Alphonse Mellot
89 Points
From Wine Spectator
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Blanc, La Moussiere 2002
Sinewy Sauvignon, with lots of herb, flint, fleur de sel and citrus flavors. Taut finish. If you like ‘em lean, try this now, or give it brief cellaring to open it up. Drink now through 2006. 20,000 cases made. – J.M.
92 Points
From Wine Spectator
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Blanc, Cuvee Edmond 2000
Lovely mature notes of almond and paraffin, with a lush, creamy palate of candied lemon peel, honeysuckle and chamomile flower. Yet a nice stony underpinning keeps it young. Showing beautifully now and should hold for a while yet. Drink now through 2006. 2,500 cases made. – J.M.
87 Points
From Wine Spectator
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge, La Moussiere 2002
Light and supple, with pretty red and black cherry fruit augmented by elegant spice and sandalwood shadings. Stylish, with solid varietal character. Drink now. 2000 cases made.-J.M.
Sancerre Secret: old vines, oak
From Houston Chronicle - 2003
The 2001 Mellot "La Mousssiere" Sancerre -- **** -- is a good example of how sauvignon blanc can taste if it sees some (in this case, 50 percent) oak. It's a bit heavier than your typical Sancerre, though it still remains a certain mineral quality, and its bit more interesting, too. The flavors are layered rather than linear. I liked it, and I'm a bit fan of the tranditional Sancerres.
We tasted this wine with Cajun fried oysters at Ibiza. Mellot was skeptical at first, because he said he likes muscader, not Sancerree, with oysters. But the breading made the differnce. It must have been a good match; he ate the last one on the plate.
About: $18
The 2000 Mellot "Cuvée Edmond" Sancerre -- ***** -- is outstanding, with a terrific citrusty bouquet and very complex flavors, stemming, no doubt, from 60-plus-year-old vines. "Do you like it?" Mellot asked. "Do you see that even with the oak, there is mineral in the wine?"
Oak, he said, is not a bad thing. After all, the great white burgundies are fermented in oak.
I showed him my notebook. In it I had just written, "Reminds me of a grand cru white burgundy."
So we were, literally, on the same page.
The Cuvée Edmond is about: $38.
The 2001 Mellot Sancerre "La Moussière" Rouge -- **** -- is a very nice pinot noir, with good aromatics, medium weight and good flavor of beetroot, clove and cinnamon. I really like it. Mellot was less enthusiastic.
"Oh, it's a good wine, but it's a little jammy. The 2002 will be much better." That wine, said Denise Ehrlich of Glazer's, Mellot's Texas distributor, should be here in the fall. It should sell for around $30.