About this WINE
Simon & Daniel Chotard
There have been vignerons in the Chotard family since 1789, but it was in 1992 that Daniel Chotard resumed work at the domaine. With a passion for music, Daniel built the domaine’s reputation around conviviality, often hosting music and wine soirées at the estate. In recent years, his son, Simon, has taken over, pushing the domaine to greater heights with significant improvements in vineyards and wineries.
The domaine’s vines are situated on limestone slopes in the southwest region at Reigny near Crezancy-en-Sancerre, in the Loire. The area under vines is 15 hectares, 80% of which is planted with Sauvignon Blanc, with the remaining 20% being Pinot Noir. They farm 40 different vineyard parcels in total.
Simon strongly focuses on sustainability; the vineyards are certified organic from the 2022 vintage. He also believes in minimal intervention in the winemaking process, with no chaptalisation, no acidification and only indigenous yeasts. All of the fruit has been harvested by hand since 2018.
Where Daniel produced just a handful of wines, Simon has taken a more Burgundian approach, identifying and separating his best plots to make them individually, adapting the winemaking to each site. In the winery, where once everything was made in stainless steel tank, Simon now has an array of vessels; foudres and large barrels (both oak and acacia) and amphorae are all employed to bring out the best in each wine.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
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Description
A surprisingly full body leads the parade for this richly scented Pinot Noir. The nose shows both red and dark berries which are lovely and fresh on the palate. The 18 months in oak bring spice, especially black pepper and the whole is framed by a delicious herbal note. Serve with roast lamb, duck or Daniel’s own recommendation: chocolate puddings. The Chotard holdings consist of 12 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and 4 of Pinot Noir; red wine is not of inconsiderable significance to them therefore. The Pinot is destemmed and has a two week fermentation, the majority thereafter aged in tank, with the merest whisper ( 2%) of barrique employed. The purity of the red fruit character has a gently spicy backdrop. The identity of the singing archer is a little more cryptic however, I must remember to ask Simeon on my next visit!
Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer
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