth the extra money as it has considerably more concentration and length – grapefruit and lemon in the finish – than the Figeat.

Florian Mollet

The taste the difference 2008 Sancerre (£11.99) also comes from Florian Mollet with 40% from Clos du Roc, a silex (flinty) vineyard in Saint-Satur, which gives this Sancerre an attractive lean, mineral with some length.

2008 La Moussière Sancerre, Alphonse Mellot

The 2008 La Moussière, Sancerre from Alphonse Mellot (£14.99) was the last wine from the Central Vineyards, which is currently showing some weight, grapefruit, length and power. Like all of these Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumés they are likely to take on more weight over the next six months to a year. Interesting contrast between rather reserved La Moussière and the more approachable and charming Le Montarlet from Joseph Mellot tasted yesterday at wine rack. La Moussière does have the plus of being £1.50 cheaper for a single bottle, although under the wine rack pricing buying several bottles reduces the price considerably.

The blurb on the tasting sheet states: 'Produced by Mellot, a family business which has passed from father to son since the early 19th century.' Initially I assumed that Sainsbury's had made a mistake as Alphonse Mellot was famously founded in 1513. But the mistake must have occurred in the Alphonse Mellot offices in Sancerre as it is the producers who send in the details.

The last white was a taste the difference 2008 Vouvray from the Cave des Producteurs de Vouvray (£6.96). Clean demi-sec style, fair value but lacks precision and excitement.

2007 Chinon Domaine du Colombier

The sole red was the 2007 Chinon (£5.99) from Domaine du Colombier in Beaumont-en-Véron. Although it has some fruit it is dominated by a stalky, green nose and lacks charm.

Alphonse Mellot snr drawing a sample of 2008 Sancerre Rouge

My fourth visit on the eve of the big Pinot Noir tasting on 19th December was to Domaine Alphonse Mellot where I tasted the latest cuvées with Alphonse snr. The visit reinforced the overall quality of the Alphonse Mellot reds as indeed the tasting the next day where the Mellot reds performed consistently well. As Chris Kissack recently asked, "How can you make red Sancerre this good?" Low yields and meticulous work in the vineyards is a large part of the answer. Another significant part of the answer is the vision and determination of Alphonse Junior, who, when he joined his father in running the business in 1993, told him that he wanted to make high quality Pinot Noir. Alphonse snr famously told him it wasn’t possible. Junior soon proved his father wrong

Alphonse Mellot snr

Tasting area in the Alphonse Mellot cellars

With Alphonse we tasted a number of impressive 2008 barrel samples both white and red as well as the just bottled Génération XIX 2007 Sancerre Rouge that had very impressive depth and finesse for this difficult vintage. Next was the trio of the Mellot top reds from 2006 – Les Demoiselles, En Grand Champs and Génération XIX. Although the first two were very good, particularly the rich and soft En Grand Champs, Géneration XIX had a balance and completeness that Les Demoiselles and En Grand Champs didn’t have.

Alphonse spoke about the importance of touch and feel in winemaking. “To make great wine,” you have to take a risk,” he maintains.

The bi-plane that dominates the Mellot tasting room in the cellars –
sadly ironic following Didier Dagueneau's fatal plane crash in September 2008

To be continued with more reports from my visit to Sancerre in mid-December 2008.

Dinner last night featured Jacky Blot’s La Taille aux Loups Pétillant naturel non dosé, Montlouis. When this rather inelegant and prosaic name was changed to Triple Zero sales soared. This Pétillant naturel non dosé must have been bought some five or so years ago and certainly has aged well – attractive biscuity and honeyed character.

We followed the pétillant with the fine and rich 2006 Cuvée Edmond drunk with a spicy Indian-Thai fusion dish. For some barrel fermented Sancerre remains controversial. 2006 Edmond is evidence that this approach to Sauvignon Blanc works well. Certainly there is none of the gooseberry or even grassy, vegetal character that many people consider is typical of Loire Sauvignon Blanc. The Mellots’ Sauvignon Blanc is picked far too ripe to have any vegetal character. 2006 Cuvée Edmond is certainly enjoyable to drink now but, equally, can be kept for at least five to seven years.

(8th October 2008)

Report on our visit to Alphonse Mellot has been added to the Sancerre, Menetou-Salon and Touraine posting (8th October 2008) plus a brief visit to Henry Pellé and to Henry Marionnet in Touraine. Visit to Henry Natter will a separate posting.

8 October 2008

More photos of the 2008 vintage in Sancerre:

Looking down the slopes to la Moussière. Alphonse Mellot's
are pickers in the distance. The line of trees mark the main road to Bourges.

Last morning of picking for the
Alphonse Mellot vendangeurs – a damp finish

Pinot Noir 2008

Pinot Noir 2008

Pinot Noir 2008

11 October 2008

Very misty morning initially here in eastern Touraine, we might almost have been in Chavignol! Sun now burning off the mist. The forecast is for a fine day with temperatures ring into the low 20s C. Conditions should be good for anyone picking over the weekend.

