Tasting notes
Appearance: Very fine deep crimson colour.
Nose: Hints of small red and black fruit like raspberries, currants, mulberries and morello cherries, with spicy traces of pink peppercorns, vanilla and cinnamon.
Mouth: It is mellow, well rounded and well structured. A woody background goes with spicy traces and aromas of fruit.
A wine long in the mouth,high in alcohol and pleasant, a real winner.
Food Pairing – Quail and boletus pie, cod with wine sauce, calf’s head with mayonnaise flavoured with chopped hard boiled egg and carpers, blanquette of veal, cabbage stuffed with chestnuts, duck and olives, lamper eels cooked in red wine, grilled meats with Aligot potato puree, Sologne leg of lamb, rabbit cooked with onions, cowsmilk cheese, etc…
Harvesting – The red La Moussière Vintage is produced from vines between 5 and 45 years old.
Grape variety: Pinot Noir
Viticulture – The vines are pruned by the simple Guyot method. The vineyard is trained in organic and biodynamic vine growing.
Winemaking – Cold maceration is carried out for 5 to 10 days then fermentation starts.
During this time, the cap of skins is punched and a little must is added (about once a day). Fermentation temperatures do not exceed 28°C to retain all the Pinot Noir aromas.
Fermentation lasts on average 4 weeks.
It is taken from the vats 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.
80 to 100% new casks are used for ageing on fine lees over a period varying between 10 and 18 months.
About 23 000 bottles of the La Moussière Vintage are produced and it is bottled by us on the estate.
ABOUT DOMAINE LA MOUSSIERE ALPHONSE MELLOT
SANCERRE is first and foremost an isolated hill that rises up in the middle of a serene landscape bathed by the soft light of the Loire river.
The oldest part of the town, built like an amphitheatre on the south-western slopes of the hill towers up to a height of three hundred and twelve meters, dominating the landscape and offering a magnificent panorama.
There is much controversy surrounding the origins of Sancerre. Certain historians attribute it to Julius Cesar, others to a Saxon settlement that is said to have been established during the reign of Charlemagne. It is however certain that its history goes back to the beginning of the Middle Ages, before the year 1000 and that a Castle was erected on this privileged site.
As far back as the XVI century, in 1513 to be exact, the local records mention the MELLOT family, whose life even at that time was governed by the seasons of the vine and the production of wines of excellent quality.
The Mellot family, vinegrowers and wine merchants, was again mentioned during the siege of the town. They pursued their patient labours and continued to gain recognition because César Mellot was appointed as Wine Advisor to Louis XIV in 1698.
At the beginning of the XIX century, ALPHONSE MELLOT founded a tavern in Sancerre where one could savour the local wines and so began a flourishing trade that was to continue. In 1881 he was granted a licence to ship his wine throughout France and all over the World. This marked the beginning of a pacific conquest which has been pursued and developed by the family business from father to son ever since, with the eldest son continuing to bear the name of the Founder Alphonse.
Today, this century old winemaking tradition is perpetuated by Alphonse
MELLOT, father and son, the 18th and 19th to bear the name.
The wines are produced from the upper Sancerre vineyard, the most famous of which is the « DOMAINE LA MOUSSIERE ». Its exceptional quality has led to it being officially classified as a unique category amongst the Sancerre wines.
The DOMAINE DE LA MOUSSIERE comprises one single vineyard of over thirty hectares.
Its ideally exposed location on the south-western tip of Sancerre, its chalk soil and its specific sub-soil are all perfect conditions for the cultivation of the vine.
White Sancerre is produced from the noble grape called « Sauvignon », with small, very tightly packed grapes, that is amongst the oldest known varieties.
Sancerre has an eminent position in the hierarchy of white wines thanks to its great finesse, its bouquet and fruitiness.
