Satellite, a cuvee resulting from the assemblage of five superb localities on the Chavignol hillsides in the Sancerre appellation. This 100% Sauvignon white wine has an elegant nose, a golden robe with paler glints about it, and a taste of ripe quince and grapefruit that leaves a gently refreshing fruitiness on the palate with notes of citrus peel and a crystalline iodine finish. Accompanied by oysters, a langoustine cassoulet or Crottin de Chavignol cheese, Satellite provides immediate pleasure and will gradually come to express its full complexity as the years pass.

Blending five vineyards (and soil types including marl, limestone and sandstone laminae) in Chavignol, Mellot's 2020 Sancerre Satellite offers a pure, elegant, delicately fresh and aromatic bouquet of white stone fruits and crushed stones. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, this is an elegant, dense and lush, finely structured and persistent Sancerre with intense Peruvian cherry and yellow plum aromas. This 2020 is beautifully balanced and less mighty than the corresponding La Moussière. The finish is stimulatingly grippy and reveals a perfectly fine tannin structure as well as ripeness. A gorgeous wine to drink now. 13% stated alcohol. Diam cork. Tasted in January 2022. Best after 2022. - 92pts Robert Parker