View from the top: Howard’s eight Les Montes Damnés to try

1 Didier Dagueneau, Le Mont Damné 2016 96

£147.67 Brunswick Fine Wines

A very elegant, thought-provoking wine with a weightless quality. Even with several years of bottle age, this 2016 is reserved and fresh, and will benefit from decanting. Full of orchard fruit, with a hint of smoke, zesty citrus and mineral on the finish. A wine to sip and savour. Although this doesn’t quite command the reverence reserved for Dagueneau’s Silex PouillyFumé, it is one of Sancerre’s finest bottles. Drink 2022-2030 Alcohol 12.5%

2 Gérard Boulay, Monts Damnés 2019 96

£39.99-£45.25 Natty Boy Wines, Selfridges

It might not be a blockbuster like some other top names, but this quiet, understated wine says all that needs to be said about the Monts Damnés lieu-dit. Decant before drinking or, better still, mature for another two or more years. Old vines (45 years on average), high-density planting and an absence of chemical treatments since 1990 all contribute to a wine with unerring precision and purity. Drink 2024-2032 Alc 13.5%

3 François Cotat, Monts Damnés 2018 95

£54.67 (ib)-£96.52 Berry Bros & Rudd,

Honest Grapes, Lay & Wheeler

The Cotat cousins share a different view to many Chavignol vignerons, creating individual Sancerres that don’t conform to the script. This wine is made with very late-picked, super-ripe grapes, giving it masses of density and concentration, with lightly grilled peach fruit on the nose and a natural residual sweetness on the palate, all checked by citrus acidity and mineral, saline characters on the finish. Needs coaxing out of the glass but has a very long future ahead. Drink 2023-2030 Alc 13.5%

4 Henri Bourgeois, Le MD de Bourgeois 2020 95

£31.99 Ellis Wines, Les Caves de Pyrene, Vinvm

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. Drink 2024-2032 Alc 14.5%

Pascal Cotat, Les Monts Damnés 2017 94

£37.50 (ib) Cru

Made from grapes harvested later than most, giving a lovely texture, weight and ripeness, yet it manages to be restrained, with subtle notes of white flowers and citrus fruit on the palate, and smoky, herbal hints adding to the wine’s complexity. Vibrant and fresh on the lingering finish. A great example of the quality that can be achieved on the Monts Damnés. Needs to breathe in the glass; there is no rush to drink this. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 13.5%

Paul Prieur & Fils, Monts Damnés 2020 94

£37.13 Christopher Keiller

The Prieur vines are situated to the east of the Monts Damnés slope, with an easterly rather than southerly aspect. Even with vines at higher altitudes on the slope, a rich, weighty cuvée is produced, with generous ripe stone and tropical fruit, cut with a