Domaine Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière 2021 (1500ml)

Biodynamic. La Moussière is one of the great vineyards of the Loire Valley. Cultivated with incredibly rocky, limestone-rich soils, this gently rolling vineyard lies on the ancient Saint-Doulchard marls, which form a part of the great Kimmeridgian chain (à la Chablis). Coupled with Mellot’s meticulous biodynamic farming and low yields, it’s a terroir responsible for some of Sancerre’s most striking and atypical wines.

As usual, 50% of this wine underwent fermentation in huge wooden fermenters and was raised in oak casks—a fact that in no way compromises the fabulous purity and energy on offer. The balance of the wine was fermented and raised in traditional concrete vats before blending. All the wine was aged on fine lees for a period of roughly 12 months, further enhancing the wine’s famously deep and pulpy texture.

Reminiscent of top-flight Chablis, those who crave flesh, purity and tension in their white wines can expect great company here. From a cooler year that harks back to the incisive 2017, it’s charged with vivid citrus flavours and chalky texture, expertly offset by electric acidity and mouth-watering salinity. The wine unfolds on the palate not unlike a coiled white Burgundy. A great Moussière.