I have to admit it. Cotat's wines had fallen off my radar.
Then, I had a bottle of 2000 Les Monts Damnés at a restaurant a month ago. Suddenly, I found myself looking at my storage and kicking myself for not buying more.
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2012 is one of the strongest vintages in Sancerre in the past five years or more. The wines offer plenty of concentration and mid-palate punch with a brisk driving acidity and pristine mineral expression.
When it comes to Sancerre, Cotat's village of Chavignol is a very special place. Chavignol is absolutely defined by its terroir: Kimmeridgian marl, the same soil as parts of Chablis, that imbues the wine with Chablis-like minerality. With age, it's the terroir that comes to dominate with a blantant minerality.
Monts Damnés is one of Sancerre's top sites. In the hands of Cotat, Monts Damnés ("damned hills",) so-named for their incredibly steep gradient, produces wines with a complex textural element and in 2012 a laser-like zip and definition.
François Cotat may need no introduction. Along with his cousin Pascal and Edmond Vatan, François is a benchmark of Sancerre. His wines cast Sauvignon Blanc in a radically new light and evolve in the cellar in absolutely shocking and beautiful ways. Bottles of Cotat at 15 or 20 years can be heartbreaking.
I expect a lot from François Cotat's 2012 Les Monts Damnés. I see it evolving into a monument to what the best Sancerre can achieve in terms of grandeur, penetrating minerality and longevity.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits