Looking for advice/insight on 2018 Pascal & Francois Cotat Sancerre. Just purchased the following, all 2018’s:
Pascal Cotat, Sancerre Les Monts Damne’s (qty 2)
Pascal Cotat, Sancerre La Grande Cote (2)
Francois Cotat, Sancerre Monte Damne’s (2)
Francois Cotat, Sancerre Grande Cote (1)
Francois Cotat, Sancerre Cul de Beaujeu (1)
We drink a fair amount of Sauv Blanc in our house- primarily NZ, CA; to a lesser extent South Africa, Chile & Argentina, Sancerre.
I’m starting to explore past the “entry level” Sancerre with recommendations from our “Who makes the greatest Sauvignon Blanc?” thread, so set my sights on both Cotats among others. https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3309164#p3309164
My Cotat knowledge is minimal; I don’t even know if the different bottlings signify single vineyards or different wine making techniques, or something else entirely. All I really know is a significant number of you think the Cotat Cousins make great Sancerre and I now have bottles in the basement.
Based on some tasting notes I realize the most common recommendation may be to wait two more years, but that’s not going to happen at least not with all of them. One, if not 2 or 3, will be opened 6 weeks from now at Thanksgiving alongside other wines. So assuming I will open some soon, which one should I open first? Which of these bottlings drink well the earliest? Which winery (Pascal or Francois) is considered most approachable in youth? Are certain bottlings from either known to drink better than the others early? Certain ones considered more ageworthy? How much air should I give them? In general, is the 2018 Sancerre vintage considered more approachable or less approachable than the average Sancerre vintage in their early years?
Any knowledge, experience or advice you’d like to share, I’d love to hear.
Thanks,
Tom
I cant give you the answer you want because I like my Cotat wines approximately 5-7 years post vintage. When drinking young they are not interesting for me.
I have not had any of the 2018, but the 2019 F. Cotat was already drinking beautifully (whatever these others guys say). But in their defense, a 2013, while not as good a vintage apparently, showed quite a bit that the 2019 did not. So with a limited set, best to wait.
The Cotat family is one of the most famous Sancerre producers
Two brothers Paul and Francis Cotat previously ran the domaine. In 1995 Paul’s son, Francois took over the winemaking of the domaine, and in 1998 Paul and Francis retired, Francois and his cousin Pascal split the family vineyards.
Francois kept the winery location in Chavignol.
Both producers’ wines are barrel fermented with indegenous in very old demi-muids (50+ years) and aged in old barrels.
Both producers pick late to ensure proper ripeness of SB, although Pascal usually picks later resulting in riper wines and Francois has been picking earlier and earlier.
Those bottles are different vineyard within Sancerre, with Monts Damnes being perhaps the most well-known. It’s a steep, mostly south-facing vineyard in Chavignol with pure chalk subsoils (the “terres blanches,” as is found in Chablis) and a thin clay and limestone topsoil, and the one that usually needs more time in bottle.
La Grande Côte is a south facing steeply sloped vineyard with clay rich soils. Usually my favourite vineyard of the Cotats.
Culs de Beaujeu, also in Chavignol has northeasterly exposure and one only Francois owns. It’s usually the most accessible early on.
Did a fair amount of reading last night about the Cotats and their history and realize now the one Cotat Sancerre I haven’t purchased is Francois Cotat’s Caillottes. It’s vines are relatively young (15yrs) vs the rest in the different vineyards Grande Cote (20-60 year old vines), Monte Damnes (30 years), and Culs de Beaujeu (45 years). The Caillottes vineyard is a recent acquisition on the low, flat Chavignol plains, as opposed to the other vineyards on the steep, higher hills and the resultant wines said to be more accessible early than other Cotats.
It seems the Caillottes bottling is the one to drink early if I had any!
Thanks, Rodrigo. I enjoyed reading up on the Cotats last night. Not much (in English…) available, but they definitely have devoted fans. Sounds like either winery would be a joy to visit.
If I understand your preference, you’d drink the Culs de Beaujeu first, then La Grande Cote, then Monts Damnes?
I think the Monts Damnes and Grande Cote have pretty similar ageing potentials. So which one you drink first is really a matter of preference in my book. Both shine with age.
If this didn’t come up in your search here’s some on Cotat:
I might not know enough but I would say that any of those would do. Even young, drinking Cotat for the first time is a joy. Yes, they might show a little RS or seem a little disjointed but even then, you can tell how much structure they have and predict how fun they will be to drink in the future. So I would drink any one of those you have more than one of. It’s not like you’ll spit it out when you have your first sip
More a suggestion on the quantity you have of each, and Sancerre can be very cerebral as you enjoy them over a few hours amd drink them from cool to room temp. I do find Grand Cote to be a bit larger scaled and Mont Damnes more mineral.
Having recently had a glorious bottle of the 1991 Grande Cote, I think my main concern is how to categorically stay away from pretty much anything Cotat that I currently own (none older than 12 years). Which is not to say you shouldn’t just open one young to get an idea, particularly if you’ve never had one. It’s just that, more often than not, these really only show a fraction of what they will become given enough time. Other than, perhaps, the Caillottes, which I know less well than the other wines, my experience over the years suggests that in most vintages 15-20 years from the vintage is probably the early window for a chance to see what they are really about.
Thanks, this is my short term issue. I’ve got some young bottles now, but won’t be able to keep my hands off all of them.
I think the Culs de Beaujeu might be the one to get into first, but I’ll try to stick to the ones of which I have multiples.
The proper course of action might be to start backfilling!! I’ll have to search out some aged bottles for comparison.
Additional question-
How do those of you in the United States purchase Cotats? How are they distributed? These bottles don’t seem to be widely stocked, and not at all in Minnesota as far as I can tell. I see some availability on Wine Searcher, but unsure if those merchants get their wine through direct distribution channels or more of a secondary market.
Update-
Went on a Cotat purchasing spree of sorts all in the name of comparison! Purchased some F. Cotat Mont Damnes ‘16 & 19; ‘18, ‘19, & ‘20 F. Cotat Caillottes, Culs De Beaujeu 19 & 20.
Brought the ‘18 & ‘20 Caillottes & ‘16 Mont Damnes on a Thanksgiving vacation with family.
Opened the ‘20 Caillottes tonight with Mahi Mahi in coconut sauce, Grouper Ceviche, empanadas. The young Caillottes drank beautifully! While it was slightly overpowered by the coconut sauce, it paired fabulously with the rest of the meal and was heavenly with ceviche!
I’ll provide more notes later-
Started the night with 2020 Cloudy Bay SB & opened the Caillottes to get a feel for it. I really like the Cloudy Bay, but it it tasted like water next to the Caillottes, I was impressed.
I popped a 2018 P. Cotat les Monts Damnés yesterday. It played very nicely with an overly salted seafood pie from le Pied de Cochon because of all the ripe fruit in there but I won’t touch my others for another 7 years I think…
2018 Domaine Pascal Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés- France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre (12/20/2021)
2 hours of air in decanter before serving.
The nose is deep and complex showcasing a myriad of fruits (exotic, peach, citrus), floral notes and some flint. The herbal notes that can be typical of Sancerre are barely a hint of the opulent aromas. Just from the nose, one can tell this will be dense and chewy!
The palate is dense and rich. It does indeed exhibit chewiness but with a good backbone of acidity that cuts through the richness and gives it the required structure. It is more on the tropical and ripe fruit side slightly overtaking the salinity and minerality. You can tell this is a warm vintage and it also reflects on the alcohol that is noticeable on the finish. I think there is enough structure here to age and improve the balance on this. Pop the next one in 7+ years.
