Francois Cotat

In the small village of Chavignol, situated near Sancerre in the Loire region, François Cotat produces some of the most distinctive Sauvignon Blanc wines in France. These wines are richer, more textured and have far greater ageing potential than typical Sancerres, to such an extent that some vintages have been denied appellation status due to their ‘atypicality’. For many connoisseurs and critics, this is precisely what makes them so appealing.

History

The Cotat name became known in Chavignol after the Second World War, when brothers Paul and Francis Cotat began jointly cultivating their small family estate. From 1947 until the early 1990s, they worked in the same cellar, producing essentially the same wine but bottling it under different labels. Between around 1995 and 1998, family inheritance and tax pressures forced the winery to split into two parts. Paul’s son, François, took over one half, and Francis’s son, Pascal, the other.François had been involved in winemaking at the family cellar in Chavignol since 1987, under his father’s supervision.

Today, François manages his estate from the same historic cellar in the centre of Chavignol, whilst his cousin Pascal operates from a small cellar in Sancerre.

Vineyards

François Cotat cultivates around 4 hectares of vineyards in Chavignol and Amigny, of which approximately 3.5 hectares are planted with Sauvignon Blanc and half a hectare with Pinot Noir. His holdings include the famous slopes of Chavignol: Les Culs de Beaujeu, planted by his great-grandfather immediately after the war and facing north-west; La Grande Côte (in Amigny), facing due south; and plots in Les Monts Damnés. Pinot Noir grows on flatter terrain to the east of Chavignol, rather than on steep slopes.

Terroir

Chavignol is situated on the western edge of the Sancerre appellation, on what the locals call the ‘terres blanches’, a chalky plateau of Kimmeridgian marl stretching all the way to Chablis. The slopes are extremely steep, with a very thin layer of soil over chalk and clay-limestone, and all work in the vineyards must be carried out by hand.

La Grande Côte is situated on almost pure chalk and is the warmest and ripest of the plots. Cœur-de-Bois, with its cooler north-westerly aspect, yields a fresher, stony character. Mont-Damné, the village’s most famous vineyard, lies in between.

Grapes

Sauvignon Blanc predominates, whilst Pinot Noir is used to produce small quantities of rosé and red wine. There are no other varieties.

Winemaking

François Cotat works in a deliberately old-fashioned way. He harvests late, often one of the last in the area, to maximise ripeness and give the wine depth. Although he does not hold organic certification, his approach is close to it: no pesticides, only indigenous yeasts for fermentation, and racking timed to the lunar cycle.

The wines are fermented and aged in old demi-muids and larger tonneaux, without the use of new oak. No filtration takes place before bottling. The result is a Sancerre with real density, often with a slight hint of residual sugar in warmer years, and a structure capable of ageing for decades.

Wines

The range is built around three single-varietal Sancerres:Les Monts Damnés, La Grande Côte and Les Culs de Beaujeu.

Since 2005, a wine called Caillottes has also been produced from grapes grown on younger soils with a high silica content.

A small quantity of Sancerre Chavignol Rosé, a still wine with a distinct character, is produced from Pinot Noir, along with a limited run of Sancerre Rouge.

Total production is very low, and the wines are usually snapped up quickly as soon as they go on sale.