About this WINE
Domaine Francois Cotat, Chavignol
Francois Cotat produces idiosyncratic, complex and ageworthy Sancerres from his tiny 3 hectare estate at the heart of the prized Chavignol commune which lies on Kimmeridgian clay and Caillotte soils.
Such is the steepness of the slopes (in the vineyards of Les Monts Damnés, Le Cul de Beaujeu and La Grande Côte) that cultivation is arduous and must be done entirely by hand. The grapes are late-picked for maximum flavour and in the winery, François adopts a very traditional, non-interventionist approach, barrel-fermenting the juice in old demi-muids using natural yeasts.
At times, François' wines have had to be declassified to "simple" Vin de Table status due to a higher level of residual sugar or alcohol than the appellation's rules permit or simply because the local committee find them too atypical.
François racks according to the phases of the moon and the wines develop with age and, in the best vintages, can be cellared for more than 50 years.
Sauvignon Blanc
An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves.
It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.
In New Zealand, Cloudy Bay in the 1980s began producing stunning Sauvignon Blanc wines with extraordinarily intense nettly, gooseberry, and asparagus fruit, that set Marlborough firmly on the world wine map. Today many producers are rivalling Cloudy Bay in terms of quality and Sauvignon Blanc is now New Zealand`s trademark grape.
It is now grown very successfully in Chile producing wines that are almost halfway between the Loire and New Zealand in terms of fruit character. After several false starts, many South African producers are now producing very good quality, rounded fruit-driven Sauvignon Blancs.
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Description
Sancerre boasts several micro-climates with differing soil types, and this wine is from one of those, the pebbly Chavignol. In youth , wines from this quarter are taut, lean and very dry. As they age they develop a richer personality, but remain bone -dry and display increasing minerality. Few people bother to age Sancerre, and usually with good reason, but the Cotats' wines have a unique style, a matchless concentration borne from low yields and fastidious wine-making, which rewards those who keep their bottles for a few years. The product of 5-8 year old Chavignol, 'cailloteux' soils, vinified in exactly the same way as their other wines, to give a Francois Cotat wine first and foremost, but one that shows more lime and verbena accessibility in its youth. Delicious even now, but will age till 2017 (?)...match it with young goat's cheese (Chevre de Chavignol!)
(David Berry Green)
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