Les Monts Damnés may be the most famous vineyard in Sancerre.

It's called the “damned mountains” because of how steep and how difficult the site is to work. When you see a picture of Monts Damnés, it's obvious that this is great terroir.

Along with Vatan and his cousin Pascal, François Cotat's Sancerres exist on their own plane.

Cotat's Monts Damnés possesses a grandness of scale and mineral tension making it one of the most ageable examples of Sauvigngon Blanc on the planet.

Monts Damnés sits on Kimmeridgian marl, the same soil as parts of Chablis. There's a core of distinctive and elegant minerality to Sancerres grown on this soil.

The 2017 is a riper vintage with gripping presence plus a bright and lifted profile. It has a super-clear layered power and drive. The wine really impresses with its saturated and tactile impression.

Cotat's wines are famous for aging brilliantly for decades and the 2017 has all the markings of a distance runner. With time minerality moves more and more to the forefront, endowing the wines with a talc-like and saline impression. This goes a long way in explaining why when you check out the best wine lists or carefully selected cellars, you're almost certain to find François Cotat's wines.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Ian McFadden

Director, Fine & Rare Wines
Crush Wine & Spirits