Our Estate was founded more than 500 years ago.
In 1513, Pierre-Etienne Mellot wrote the first page of our family winemaking history.
In 1698, César Mellot was King Louis XIV’s counsellor for his wine selection.
Our Mellot family name thus became a symbol of Sancerre.
In 1882 was established our ‘Auberge Joseph Mellot’ (Joseph Mellot Inn) where we hosted some famous guests like Claude Monet and Marechal Juin.
It was the first restaurant to open in Sancerre and the beginning of what will be called ‘wine tourism’.
In 1920, Alphonse Mellot was the first Sancerre winemaker to exhibit his wines at the Paris Fair where he won numerous medals.
He then opened a wholesale outlet in the Bercy Wine Market in order to develop sales in the capital city. His two sons, Joseph and Edmond, took over the family Estate in 1946.
In 1960, Joseph Mellot started to develop sales abroad: in Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
1960 was also the year our ‘La Vigne et le Vin’ (Vine & Wine) company store was established by Mrs. Mellot in Sancerre.
In 1969, Edmond and Joseph split up. The family vineyards were divided and two MELLOT companies created. Joseph took over the historical winery which was renamed JOSEPH MELLOT.
In 1984, Alexandre, Joseph’s son, took over and developed the Joseph MELLOT Estate with great commitment. He was one of the first to believe in the strong potential of our Sancerre and Centre-Loire wines.
He expanded the vineyard, modernized the production facilities and gave a new boost to export sales. In 1987, he was joined by Catherine CORBEAU-MELLOT, his wife, who assumed the responsibility of Sales and Communication.
In 1987, he was joined by Catherine CORBEAU-MELLOT, his wife, who assumed the responsibility of Sales and Communication.
In 2005, Alexandre Mellot passed away, he was only 44. Naturally, Catherine took over.
Catherine is named ‘Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit’ by the French Ministry of Agriculture in 2007.
The Estate also obtained its BRC (British Retail Consortium) food certification, a British standard system for food industry suppliers.
In 2009, Joseph Mellot was the first winery to become ISO 14001 certified in our region, a standard system based on the continuous improvement of the company environmental performance.
2010: Sustainable Agriculture Certification.
In 2013, Catherine Corbeau-Mellot was appointed ‘Knight of the National Order of Merit’ of by the Ministry of Foreign Trade. This distinction was officially handed to her on January 12th by Philippe FAURE BRAC, World’s Best Sommelier (1992).
That year also marked the celebration of the 500th anniversary of our Estate (1513-2013).
The ‘Domaine des Emois’ Estate received its ‘Organic Farming’ Certification in 2015.
In 2016, Catherine Corbeau-Mellot was appointed to the higher rank of ‘Officer of the Order of Agricultural Merit’.
Since 2010, all our vineyards have been managed sustainably and, in 2019, we received the High Environmental Value (HVE) certification.
More than a reward, it has been a measuring tool to assess the environmental performance of our practices for the whole company.
In 2022, Catherine Corbeau-Mellot was appointed to the higher rank of ‘Commander of the Order of Agricultural Merit’.
That same year, our family story continued with Adrien Mellot joining our Estate.
