2020 Sancerre La Grande Cote

Iconic and idiosyncratic, the wines of François Cotat are codeword for cellar-worthy Sancerre. Chavignol born and bred, Cotat has five hectares on Sancerre’s most famed hillsides: Les Monts Damnés and Le Cul de Beaujeu and the lesser-known Grands Côtes, which has a similar exposition to Cul de Beaujeu. He makes four cuvées and has always been hands off, shunning modern technology that his generation embraced: “the young generation are doing things more simply, and I have more in common with them; although, they think I’m a bear,” he says. The grapes are hand harvested – often late, he is one of the last to pick his fruit from these top sites and that means high degrees of ripeness. Fermentations are wild, there’s no settling so ferments are high solids, and he doesn’t filter so all the goodness is left in. The wines all have an intensity of concentration that comes from low yields on a top site and impressive structure. Are they classic Sancerre? No, they’re Cotat.