Winedoctor

• By Chris Kissack
  February 2009 (link)

  (Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge Les Grands Champs) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Chris Kissack
  February 2009 (link)

  (Alphonse Mellot En Grands Champs Sancerre Red) Subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  11/24/2009 (link)

  (Les Grands Champs ALPHONSE MELLOT) Pinot Noir Dear Friends, I had one chance at this wine and today's the day... If you are into the finest Pinot Noir, this is a haunting example that will take your breath away. $80 is very expensive for wine but, in relation to Burgundy, the Les Grands Champs offers a rare peak into cerebral complexity and shimmering terroir that rises above all but the most special (and costly) Grand Cru examples of the Cote d'Or. It is among the most exciting red wines ever produced in this region of the Loire and an example I would have no problem pitting against many of the top contenders of Burgundy proper. As a blind wine, many professional tasters will be at a loss for words with the 2006 Les Grands Champs... From The Wine Doctor (one of the top wine blog sites in the world): "Driving back to our hotel from the second day of the Salon de Vins de Loire in early 2009, I and my companions, writers Jim Budd and Sarah Ahmed, and Tom King of London's RSJ restaurant, which specializes in the wines of the Loire, were reflecting on our high points of the day. For me it was undoubtedly Alphonse Mellot's (2006) red Sancerres; these were wines unlike any I had ever before tasted from this appellation. Rich, deeply coloured, but also fresh, incisive and characterful, true to both the variety in question but also the appellation, I found myself asking aloud "how can red Sancerre be this good?" Frequent tasting and drinking brings experience and develops your descriptive and analytical abilities, but it can also have the sorry side effect of leaving one's palate jaded. There comes a point when it seems as though you have seen - or rather tasted - it all before. It is a rare cause for delight when a bottle reminds you of those enthralling moments that came so much more frequently when you were discovering wine for the first time. Make no mistake, the (2006) reds from Alphonse Mellot had this effect; these are wines the taste of which I will never forget... 2006 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge Les Grands Champs: Slightly brighter fruit on the nose here, smoky character, lifted and lively, and yet also dense and concentrated. This is really stylish. Pure, balanced, beautifully textured and really very composed and elegant. This is so well poised on the palate, it is just superb; the structure is matched by an incredible panoply of fruit, coffee-edged, oak-tinged, tense, balanced and harmonious. It just keeps getting better. Excellent wine. 18+/20" EXTREMELY LIMITED - only a few dozen cases for the world. ONE MINISCULE PARCEL ONLY directly from the winery cellar (this wine is not available in the US) 2006 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge "Les Grands Champs" Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Loire4510