Alphonse Mellot "En Grands Champs" Sancerre Rouge 2020
(Loire Valley, France)

About the Winery:
Founded in 1513, the current guardian of Alphonse Mellot is the 19th generation of Mellots working the family winery. It sits pretty much in the center of the village with an extensive network of cellars. The La Moussière vineyard covers more than 30 hectares (74 acres) of Kimmeridgian limestone and Saint Doulchard marl soils. The vineyard faces south, receiving ample sunlight for grapes to ripen in the region's cool continental climate.

The Loire Valley is a region rich in vinous curiosities, from rare grape varieties to far flung appellations some of which lie closer to Côte Rôtie and Chambertin than they do to any of the Loire Valley’s more recognised regions. One such curiosity is the Côtes de la Charité, a wine region which boasts an impressive history, the vineyards having been planted by religious acolytes who arrived here from Burgundy in 1059. On the banks of the Loire they built a huge religious settlement, including a monastery and a church which, at the time, was the second largest in the Christian world (the largest being the Benedictine church at Cluny from which they originated).

The vineyards grew to cover hundreds if not thousands of hectares, and despite the church and town being ravaged by fire during the Middle Ages when the 19th century arrived there were still 1,300 hectares planted, an area very close to that of modern-day Pouilly-Fumé. It was of course phylloxera that sent the region into decline, a vicious spiral the turning of which was reinforced by the two World Wars of the early 20th century; there was simply not the appetite, nor the manpower, to restore the vineyards to their once impressive expanse. It was not until the 1980s that the region saw some recovery, beginning life as the Vin de Pays des Coteaux Charitois, before under the new Indication Géographique Protégée system it morphed into the Côtes de la Charité.

About the Wine:
We are situated at the top part of the Moussière at the spot called « Les Grands Champs », a chalky soil, home to the Pinot Noir.
The soil is known as "Buzançais" a geological description specific to this area.
Here the pinot noir grows with its roots deeply plunged into the soil.
The vines are pruned by the simple Guyot method.
The vineyard is trained in organic and biodynamic vine growing.

Beautiful deep crimson colour... A very big area of land located on Lusitanian to Portlandian period cretaceous rock at the top of the Moussiere where a pocket of Buzancais limestone gives it compact fine grained features.

Cold maceration is carried out for 8 to 12 days then fermentation starts.
During this time the cap of skins is punched and a little must is added (about once a day). Fermentation temperature does not exceed 28°C to retain all the Pinot Noir aromas.
Fermentation lasts on average 4 weeks.
It is taken from the vat 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.
It is aged in new casks for 14 months on average.

Tasting Notes:
Mulberries, morello cherries and pink peppercorns melt into long lasting silky tannins

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