A Cold, Foggy Afternoon in Sancerre-Mellot and Vacheron

• 2012 Jean-Marc Crochet Sancerre

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Ripe grapefruit nose. Pure citrus, good flesh, excellent acidity and strong mineral finish.

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• 2012 Jean-Marc Crochet Sancerre Rouge

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  Relatively full bodied. Earthy with very good black cherry fruit. No need to hold.

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Alas, the good Alphonse is now retired, and the reins have been handed to his son and daughter. The wines are unique and can be great when the cooperage does not bury the underlying material.

• 2010 Alphonse Mellot Côtes de la Charité Blanc Les Pénitents

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Côtes de la Charité

  Rich with some oak showing. Strong lemony fruit with great acidity. Shockingly good for its price (12 euros).

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• 2012 Alphonse Mellot Pouilly-Fumé par Emmanuelle Mellot

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé

  Light and grassy with a bit of glycerine. Tart, short finish. Not in the same league as the Sancerres.

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• 2012 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Pungent, snappy Sauvignon without any discernible wood. Typical for region but light for this cuvée.

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• 2012 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Génération XIX

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Now this is the Mellot style to a tee! Much richer and rounder than the Moussiere. Bright orange peel, gorgeous mouthwatering acidity and a bit of wood. Mineral finish with a fine dusting of stone. Persistent and wildly delicious. Striking clarity and balance. The best wine today in this wonderful range.

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• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Vieilles Vignes Les Romains

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Much more herbal, grassy aromatics and less fruit on the nose. Lighter weight than Générations. Good soil and some citrus. Chalky finish but not great length. Less impressive overall.

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• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre "La Demoiselle"

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Very fragrant citrus. Rich entry like the Générations, but leaner saline, soil filled finish. Exquisitely refined, this will last many years.

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• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Satellite

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Rich, somewhat tropical nose. Caressing texture from prominent oak. Less lively than the rest of the whites. This came across as dull and really paid the price for the extra mouth feel that the wood provided. Too exaggerated for my taste.

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• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Edmond

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Forward, perfumed nose. Nice mix of grassiness and bitter orange. Fantastic feel but again the oak speaks too loudly. Excellent acidity, deep vein of soil. Very good but not the best white we tasted.

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• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Côtes de la Charité Les Pénitents

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Côtes de la Charité

  Medium red. Earthy nose. Simple ripe red cherry, a good core of earth throughout and piquant acidity on the finish. For the near term.

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• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge La Moussière

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  Light ruby. Subtle aromatics. You feel more than taste dark fruit. Light weight, tannic and closed now. Just full of soil. This tastes like a young Premier Cru Gevrey. Very fine potential; I bet the fruit will blossom with several more years in bottle.

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An interesting and ever expanding range of whites. I hope that the 2012 white and red that we tried don't foreshadow the quality of the crus from that vintage, but we've had much better basic cuvées from Vacheron. The 2011 whites were impressive though.

• 2012 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Light and pungent, lacks concentration and length. Disappointing basic cuvée from Vacheron.

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• 2011 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Les Romains

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Stony, lemony, focused and long. Wow, a big step up compared to the 2012 regular bottling and even better than the excellent Mellot versio we also tasted today.

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• 2011 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Guigne-Chèvres

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Also quite rocky like the Romains but fuller bodied and more infused with soil. Another successful cru.

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• 2011 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Chambrates

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  First time I've had this bottling. Piercing orange on the nose and palate. Lighter weight than the previous wine. Really marvelous intensity and cut. Probably my favorite of the whites.

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• 2011 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Le Paradis

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Never had this one either. Idiosyncratic. Soil filled and unusual bitter citrus flavors. Middle weight, not nearly as much verve as the other 2011s. Earthy, interesting but very different and the balance seems off.

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• 2012 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Rouge

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  Simple black cherry and some damp earth. Unremarkable feel and finish. I would not buy either basic cuvée this year.

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• 2009 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Rouge Belle Dame

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  Now this on the other hand is an outstanding Sancerre Rouge. Attractive ripe red fruit aromas. In the mouth, restrained, complex, fine and not overripe. Beautiful thread of soil, excellent length and complexity, and a nice bit of char to finish things up.

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