Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge Le Paradis 2019

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“The latest in a string of great vintages in the Loire, the warm 2019 vintage is characterized by a surprising freshness.” -Decanter

Le Paradis Rouge! The Mellot Family is one of the oldest, most respected wine families in all of France – going all the way back to 1513, when an ancestor was entrusted as the official wine advisor to King Louis the XIV! Since the beginning of the Mellot family’s time in Sancerre, there have been nineteen consecutive generations producing wine from father to son – all named Alphonse. (Makes the fifth-grade family tree project pretty easy, doesn’t it?) Today, the newest Alphonse, alongside his sister, Emmanuelle, runs the winemaking of this fine estate – preserving a tradition that few families anywhere in the wine world can match.

Le Paradis is a premier vineyard in Sancerre – a stunning and steeply sloped vineyard of Sancerre’s famous “terres blanches” soils, with a solid chalk base, made famous by Domaine Vacheron…but executed masterfully here by the Mellot family. They make tiny amounts of both a sauvignon blanc and pinot noir from this site, and the pinot noir is about as rare as they come for Sancerre rouge.

The warmest winter in a century had doomsayers crying beware, but a cool February and March led to normal flowering conditions in April. Spring frosts continue to be a serious issue for much of the Loire Valley, but the hilly and steep slopes found throughout Sancerre (and particularly here for the steep hilltop where Le Paradis is found) meant that particular crisis was averted and yields were just below normal averages. It was a warm growing season, with plenty of ripeness, yet a period of mid-August rain filled the water table enough to provide the wines with the strength to carry on well into September.

The resulting wine is a deliciously open and fruit-forward pinot noir for Sancerre rouge, more closely aligned with a Volnay red Burgundy than your prototypical Sancerre rouge. Myriad red cherries abound, with a sun-kissed plum note, alongside plenty of spice notes ranging from cinnamon, to dried orange peel, with some mint and thyme herbs for freshness. The characteristic minerality of the region carries it all seamlessly – and the cool, tingly acidity of this cooler climate (even in a warmer vintage) keeps the whole thing bright and full of verve. Five years since harvest has this absolutely singing – one of the top Sancerre rouge bottlings I’ve tasted this year! We don’t have tons, and with the best in the world price here, you’d be wise to snag a couple...and free shipping on just two bottles seals the deal!

PAIRING IDEAS: Autumn means porcinis and white truffles, so of course I’m matching this beauty with a mushroom risotto. I’ll make my own stock from dried mushrooms, too – really infuses that umami mushroomy goodness in there.