Winemaker Notes
The near-vertical slope of the Monts Damnés produces wines that have delicate tropical fruit (a proof of ripe Sauvignon grapes) and vibrant citrus aromas. The palate confirms this fruitiness and brings a nice and clean mineral note. This very concentrated wine expresses its strong personality. With three to five years of bottle-aging, the wine gains roundness, richness and complexity.
This wine can be enjoys with a great variety of dishes: Asian recipes, white meats like veal escalope stuffed with prawns and marjoram. As for cheese, a Munster would do a great match.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Blanc La Côte des Monts Damnés is bright, vivid, and lasting on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of herbs, citrus, green apples, and mineral notes. Serve it with grilled shellfish over pan-fried noodles. (Tasted: November 19, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Fruity nose of white flowers, fresh pear, sliced pineapple, lime zest and passion fruit. It’s medium-bodied, juicy and creamy with delicious citrus and tropical fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Sancerre Blanc La Côte des Monts Damnés opens with an intense and refreshing bouquet of ripe lemons, cassis and crushed oysters. On the palate, this is a rich, dense and full-bodied, firmly structured and quite powerful Sancerre from this very steep, south/southwest-facing slope in Chavignol that is composed of Kimmeridgian marls. The finish is still young and tannic, but after another year, this should be transformed to roundness and even more richness. 14% stated alcohol. Natural cork.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
Marked by its charming hilltop village in the easternmost territory of the Loire, Sancerre is famous for its racy, vivacious, citrus-dominant Sauvignon blanc. Its enormous popularity in 1970s French bistros led to its success as the go-to restaurant white around the globe in the 1980s.
While the region claims a continental climate, noted for short, hot summers and long, cold winters, variations in topography—rolling hills and steep slopes from about 600 to 1,300 feet in elevation—with great soil variations, contribute the variations in character in Sancerre Sauvignon blancs.
In the western part of the appellation, clay and limestone soils with Kimmeridgean marne, especially in Chavignol, produce powerful wines. Moving closer to the actual town of Sancerre, soils are gravel and limestone, producing especially delicate wines. Flint (silex) soils close to the village produce particularly perfumed and age-worthy wines.
About ten percent of the wines claiming the Sancerre appellation name are fresh and light red wines made from Pinot noir and to a lesser extent, rosés. While not typically exported in large amounts, they are well-made and attract a loyal French following.