2009 Chavignol Cul de Beaujeu
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Tasting notes
The 2009 François Cotat Sancerre Les Culs de Beaujeu is a powerful white that comes from a warm season leading to ripe fruit and high alcohol (15%), which makes for a good comparison with the latest vintages - 2019 and 2020 - both dry, warm years that resulted in ripe wines. That said, Cotat pushes the envelope on ripeness, going late to pick his fruit from this very steep vineyard that rises high above the village of Chavignol. The 2009 has an excellent core of concentration, tannic intensity and long length. Heading towards maturity, you can expect lanolin and truffle characters with honey slathered on toast. Think Sauvignon can’t age? You haven’t tried the right Sauvignon. Cotat’s are certainly one of the appellation’s most idiosyncratic expressions.
Critic scores
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Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Ripe honeydew melon and distilled herbal essences on the nose of the Francois Cotat 2009 Sancerre Les Culs de Beaujeu lead to a lush, drippingly luscious palate with site-typical nut oils that are perfectly suited to express themselves in this glycerin rich, full-bodied medium. There is more buffering for the alcohol here than in the Les Cailottes bottling, although a certain amount of heat intervenes in an otherwise lovely, long finish. I’m skeptical about cellaring this, and in any event find the style simply lends itself to youthful drinking, which promises to be a very pleasurable self-indulgence. In a sign of the vintage, Francois Cotat’s lightest wine from 2009 was his rose, which weighed in at 14.5% alcohol. The Sauvignons cluster around 15%. Cotat compares this vintage with 1989, whose wines were similarly ripe and full, but aren’t exactly classic Cotat, nor the most interesting of mature Cotat wines to enjoy today. That said, there is always an element of mystery in the glass (and not only there) at this address, and I’ll gladly be made a fool of by an old Cotat wine, which might one day turn out to be a 2009. (For more information about recent developments chez Cotat, see my report in issue 172.) A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93
About the producer
Sancerre’s leading producer, François Cotat is known for his idiosyncratic, age-worthy expressions of Sauvignon Blanc on Kimmeridgian soils, not to mention his prized rosé. Sometimes denied appellation status for their atypical style, these wines are some of the most collectable in the region.