Showing a nettle character on the nose, with notes of warmer exotic fruit and lime leaf, this is pure, fresh and youthful. Although 14.5% alcohol, there is a linear, precise character on the palate that balances the power and concentration of the wine. Needs two to three years’ ageing but will be a special bottle. The Bourgeois vines are sited at different levels of the hill, with altitude playing a key role in maintaining freshness.

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. Tasted in March 2022. - Stephan Reinhardt

The iconic Monts Damnés slope takes its name from its hard-to-work steepness. The wine, of course, benefits from the incline. It is perfumed, ripe with density and concentration. Still young, the wine also has minerality and a steely edge. Drink from 2024. ROGER VOSS