2023 Sancerre 'Rosé', François Cotat

Cotat's rosé is cult and one of a very small group that benefit from (and in some ways demand) aging. Just like Cotat's whites, with age, it's the terroir that comes to dominate the rosé with a singular minerality. There may be a silky texture and gentle floral notes, but it's the stony minerality that defines old Cotat rosé. Sadly, they're as rare as they are beautiful. There are three things that define François Cotat’s wines. Firstly the superb Kimmeridgean terroir around the famed village of Chavignol and specifically it’s vertiginously steep vineyard, Les Monts Damnés. Secondly, his vineyards are planted at a density of 8000 vines per hectare – higher than the more normal average of 6000 vines per hectare & with average yields of 45 hl/ha, far lower than Sancerre’s ‘rendement de base’ of 65 hl/ha. Thirdly, that he is often the last to harvest, sometimes a week later than his peers and this, combined with his meagre yields, provides sublime and incomparable quality.