2011 Sancerre Chavignol Les Caillottes

Pale lemon yellow. A light-fingered sweetness on the nose – more sun-ripened cape gooseberry than the sharp green bite of English gooseberry. An unmistakeable richness and roundness, even a pinch of spice. Orange and satsuma flavours. Very much framed by bold broad acidity which sweeps the palate rather than etches. Not an appetiser wine; this one deserves to be opened at the table. (TC)

From 10- to 15-year-old vines north of the Monts Damnes, primarily on the pebbly plateau that stretches into Verdigny, Francois Cotat’s 2011 Sancerre Les Caillottes projects fresh apple and honeydew melon, tinged with marjoram, chalk, and faint bitterness of pip and rind. Generously juicy and quite soft in feel, it finishes with understated but sill satisfyingly soothing length, its bitter elements serving for counterpoint if not exactly invigoration. Given Francois Cotat’s (and before that, his father’s and uncle’s) penchant for late picking and the promoting of textural richness in sweetly ripe Sancerre, 2010 seemed destined to prove an ideal match for this estate, which began harvesting at the end of the first week in October, but did not finish until nearly month’s end. In the event, the wines that resulted are so diverse – in part extreme, even by estate standards – that generalization is fatuous. Cotat’s 2011s are good for some surprises too, again for being so different from one another, but also in how little marked one of their number is by the ripe manifestations of citrus and pit fruits one practically takes for granted at this address. After the 2010 vintage, Francois Cotat with regret pulled out the considerable expanse of impossibly unproductive 65-year-old vines that his grandfather had planted and that had in recent years contributed around 30% by volume to the Grande Cote bottling. But that still leaves vines of around 45 years average, and on their first appearance without their 65 year old elders, that team turned in a memorable 2011 performance. A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93