Alphonse Mellot Domaine La Moussière 2022

Alphonse Mellot is a family estate in Sancerre with a winemaking tradition reaching back to the sixteenth century. La Moussiere is a single-variety Sauvignon Blanc drawn from vines between four and forty-plus years old, farmed biodynamically across 34 hectares at a high planting density of around 10,000 vines per hectare, which pushes the roots to compete and deepens concentration. Sancerre's limestone and flint soils are the source of the appellation's cut-grass aromatics and its distinct flinty minerality, sharpened here by the cool continental Loire climate. Rather than the more common all-steel approach, this wine is aged eight months on its lees in barrel. The lees contact builds texture and body through the slow release of mannoproteins, while the older oak allows a gentle oxygen exchange that softens the wine without adding obvious wood flavour. The result is a Sancerre with more weight and depth than the norm. It is pale with green highlights, showing lemon, green apple and white peach over white flowers and a flinty note. The palate is dry and textured, with fresh acidity and a saline finish. Serve at 9 to 11 degrees.