Domaine Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Edmond 2019

Biodynamic. Like the Dix-Neuf, Edmond is hand-harvested from old vines in the Moussière vineyard. Here, the wine comes from a range of 50- to 90-year-old vines on the southerly slope of the site, where the Saint-Doulchard marls give way to a blanket of weathered limestone rocks that are locally called calcaires à astartes.

Cropped even lower than the Dix-Neuf, Edmond’s fermentation and élevage took place in 600-litre barrels, with a portion raised in a 2,000-litre wooden, egg-shaped Taransaud ovum (the only other ovum we have encountered in the Loire is across the river, chez Dagueneau). It was aged on fine lees for around 12 months.

As if carved from the stones themselves, this is a profound and structured white wine with an intense depth of white stone fruit, white flowers and all kinds of citrus. It has layers, aromatic complexity, tension, precision, profound minerality and striking length. These wines can live 20 to 30 years easily, and typically only start to peak after five to 10 years. With each sip, it extends the boundaries of what we understand Sauvignon (and Sancerre) to be capable of delivering.