2022 Sancerre, La Grande Côte, Domaine François Cotat, Loire

Lay back and get comfortable with the 2022 Grand Côte. It is a delightfully balanced style with a tender finesse, filling the mouth with a sense of purity. While it has an almost lacy character, there's no absence of substance or structure. It's restrained aromatically with delicate violets, florals, nectarine flavours and a distinct stony character. It draws out on the long, chalky, almost sinew-like finish. A delight to drink now, but knowing Cotat, there's no hurry to pull the cork.Iconic and idiosyncratic, François Cotat’s wines are codeword for cellar-worthy Sancerre. Chavignol born and bred, Cotat has five hectares on Sancerre’s most famed hillsides: Les Monts Damnés and Cul de Beaujeu and the lesser-known Grands Côtes, which has a similar exposition to the latest picked parcel, Cul de Beaujeu. François makes four white cuvées (as well as a well-priced Rosé and a red Sancerre) and has always been hands-off, shunning modern technology that his generation embraced. François shares, “The young generation is doing things more simply, and I have more in common with them, although they think I’m a bear.” The grapes are hand-harvested – often late. François is among the last to pick his fruit from these top sites, which 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. They’re then bottled relatively early. The wines all have an intensity of concentration that comes from low yields on a top site and impressive structure. While 2022 was a similarly warm year to 2020, the alcohol levels are much more balanced in 2022, which is a welcome relief. Are these wines classic Sancerre? No, they’re Cotat.Drink 2023 - 2035Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous.com.com (July 2023)