Gérard Boulay Sancerre La Cote 2022

Alcohol: 13.5%

Grape(s): Sauvignon Blanc

Localization: Loire Valley, France

Tasting Notes: Sancerre La Côte is pure, deep and intense yet also fresh on the iodine-scented nose, with grip, lemon and tropical notes. The wine opens bright, clear and almost tropical on the nose and then shows tight, tense and lingering salinity and firm grip.

Notes: This comes from about a half hectare of south-facing vines planted in the La Grande Cote vineyard. Aged in a combination of larger older barrel and tank and bottled unfiltered. This skillfully combines power and concentration with a firm spine and will reward cellaring even in this charming vintage.

The Domain: The Boulay family’s history in Chavignol dates back to the 14th century. Their nine hectares of vines are worked manually and have been farmed organically since 1990. Fruit for ‘La Cote’ comes from the estate’s coolest site and ferments naturally in steel, followed by 10 months of lees-aging in large foudre. The final wine is fleshy and textured, showing flavors of apple, stone fruit, and gunflint, marked by a racy acidity and pronounced finish.

Gerard Boulay has become an essential source in this village for rock solid, exceptionally transparent Sauvignon, with wines that display tension, length and longevity. They are as complete as anything produced in Sancerre today. His wines marry the intensity and complexity of Chavignol’s other noteworthy producers, the Cotats & Vatan, to a nerve and grace akin to the very best of Chablis, which shares the same Kimmeredgian soils as Chavignol. For all the immediate joy that they can give in their youth, they are truly at their best with a few years of bottle age.