Structure

Bodyfull
Tanninlow
Acidityhigh
Sweetnessdry
Finishlong
Oaknew oak

Drinking window

Latest scored vintage 2020: best 2023 to 2045.
vintage3 yrs25 yrs27 yrs

Critic scores

CriticVintageScore
Vinous reviewed 2023202095/100

Scores as published by each critic for the vintage shown.

In the glass

Full-bodiedLow tanninHigh acidityDryLong finish

Aroma: smoke, ripe peach, lemon zest, wet chalk

Palate: preserved lemon, fine salinity, white peach, stony mineral

Cult Sancerre from the steep Monts Damnés slope in Chavignol. Smoky, strict and chiseled, with deep minerality from Kimmeridgian marl over white Portlandian limestone.

What it pairs with

  • Crottin de Chavignol
    The wine and the cheese come from the same Chavignol hillside; salinity and lactic cream lock together.
  • Plateau royal de fruits de mer
    The wine's full-bodied salinity carries oysters, langoustines, whelks and crab in a single sip.
  • Turbot with hollandaise
    Cotat's textural weight handles rich butter sauce; smoky flint signature lifts the fish.
  • Aged Comté (30+ months)
    The wine's preserved-lemon depth meets the cheese's hazelnut crystallisation; full body matches aged-cheese intensity.

History

François Cotat took over his father Francis's parcels in Chavignol in the late 1990s, continuing the family tradition of late-harvested, barrel-fermented Sancerre. Monts Damnés is the most chiseled of his three single-vineyard bottlings.

  1. 1998: François Cotat begins bottling under his own name from inherited parcels
  2. 2011: Wines reclassified from Sancerre to Vin de France in some vintages due to residual sugar from late harvest, since restored to Sancerre

Facts

Producer
Domaine François Cotat · visiting guide
Grapes
Sauvignon Blanc (100%)
Classification
Sancerre AOC
Oak
Fermented in old oak barriques; aged on fine lees, no new oak, unfined and unfiltered
ABV
13.5%
Price
EUR 80 to 140 at retail
Drinking window
3-25 from vintage
First vintage
1998

Frequently asked about Sancerre Les Monts Damnés

What does Cotat Les Monts Damnés taste like?

Smoke, ripe peach, lemon zest and wet chalk on the nose; preserved lemon, fine salinity, white peach and stony mineral on the palate. Full-bodied with high acidity and a long, chiseled finish.

When should I drink Cotat Les Monts Damnés?

Drink between 3 and 25 years from vintage. The wines are intentionally late-harvested and barrel-fermented for ageability; mature bottles develop honey and dried fruit.

Why is Cotat sometimes classified as Vin de France?

Cotat harvests very late for richness, occasionally producing wines with residual sugar above Sancerre's dry threshold. Recent vintages have been re-classified Sancerre after AOC review.

Where is Les Monts Damnés grown?

A 1 hectare south-facing parcel on the Monts Damnés slope in Chavignol, with virtually no topsoil and clay-limestone over white Portlandian limestone.

Tags

cellar worthy cult wine dry full body high acid iconic mood contemplative mood elegant mood savoury occasion cellar occasion dinner party occasion special old vines old world pairs with aged cheese pairs with shellfish pairs with soft cheese pairs with white fish price fine sauvignon blanc single vineyard still white

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