A few years back I had another vintage of this wine (2012 perhaps?) that was just simply fantastic and had a stupendous evaporation rate. This turned out to be way more backwards and just plain different but there is no denying that it’s a very good bottle of wine.
2016 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre Les Caillottes- France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre (21.8.2020)
The nose is very much green and somewhat herbal in tone with notes of lime, gooseberry, birch sap and nettle with some floral notes. On the palate it is relatively rich with high but not overpowering acidity. There is some warmth to it that is not distracting but had me check the ABV statement on the label (13%). Quite fruity in its expression with a distinct bitter quality. Beautifully textured with certain confidence about it, this comes off as surprisingly substantial. Very long with something akin to a slight tannic sensation on the finish. Not extremely approachable or easy-going but quite captivating with yet a good level of drinkability. Not at all like my previous experience with the wine (a different vintage) but highly intriguing and relevant nonetheless.
I would say these are easily the most under the radar/best quality wines in the world at the moment. Grab every you bottle you can whilst it lasts because it won’t carry on like that for much longer in my view.
You can make the case for the region but I was specifically referring to Cotat’s wines - stunning, complex aromatics, deep, persistent and complex flavours on the palate, great ageing potential and a very well proven track record over numerous vintages. Again, if you like the wines, grab what you can while it lasts.
Broadly agree these wines are underrated. They fall into the category of “famous”, certainly for the region, but underappreciated. I like the Caillottes a lot for its openness. Can be enjoyed pretty much anytime post release, whereas the cru bottlings can go through grumpy stages.
No doubt. I have a reliable source for these (for now) but especially the single vineyards sell out lightning fast. This year the bastards sent out the email around 2am and when I saw it in the morning there was not a bottle of La Grande Côte left but fortunately I still managed to buy the three other SB bottlings.
Interesting such high, high praise. I am somewhat of a regular buyer, but less a regular drinker, as they do seem to me to need quite a bit of cellar time, especially in comparison to other Sancerre or SB. I’ve yet to have one that showed altogether exceptionally, unlike, for example, in the past, some Vatan, which is now ridiculously priced. I am encouraged by these notes and comments and perhaps will pull another one soon.