Serious Sauvignon Blanc can stand with the greatest white wines of the world. Does this really need to be said? I didn’t think so, but then again, there’s not as much tribute paid to the great whites of Sancerre as there is to contemporaries from Burgundy, or Germany.
Sancerre’s broad ‘brand’ recognition and its reliable presence on wine lists of all types tends to overshadow its moments of true, cellar-worthy greatness, which are many—and are reliably delivered, vintage after vintage, by Pascal Cotat. This is Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc at its most finely etched and tightly allocated, and yet, as if to illustrate my point above, it continues to be priced almost exponentially lower than other world-class whites it easily bests. Grown in essentially the same limestone terroir that defines some of the best white Burgundies—and capable of aging just as long—Cotat’s Sancerre is arguably one of the most important white wine ‘collectibles’ one could hope to have in one’s cellar, at a fraction of the price of its contemporaries from other regions. We offer Cotat’s iconic single-vineyard wine, “Les Monts Damnés,” whenever we can get our hands on a few bottles, and not surprisingly, it disappears almost instantly. Today we can offer up to three bottles per customer until our allocation runs out; if, somehow, this is your first experience with Pascal Cotat, be warned that it will not be your last. And while it’s only going to get harder to acquire these wines, it’s worth the extra effort at this still-undervalued price.
It’s impossible not to be captivated after laying eyes on the vertigo-inducing Les Monts Damnés
vineyard, as iconic a “cru” that exists anywhere in the world. Coupled with the superior skill of Pascal Cotat, this is next-level Sancerre that often, unfortunately, gets doled out to top restaurants and sells out while still in its infancy. This is no way to treat a wine like this, but such is the way of the world sometimes...
Originating in the 1940s, the Cotat family domaine was passed from brothers Paul and Francis to their sons, François and Pascal, in the 1990s. Dedicated to the unique terroir of each site, the Cotats were among the first winemakers to vinify and produce single-vineyard bottlings in Sancerre, but the cousins eventually created two separate labels due to tedious government regulations. Pascal charted the path for Domaine Pascal Cotat in Sancerre and built a separate winery.
Within the village of Chavignol (within Sancerre), Les Monts Damnés, or “damned mountains,” is the name of a series of steeply pitched vines that the Cotat family has farmed since the end of WWII. The name is apropos given that the Cotats, by necessity, invented a system in which brave harvesters strap cushions to their rear ends to slide down the steep slopes. This wine is sourced from the highest parcels on the north-facing slope of this famous vineyard, which is distinguished by its subsoils of pure Kimmeridgian chalk—the same, gleaming white ‘terres blanches’ found in Chablis. Left behind from ancient seabeds over 150 million years ago, Kimmeridgian soils offers a distinct, intense minerality that is entirely its own.
Cotat’s vines on Les Monts Damnés average about 35 years of age, and few winemakers can rival Pascal’s talent and dedication in the cellar—even fewer, if any, have the restraint to match his late harvests. He’s known for harvesting roughly a week later than others in the area, and as a result, his wines possess greater weight, ripeness and complexity. After hand-harvesting, grapes were sent through a pneumatic press in whole bunches without crushing or destemming. The juice was fermented on indigenous yeasts and aged in neutral barrels that were at least 10 years of age. After eight months of maturity, the wine was moved to 600-liter and 300-liter tonneaux, which aided in clarifying the wine. It was then bottled without fining or filtration. The result is a superbly textured and densely fruited Sauvignon Blanc that holds greater minerality than the ultra-ripe 2015.
Pascal Cotat’s 2016 Les Monts Damnés displays a deep and brilliant yellow core with neon green reflections leading out to a silvery rim. The nose provides generous and inviting aromas of yellow apple, lemon blossoms, candied citrus, peach pith, passionfruit, gooseberry, honeysuckle, white flowers, crushed chalk, and oyster shells. I’ll even wager a bet you’ll dip your nose in twice before visiting the palate. When you finally do, it will meet you with the classic richness and laser-sharp precision that has made Cotat famous. The wine is medium-plus bodied and heavily textured, with a density and youthful complexity that no other producer in Sancerre can or could emulate. On the lingering finish, stone fruits and citrus peel serve as a light mesh blanket around a deeply mineral-driven core, but you’ll find that with age, this Les Monts Damnés undergoes one of the most drastic changes in all of white wine. It will start flaunting its true worth on its third or fourth birthday, but will last 10-15 years and beyond if kept well. Serve this alongside a classic
chèvre and be sure to save some for
le plat principal: Grilled turbot in a creamy butter sauce.
