R7,500 - R11,500
2011 Alphonse Mellot Generation Dix-Neuf Sancerre 1.5 Lt MAGNUM x 3 bottles
PLEASE NOTE THIS WINE IS IN JOHANNESBURG
The Mellot family arrived in Sancerre in 1513 and since that time there have been eighteen generations producing wine from father to son - and all named Alphonse! As well as this extraordinary family background, it was of course the wines, both their whites and reds, which attracted our attention. These Sancerre wines bear no comparison with the rest of the appellation. Furthermore, these are the only Sancerre wines that bear the words ""hors concours"" (unrivalled). Alphonse Senior (the 18th Alphonse) has now made way for Alphonse Junior and his daughter Emmanuelle. For almost ten years, the two young winemakers have been asserting their approach. The way the vines are worked is quite simply exceptional: biodynamic, without any synthetic inputs and the plants are maintained by hand. Whenever asked to talk about their work, Alphonse and Emmanuelle like to quote from the French classic Le Petit Prince: “One only understands the things that one tames”. And indeed, vintage after vintage, the two brothers and sister continue to tame their terroirs. The wines are produced here with great craftsmanship, as if they were a work of art. One of the very finest Sancerre domaines - producing wines which have to be tried!
Made of 100% Sauvignon, the 2011 Sancerre Génération XIX d'Alphonse Mellot cuvee is a rich and complex wine that seduces with its fullness. The product of a 2 hectare parcel with good sun exposure and Kimmeridgian clay soils, the 2011 Sancerre Génération XIX d'Alphonse Mellot cuvee is rested on its lees for 10 to 12 months. This wine has a beautiful, pale golden-yellow robe with subtle green highlights that give way to an agreeable aromatic finesse. The nose is dominated by a lovely freshness. Mature, it delivers notes of citrus, minerals and menthol as well as beeswax and gingerbread. The palate is ample, fresh and reveals a virile and rich wine.
"Tasted assembled from barrel in tank, the Mellot 2010 Sancerre rouge Generation XIX leads with scents of lightly cooked purple plum and faintly smoky hot goose fat. Richly textured, its tannins really well-covered, this offers a sappy, mouthwatering mid-palate suffused with smoke, salt, chalk, and red meat. This ought to show well for at least half a dozen years." - David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate, 92/100
Fees apply to the hammer price:
Room and Absentee Bids:| 1 to 10000: | 23% inc VAT* |
| 10001+: | 19.55% inc VAT* |
| 1 to 10000: | 23% inc VAT* |
| 10001+: | 19.55% inc VAT* |
