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Domaine Gérard Boulay

Diamond-cut Clarity: Sancerre to be Measured Against the Finest Whites of France

Just like any other well-known wine region in France, Sancerre has its own de-facto vineyard hierarchy. Officially endorsed or not, there’s no doubt that Sancerre’s greatest sites (barring an exception or two) are concentrated around the hamlet of Chavignol. Chavignol’s steep, south- and southeast-facing limestone slopes—home to historically revered sites like Les Monts-Damnés, La Grande Côte and Le Clos de Beaujeu—are, without doubt, the most potent terroirs of Sancerre.

It’s no fluke that the top wines from this village regularly draw comparisons to the great white wines of the world. Nor is it a fluke that this tiny village is home to an unusual concentration of Sancerre’s most revered winegrowing families (including of course the feuding Cotat cousins). In Chavignol, the best wines have little (or nothing) to do with varietal character. They are fleshier, rippling, and more textural; the grape simply plays conduit to the mineral freshness of the limestone-rich soils and the sun trapping, south-facing exposition. 

To give you an idea of how coveted this soil is, when Didier Dagueneau decided he wanted to grow in Sancerre, he waited years until a slice of Chavignol became available; he wouldn’t settle for anything less. Dagueneau also wanted to call his wine simply, “Chavignol”—to differentiate it from the rest of Sancerre and because this was the historical label for the region’s wines—but this was not permitted by the AOC authorities. 

Each time you open one of this grower’s wines, expect waves of bell-clear fruit (in the citrus to orchard fruits spectrum), sculpted with the kind of rocky, saline vigour and finessed precision that single Boulay out as one of the Loire Valley’s iconic growers.

The Boulay family has been working this soil a little longer than the Dagueneau clan (since 1380 at least!) and it shows in their remarkable holdings. The Domaine’s current caretaker, Gérard Boulay, is one of the greats of this tiny village, producing some of the most distinctive and sublime wines in Sancerre. The man himself is as focused and intense as the wines he crafts. He is also incredibly humble. His respect for Chavignol and its proud history is evident by his refusal to betray the terroir with lazy viticulture or industrial winemaking. Under Boulay’s charge, the quality of the land and its resultant produce need nothing in the way of corrections. 

Gérard Boulay can trace his wine-growing roots back to 1380, so you could figuratively say that the Boulay family wrote the book on Chavignol. He works predominantly with old vines, all planted by massale selection on quality rootstock (not the high-vigour SO4) and at a higher density than most Sancerre vineyards (7500 vines per hectare). The soil is ploughed, or grass is grown to prevent erosion, and the Domaine has been practicing organics for decades. In the cellar, Gérard works with wild ferments, old oak (his 10- to 12-year-old barrels are sourced from Alphonse Mellot) and very little sulphur during élevage. The wines are bottled without filtration. 

Simply, this is Sancerre to be measured against the finest whites of France—and when compared to the same quality from Chablis and the Côte de Beaune, you'll see them for the serious bargains they are.

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Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre à Chavignol 2022

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre à Chavignol 2022

Boulay’s entry-level is drawn from mature, 35- to 50-year-old vines rooted entirely in the limestone soils of Chavignol. The multiple sites are largely sloping vineyards on the lower flanks of the Chavignol hillside terroirs of Les Chasseignes, Les Longues Fins and La Rue de Veaux. Importantly, Boulay also includes fruit from his younger vines on the great hillside of La Grande Côte. The juice ferments spontaneously and rests for eight months in tank, on lees, with a small volume also fermented in a single large wooden cask. This is the only blended cuvée in the Boulay line-up, yet even here, we can taste the finesse, texture and stony/earthy/salty minerality that has made this humble grower one of France’s most respected vignerons.It’s a fleshier release than last year, and you can look forward to flavours of intense candied citrus, white flowers and white stone fruit intertwined with a lovely rocky texture alongside deliciously salty, iodised freshness, mineral vibrancy and mouth-watering phenolic structure. It’s a beautifully composed release showcasing a touch more density and palate weight than the previous vintage. It finishes with stony definition, chalky cut and great length. As always, it’s a benchmark that showcases the remarkable terroir that is Chavignol.

It’s a fleshier release than last year, and you can look forward to flavours of intense candied citrus, white flowers and white stone fruit intertwined with a lovely rocky texture alongside deliciously salty, iodised freshness, mineral vibrancy and mouth-watering phenolic structure. It’s a beautifully composed release showcasing a touch more density and palate weight than the previous vintage. It finishes with stony definition, chalky cut and great length. As always, it’s a benchmark that showcases the remarkable terroir that is Chavignol.