Some further pics from the 2008 harvest:

Picking machine in Quincy plus anti-frost wind machine: 6.10.08

Picking machine in Quincy: 6.10.08

Eastwards from Les Berthiers, hamlet of Saint-Andelain: 7.10.08

Towards Saint-Andelain: 7.10.08

Towards Saint-Andelain: 7.10.08

Alphonse Mellot jnr: sprinkling the cap of their nascent
Sancerre Rouge fermenting in an open wooden vat

Alphonse Mellot jnr: sprinkling the cap of their nascent
Sancerre Rouge fermenting in an open wooden vat
(8.10.2008)

Alphonse Mellot: barrels being sprayed a fine water
shower to stop them drying out

Le Lion d'Or, Arcins

(21 August 2008)

Invited to spend a few days with friends, who have a house in the centre of Pauillac, we took the precaution of taking with us a few fine Loire bottles – you can never be too careful when visiting foreign parts!

On our last night in the Médoc we went to Jean-Paul Barbier’s Lion d’Or in Arcins, just north of Margaux. Barbier has an admirable policy of allowing you to bring your own wine. I’m not sure whether they charge any corkage as I didn’t see the bill. The Lion d’Or has some echoes of the old Bertorelli’s in London Charlotte before it was revamped – daily hand written menus and a wood panelled dinning room.

We enjoyed the minerally 2005 La Moussière Sancerre Blanc from Alphonse Mellot – good but leaner than I would have expected for a 2005. Then two reds: the Grand Clos 2002 Château de Villeneuve Saumur-Champigny and the relatively local Château Saint-Pierre 1999 from Saint-Julien from the Lion d’Or’s own wine list. Initially the perfumed and sauve Saint-Pierre was more attractive than the younger and tighter Grand Clos – I knew the 2001 probably needed more time but I wanted to see how it was coming along. The Saumur-Champigny improved markedly as it opened up and, given that it is about half the price of the Saint-Pierre, it was a draw on quality and a win for Saumur on value.

The food was excellent. I started with a beetroot and goats cheese salad and chose the pigeon for the main course – lovely flavoursome bird with just the right degree of pinkness. Both reds complemented the pigeon. Altogether a fine meal – good ingredients simply but well cooked.

Jean-Pierre Chevallier with his Saumur Blanc 2004 (August 2005)

Jean-Pierre Chevallier's Château de Villeneuve is one of my benchmark Loire properties. Grand Clos (Saumur-Champigny) and Les Cormiers (Saumur Blanc – 100% Chenin) are the top wines, both age beautifully and are extremely fairly priced for the quality. Jean-Pierre's work in both the vineyard and winery is impeccable. A man of real intregity J-P will only release his more expensive cuvées when the vintage permits and they meet his exacting standards. In 1998 and 2004 he released only the straight Saumur-Champigny as the potential Vieilles Vignes or Grand Clos were not up to the mark.

Will certainly be returning here to Jean-Pierre and Château Villeneuve as well as to the 18th and 19th generations of Alphonse Mellot.

Restaurant Le Lion d'Or, 33460 Arcins-en-Médoc.
Tel: 05.56.58.96.79
Château de Villeneuve, 3 Rue Jean Brevet, Souzay-Champigny.
Tel: 02.41.51.14.04
www.chateau-de-villeneuve.com
Alphonse Mellot, 3 Rue Porte César, 18300 Sancerre.
Tel: 02.48.54.07.41
www.mellot.com

(1996 Sauvignon Blanc, Clos Roche Blanche)

(10th August 2008)
Sarah Ahmed, the wine detective (www.thewinedetective.co.uk) and fellow writer, arrived from London to spend a week visiting producers together. Monday to Wednesday will be spent in Sancerre and Pouilly. Thursday it’s off to Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Chinon. Friday is the 15th August – a national holiday, so no visits. We will finish with a day in Montlouis on Saturday.

To get ourselves tuned up for the Central Vineyards we looked at a number of aged Sauvignon Blancs, mainly Sancerres, over dinner. First up was a 1996 Touraine Sauvignon from Clos Roche Blanche, which is run by Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet. Although the 1996 had some evolved Sauvignon characters, it still had an attractive fresh minerality – difficult to guess that it was 12 years old. Farmed organically and previously biodynamically Clos Roche Blanche between the villages of Mareuil and Pouillé in the Cher Valley has long been a beacon of excellence and Catherine and Didier have inspired a number of other local producers like Jérôme Sauvète, Jean-François Merieau and Vincent Ricard.




A rich 1995 Côte de Champtin Sancerre from Roger Champault et fils was next up. The Champaults are based the small village of Champtin, which is just west of Bué. The Côte de Champtin is a steep, south-facing slope above the village. Roger Champault has now retired and the family vineyards are now run by his two sons Claude and Laurent.

Two contrasting vintages – 2000 and 1997 – of the MD of Henri Bourgeois from the steep slopes of the Monts Damnés that overlook the village of Chavignol. The 2000 was quite austere and mineral, while the 1997 from a hotter year was rounder and softer. Both accompanied our cold salmon trout with perhaps the 2000 as the better match.

We finished with the grape that dominated Sancerre’s vineyards before the arrival of phylloxera towards the end of the 19th century – Pinot Noir trying a bottle of Alphonse Mellot’s Generation XIX 2004 Sancerre Rouge. The concentrated but still slightly angular 2004 still needs time but to me shows how red Sancerres have progressed over the past ten to fifteen years. Sarah is less convinced citing the oak.

Clos Roche Blanche, 19 Route de Montrichard, 41110 Mareuil-sur-Cher. Tel: 02.54.75.17.03
Roger Champault, 5, Route de Foulot - Champtin, 18300 Crézancy. Tel: 02.48.79.00.03
Email: roger.champaultetfils@neuf.fr