Glorious, Sublime & Hugely Limited: 2017 Francois & Pascal Cotat Pre-arrival
Posted on: 09/19/18 12:01 PM
The wines from the Cotat cousins defy conventional conversation regarding Sauvignon Blanc. Actually, they defy just about everything. In the same vein as Edmond Vatan (his Sancerre is much harder to find and twice more expensive) these are some of the Loire’s and France’s most singular and profound wines. Featuring signature tactile layers of kaleidoscopic fruit and seemingly multi-dimensional minerality, an night with either Francois or Pascal’s Sancerre is always an experience.
Though it had a very rough start, 2017 in Sancerre made up ground with a warm summer and a near perfect harvest. The end result is Sauvignon Blanc characterized by rich structure, good acidity and spectacular aromatics. “2017 has ended up being an exceptionally good vintage,” reported Jancis Robinson in her preview of 2017 Loire. It wasn’t all good news, unfortunately. Though the quality is very good, the yield was not–it was France’s smallest wine crop since 1945. Our allocations of both Fracois and Pascal are tiny. You know how much we love these wines, and we know how you love them as well. We have sold out on every Cotat offer since the start and I expect the marvelous but small allocations of 2017’s won’t be any different. Grab them before you get your heart broken!
2017 Francois Cotat Sancerre Culs de Beaujeu
2017 Francois Cotat Sancerre Monts Damnés
2017 Pascal Cotat Sancerre Monts Damnés
2017 Pascal Cotat Sancerre La Grande Côte
2017 Francois Cotat Sancerre La Grande Côte
More about the Wine
Every year pickers come from all over Europe volunteer for the Cotat harvest. If you were lucky enough to join either cousin, two things would jump out at you: The first is the profound dizzying steepness of their vineyards (all considered the best in Sancerre and Chavignol). The second is the crazy number of seat cushions and ropes scattered around the vineyards. It is a picking system only the Cotats could have drummed up. One is to slide down outrageously steep plots with a cushion tied to your rear while desperately holding onto a bucket in front of you. Colorful, a bit outrageous, but also rooted in old fashioned hand picking, this system provides us a very clear insight into what makes both cousins so special to the world of wine: pragmatic, old school, simple … and sort of just weird. That weird thing is what I am harping on here. Because, yes, both cousins are extremely talented and yes, they both have parcels in the best vineyards in the world to grow Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s also more than that. Both Francois and Pascal are guided by a compass that few are gifted with. Where it takes them is a blessing to everyone that enjoys wine.
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