Gérard Boulay makes some of the most elegant, complex, and longest-lived Sancerres.
La Comtesse is his top wine. It originates from 50-70-year-old vines in a choice section of Mont Damnés in the Chavignol area. Vatan's famous Clos La Neore is close by.
Sadly, only a few barrels of Comtesse are made each year, somewhere around 200 cases total. This is one of the grand wines of Sancerre.
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We put Boulay right up there with Vatan and the Cotat cousins in the Sancerre canon. It's not just that they're all neighbors on those same famed soils of Chavignol. All of them represent Sancerre at a very elevated level.
For us, Boulay offers a level of youthful drinkability that separates him from his more extreme peers. Boulay has a unique ability to make wines that age beautifully for decades while offering lots of pleasure in their youth.
Chavignol is defined by its Kimmeridgian soil - the very same soil that’s found in the best sites in Chablis. It gives the wine a chalky, Chablis-like minerality. Monts Damnés, or “damned hills,” one of the best sites in Chavignol, gets its name from the incredible steepness of the hills. The combination of soil and slope creates a wine with striking precision and crystalline minerality.
The 2018 La Comtesse begins with a saline inflected elegance and then piles on layers of stone fruits, floral notes, melon, and herbs. The total package is one of an energetic chalkiness combined with finesse and explosive complexity.
La Comtesse is an expression of Sancerre that we return to again and again. It's an endlessly multifaceted wine. The 2018 shows an unusual amount of depth, and while it will offer plenty to enjoy for what remains of the summer, it promises to age beautifully.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
