Not the first time I’ve been called tiresome. 
Thanks for coming out to play, Salil, Rich, and others not named. I’ve been buying a few bottles every vintage, but the prices have been creeping upwards. This was an opportunity to see if the wines were indeed (still) worth it. I think they are. Like Rich said, these are to Sancerre what Raveneau is to Chablis: pretty much sui generis. And the plus side is that they’re cheaper than Raveneau too.
To yours and Carlos’s point, you are almost certainly right that the latter wines underperformed a bit because of their youth. Age definitely seems to improve these wines but I’m also at a loss to describe what exactly age changes. It’s easy to describe a young vs. aged bordeaux, champagne, barolo, etc., but Vatan?
I may have also been a bit harsh on the 2011 (and I’d agree that I’d probably like it more independently) but in the context of this lineup, I think it was definitely the weakest wine. To Charlie’s comment, I did notice that this was weedier than the other wines. And if I’m paying Vatan prices for Sancerre, I want Vatan flavours, not just ordinary sauvignon blanc ones.
My first Vatan was the 11, and I was blown away by the dense minerality in the wine. Plenty of citrus fresh, and exotic complexities of smoked herbs, petrol, chalk, and florals…I was instantly hooked! Then I had the 09…a hot alc mess. Very ripe and cocktail. Not a fan of that one. They are definitely a unique drink…but I still prefer Cotat at this point for its consistent high quality and decent price point.
Great tasting! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
This.
First vintage that was 12.5 natural since 2001 (which was brilliant a few years ago)
Right, to me it seems as if there is only upside for holding onto it: if you’re right and still want to sell it in a decade, since Vatan is appreciating rapidly, it will only be more valuable; and if you’re wrong, you have a potentially glorious wine on your hands.
Yeah, given that no viticultural or winemaking parameters have really changed, I am hoping it will evolve like the mid-weight vintages of the 1990s which are drinking so well today, e.g. 1994 or 1998.
2010 Vatan was insane …
an all-time top 3 white for me
Which Cotat?
Fan of both.
I just wanted to say thanks for posting the notes, Adrian.
That helps…think I will give the ones I have a bit of time.
-mark
We did a very similar vertical, right down to the 2002 rouge, last year in DC. We didn’t have the 2004 on hand, so we substituted in the 2002 (blanc), 2013, and 2014 on a 3-for-1 basis. My impressions were shockingly similar to yours, although I thought the 2011 was much better (as others have said) and the 2006 worse. 2008 and 2010 were my favorites, as usual. 2002 blanc was close behind. I do not understand the reds. I have had 1990, 2002, and 2003 at this point and just can’t appreciate them. For some reason I expect a Burgundy-like experience (which I know makes no sense) and I end up with a wine harder and greener than a cool vintage of Chinon.
There is no doubt that Neore is the greatest Sancerre out there. Ironically enough it achieves this without almost any of the typical notes of SavBlanc. People go gaga for a wine which only mildly display how it should.
In my experience it also clocks above 13.5% way too frequently, as many noted on this thread. When it gets above this ABV, it comes across as unbalanced. I am still waiting for many 14%+ wines to come back into balance (this inlcudes several Nebbiolos from warm vintages) and I won’t wait for Vatan, nor I will speculate by holding on those bottles (I get a very decent allocation here in Italy which includes large formats).
My 0.02c and as always 
PF
P.S. 2010 will be ready in a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time
Michael, I’ve only had the red once (this tasting), and i’d definitely agree with your assessment that it comes off more Chinon than Burgundy. Perhaps terroir trumps grape. It’s not an unenjoyable wine (I think if I had it blind, I might call it an outstanding 2004 red Burg – which means it’s a below-average Burgundy).
Pierfrancesco, I’ve definitely heard Vatan being called the greatest Sancerre but really it is an atypical wine, the way Raveneau is the greatest Chablis. Neither producer makes wines that are really true to the stereotypical style of the region. That said, independent of what’s on the label, Vatan’s is a great wine. You’re also right that the abv levels here are very high, but I won’t say that I found them out of balance. In fact, I found a lot of them to hold both the ripeness and alcohol very well.
That’s pretty interesting. Could it be that I just like big blowsy wines?
I think one possible explanation would be that the ripeness of the other wines made it feel that the 2011 was really thin, and I wouldn’t have noticed it as much if I had had the 2011 independently. Of course, there’s also Charlie’s note to consider. I’d love to revisit the 2011 in another few years, I don’t imagine you might know where I could find some?
Has anyone tried the '15s yet? If so, impressions? Style?
-mark
Never had the Raveneau…what characteristics make this white burg atypical?
It has amazing Raveneausity.
Nice. True that.
Ahhhhh, that’s settles it… Thank u for the clarity 