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre à Chavignol 2022
Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre à Chavignol 2023

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre à Chavignol 2023

Jumping straight in at the deep end, Boulay’s entry-level is drawn from mature, 35- to 50-year-old vines rooted entirely in the limestone soils of Chavignol. The multiple sites are largely slopes on the Chavignol hillside terroirs of Les Chasseignes, Les Longues Fins and La Rue de Veaux. This is quite distinct from most Sancerre, derived from the plains, with more fertile and productive soils. Importantly, Boulay also includes fruit from younger vines on the “star” terroirs of La Grande Côte, Clos de Beaujeu and Monts Damnés.The juice ferments spontaneously and rests for eight months on lees in a tank, with a small volume in a single large wooden cask. This is the only blended cuvée in the Boulay lineup, yet even here, we can taste the finesse, texture, and stony/earthy/salty minerality that have made this humble grower one of France’s most respected vignerons.2023 is a stellar vintage for this grower’s wine, and you can look forward to flavours of intense candied citrus, sweet herbs, frangipani and white stone fruit intertwined with a lovely rocky texture alongside deliciously racy, mineral vibrancy and mouthwatering phenolic structure. It finishes with stony definition, chalky cut and great length. The first wine in Boulay’s portfolio is already one of the finest expressions of Sauvignon Blanc you are likely to find.

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre à Chavignol 2023
Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Rosé Sibylle 2023

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Rosé Sibylle 2023

Given its size, Sancerre is home to a disproportionate number of France’s great rosé wines. Think, to name a few, Alphonse Mellot, Cotat and Vacheron. We have only been shipping this rosé in recent vintages because we didn’t know it existed until then. We asked Gérard why he hadn’t offered us the wine before. “You didn’t ask,” he replied. There’s a lesson there. Anyway, this gorgeous rosé is drawn from 35- to 50-year-old Pinot Noir vines—explicitly grown to make rosé—on the steep hillside of Chavignol. Boulay selects from roughly 0.8 hectares, sometimes across a little more in vintages that are difficult for reds (which 2023 wasn’t).The hand-harvested fruit macerated for 24 hours. The press wine and free-run juice fermented separately with indigenous yeasts. Boulay blocks malolactic conversion to keep tension, and no oak is involved. The new release opens with mineral-accented red berries, juicy, mouthwatering watermelon, mint and orange peel. Brimming with clarity and crunchy vibrancy, the palate is pure silk, with an array of pretty red fruit and grape-skin flavours punctuated by crunchy freshness. Great length, too. A serious and seriously delicious Chavignol rosé.

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Rosé Sibylle 2023
Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Comtesse 2023

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Comtesse 2023

This rare bottling comes from just 0.4 hectares of 70-year-old vines in the Comtesse lieu-dit at the chalky epicentre of Les Monts-Damnés. Locals have considered this vineyard the finest single terroir of Chavignol for hundreds of years. According to Thibaut Boulay, the first mention of the ‘Montdampni’ appeared in documents held by the Abbaye de Saint-Satur in 1252. In his Le Vignoble de Chavignol, Thibaut then reminds us that at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878, the Comtesse lieu-dit was already considered a true star of the Sancerrois, its wines served on the most renowned tables of northern France. As another marker of historical reverence, the Comtesse parcel was only grafted after 1945; before that, it remained the last ungrafted white vineyard in France, as La Romanée-Conti was for red grapes.The soil composition is pure Kimmeridgian limestone and consists of a miserly 30- to 40-centimetre layer of topsoil over solid limestone bedrock. This brings intense minerality and warmth as the rocky soil absorbs the sun’s heat and re-radiates it at night. Yet it is also a cooler, less exposed place, so it always produces fully ripe fruit and intense freshness while also finer and more restrained than a typical Monts-Damnés—hence, the historical fame.In a word, scintillating. Harking back to the thrilling, transparent vintages of 2014 and 2017, it has diamond-cut clarity allied to perfectly ripe fruit intensity and ‘naked limestone’ mineral quality that is the hallmark of this bottling. Marked by the soil rather than the sun, this wine seemingly incorporates the greatest elements of all Boulay’s vineyards: the silk of Monts Damnés, the zest of Clos Beaujeu and saline side of La Côte—there’s also something more elemental. A grand cru in all but name, 20 years will not weary this thrill-a-minute young Sancerre.

