2019 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Génération Dix-Neuf, Loire Valley

Biodynamic. This jaw-dropping Sancerre is drawn from the oldest vines in the Moussière vineyard (approximately 100 years of age), cropped at Grand Cru Burgundy levels (at the lower end of this range, in fact). The wine fermented and aged in 2,000-litre, tronconique wooden tanks for 12 months before a spell in steel on lees. Only 500 cases per year see the light of day.

With its sister-in-arms, Edmond, Dix-Neuf is the antithesis of modern textbook Sancerre. Instead, it is an intense, arresting wine, unfolding in a dizzying array of candied citrus, gingerbread, crystalline tropical notes, pear sorbet and iodine. These complex aromas play behind virile, extract-rich structure and crackling inner tension. Imagine the intensity and texture of great white Burgundy but with the racy core of acidity of exceptional Riesling or Chenin Blanc. As difficult as it is to describe, this stacks up with the most distinctive whites on the planet. A super mineral, no-holds-barred Sancerre that makes a bold statement about what Sauvignon Blanc can be.