The Wines of Loire
Timed Online Auction, 1 - 8 May 2023
Session 1
About the SessionThe Loire Valley is a large region that follows the longest river of France. The Loire is an exceptional place to find lean, racy, white wines, including those of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadet. Red varieties include Cabernet Franc, Gamay and Cot (Malbec), which produces herbaceous, rustic reds.
About this Item
In the 14th century, Alphonse Mellot founded a tavern in Sancerre, specialising in local wines. In 1881, he was granted a licence to ship his wine throughout France and abroad; marking the beginning of a family business that has been passed down over 18 generations. Today, Domaine Alphonse Mellot, which stretches across the upper Loire Valley, is run by father and son, both named Alphonse Mellot. While Sancerre produces predominantly white wines, Mellot has an almost 50:50 split between white and red production. Farming their 47 hectares of vines organically and biodynamically, they are the benchmark for quality in Loire.
Provenance
Restaurant Mosaic
Critics Ratings
'Five parcels on clay-limestone. Racy and complex. Deep flavoured. Great balance.' - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 16.5/20 (Jn 2013)
'Tasted out of the tall upright cask and large new oval in which its entirety fermented and will spend life until last minute reunion and bottling, Mellot’s Chavignol-dedicated 2011 Sancerre Satellite – from some of the estate’s first picking, the last week in August – smells alluringly and tastes lusciously of ripe quince and grapefruit. Silken and lush, the palate here retains just enough fresh-fruitedness to server for refreshment, while notes of citrus rind and pip along with chalk, iodine and shrimp shell reduction serve for invigoration and saliva-inducement in a long finish. Lanolin, vanilla and resin are hard to overlook in the portion that fermented in a new oval but that lot also adds an interesting concentration of citrus oils and enhanced textural richness, so that proportional representation appears destined to result in harmony even if no special synergy materializes. I imagine – as with so many wines of this vintage – that we have something here to savor over the next 3-4 years, but there isn’t even a track record that long for the bottle evolution of this cuvee, so any prognostication must be taken with a big grain of tartrate.' - David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate, 90-91+/100 (Jun 2012)
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