Sancerre " La Moussiere", Alphonse Mellot, Loire, FR, 2024

Professional ratings & scores

• Decanter (Beverley Blanning MW): 92 points
  Describes the 2024 as ripe, rounded and relatively weighty, with “lovely concentration and a lush texture”, almost Burgundian in style, but still driven by fresh mineral acidity and a long, smooth finish.
• Vinous (Rebecca Gibb MW / panel notes): 90 points
  Praised for clarity, elegance, and structure, with a pure fruit profile and balanced, lively acidity.
• Bettane & Desseauve: 93/100 (estate-level benchmark)
  Consistently ranks La Moussière among top Sancerre expressions.
• Overall critic consensus range (2024 vintage):
  ~90–93 points across major European reviewers

Key professional tasting notes (2024 vintage)

Across critics and trade reviewers, the profile is remarkably consistent:

Style & structure

• Medium-bodied, more powerful than classic lean Sancerre
• Some oak influence / partial barrel fermentation
• Texture often described as silky, rounded, and dense

Aromatics & palate

• Citrus: lemon, grapefruit, lime zest
• Stone fruit: ripe peach, sometimes pineapple lift
• Herbal/mineral: nettle, wet stone, flint-like tension
• Subtle lees-derived complexity (bread / brioche notes)

Texture & finish

• High concentration for Sancerre
• Long, saline-tinged finish
• Balance between ripeness and Loire freshness