Alphonse Mellot has been running the domaine of his eponymous father and grandfather for 17 years (since he was 20). Mellot’s 2005 Sancerre Generation XIX smells of flowers, herbs, grapefruit, lime, sea breezes, and a surprising hint of blueberry. Elegant, even delicate on the palate, juicy and light of touch with subtle minerality, this Sancerre finishes with juicy honeydew melon drenched with lime and suffused with oceanic salinity. (I discerned a mildly disconcerting milky note in Mellot’s otherwise lush, juicy, and distinctly salty 2005 Sancerre La Moussiere.) Various importers including Domaine Select, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799 and Elite Wines, Lorton, VA; tel. (703) 339-8150

Alphonse Mellot Jr, the 19th generation of Alphonses to make wine at La Moussiere, has raised his family’s domaine to a new height. This is so evident in this super-rich, concentrated wine, but one that doesn’t lose sight of its cool climate, chalk soil origins. So there’s great opulence, but also a vivid green acidity that strikes right through the wine.——R.V.(9/1/2007)—— 93