2011 Sancerre Comtesse

From barrel, the Boulay 2011 Sancerre Comtesse leads with a sweetly scented bouquet of iris and honeysuckle, followed by quince and white peach, all combining on a lush, silken-textured, liquidly floral, almost honeyed palate that seems to glow with intensity and against which, remarkably for this vintage, chalky and seemingly crystalline mineral elements emerge to engage in a long and dynamic finishing interchange. This looks to fulfill the promise of this special spot on the Monts Damnes even as the 2010, inexplicably, does not. Look for at least a decade of intrigue and seduction. Gerard Boulay, like Thomas Labaille, has just moved into his own spacious new warehouse-like facility along the main road from Chavignol to Sancerre. He is thrilled to at last not be constrained by tight cellar facilities, as well as to have a common location where he can show and sell, as well as raise his young wines. There has seldom, if ever, been a finer pair of vintages back to back here than 2010 and 2011, which among other things fully vindicates Boulay’s decision – which might initially have seemed too eager – to proliferate progressively more expensive cuvees. At the same time, the basic bottlings from this address – in pink as well as white – remain consistently outstanding values. (Granted, 2009 is the exception that proves the rule.) It’s a pleasure to witness the buzz beginning at last to collect both in France and abroad around this diligent grower whose wines for so long far-excelled his modest reputation. (Full disclosure: In my previous profession, I was an early importer of Boulay’s wines ... but as such, I have also had chance to taste lots of old wines from this cellar, and thus know whereof I speak!) Boulay picked from September 3-14, 2011 and began on the 25th in 2010. As if to make amends for nature’s 2009 naughtiness and any complicity for which he might have felt responsible, Boulay’s bottlings in both subsequent vintages are notably low in alcohol, rarely exceeding 13%. Thomas Calder Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29