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Comtesse 2023
Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre La Côte 2023

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre La Côte 2023

First made as a single parcel in 2010, La Côte comes from the majestic La Grande Côte vineyard (sometimes referred to as La Côte d’Amigny), a south/southeast-facing hillside on the outskirts of Chavignol. La Côte has quickly become one of the heavyweights of Boulay’s range. This is the domaine’s coolest terroir and the last to be picked. The site’s pure Kimmeridgian limestone soils and the late picking date deliver density and alluring precision on the palate. Vinified and aged in three- and four-year-old barrels, the terroir gives a more expressive style than Monts-Damnés, yet one that still bristles with tension and mineral notes.If the vines are still relatively young by this domaine’s standards (a good 20 years all the same), they nevertheless express the mineral essence of this limestone terroir with incredible intensity. This year's tightest and most overtly mineral so far opens with a verdant palette of sweet lime and nettle alongside crystalline fruit aromas. The palate is super filigreed and focused, driven by forceful acidity and lovely purity, stretching to a super long, candied grapefruit, salt-licked finish. It has everything to go toe-to-toe with a top Premier Cru Burgundy.

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre La Côte 2023
Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Clos Beaujeu 2023

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Clos Beaujeu 2023

Le Clos de Beaujeu is one of Boulay’s thoroughbred historic sites. Boulay farms two parcels in this terroir, including one within the original clos, established by the monks of Beaujeu in the Middle Ages. This parcel is historically known as Le Grand Clos. For this reason, Boulay names this wine Clos de Beaujeu rather than the more ubiquitous Cul de Beaujeu. In his book Le Vignoble de Chavignol, Thibaut Boulay notes that this vineyard first appears in documents dating to 1328 as the Clausus de Bellojoco, indicating this terroir’s age-old origins.Vines on this slope of Kimmeridgian limestone and clay (terre blanches) sit between 30 and (a remarkable) 110 years old. The soils here are particularly rocky—limestone-rich and strewn with fossils—making this parcel difficult to farm. A second, even steeper parcel at a 60% gradient lies closer to the village. These southeast-facing Clos de Beaujeu plots grow some of the domaine’s most structured, verdant and nervy wines. This cuvée ferments spontaneously and rests in large, upright cask (60%) and three- and four-year-old 300-litre barrels (40%) for 10 months.The energy is apparent from the first sniff: wet rocks, apple skin and Key lime zest waft from the glass. It’s a multifaceted, vibrant, mineral-etched Sancerre, still tightly wound on the palate, underscored by superb extract, ripe green citrus fruit and fantastic grippy length. There are also some oh-so-subtle fennel notes (related to the reduction this site always throws) on the lacy, tangy close. As impressive as this is now, this grand-cru quality wine will evolve beautifully in bottle, providing years of enjoyment ahead.

Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Clos Beaujeu 2023
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AT-A-GLANCE

• This multi-generational, family-run domaine’s roots in the Loire’s Sancerre region go back to the 13th century.

• Current custodian Gérard Boulay works 12 hectares of vines (owned and leased) predominantly on Kimmeridgian marl slopes around the famed Chavignol area.

• Most of the plantings are Sauvignon Blanc, a large portion of which are rooted in the treasured lieux-dits of Les Monts Damnés (including the small parcel of Comtesse), Cul de Beaujeu and the Grand Côte.

• Farming is organic, vine age averages 50 years (some are over 100), yields are controlled by bud removal, and planting densities average 7500-8000 vines/ha.

• Boulay’s entry-level Sancerre ferments mostly in tank and matures in old wood, whereas the single-site wines are vinified in old wood of varying sizes.

• The estate also makes a smashing Pinot Noir rosé.



IN THE PRESS


“To my palate, Gérard Boulay is undoubtedly on the top tier of producers in Chavignol…in terms of purity and daringly racy, I do wonder whether he shouldn't be placed at the very top of the tier. I certainly find his wines sufficiently exciting, breath-taking in their assured poise, to suggest this might be the case.” Chris Kissack, The Wine Doctor

“Another great of Chavignol, the Boulay’s first record of farming grapes there date to 1380, when the Clos de Beaujeu was already recognized as a great white wine. It still is today. Wines from these Kimmeridgian-soil vineyards often have the density and earthiness of Chablis.” Rajat Parr, The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste

Country

France

Primary Region

Central Vineyards, Loire Valley

People

Winemakers: Gérard and Thibaut Boulay

Availability

National

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