Producer · Loire Valley, France

Francois Cotat

François Cotat works barely four hectares of steep vineyard in Chavignol, the little village whose chalky Kimmeridgian slopes grow some of the longest-lived Sancerre of all. The domaine came out of the celebrated Cotat family estate, divided between cousins François and Pascal in 1998; François kept his parcels in the great Chavignol sites, including La Grande Côte.

Nothing here is done in a hurry. The grapes are picked by hand, fermented on their own yeasts and raised in old oak, with no fining, no filtration and very little sulphur. The result is Sancerre unlike almost any other, rich and mineral and built to age, and La Grande Côte, the steep slope its name describes, shows it best.

Winery at Chavignol, Loire Valley · Sauvignon Blanc · £77.95 to £89.95 a bottle