2008 Gérard Boulay Sancerre La Comtesse

Winedoctor

• By Chris Kissack
  April 2014, 4/1/2014, (See more on Winedoctor...)

  (Gérard Boulay Comtesse Sancerre White) Login and sign up and see review text.

• By Josh Raynolds
  March/April 2010, IWC Issue #149, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Gerard Boulay Sancerre La Comtesse) Login and sign up and see review text.

Winedoctor

• By Chris Kissack
  December 2006, (See more on Winedoctor...)

  (Gérard Boulay Sancerre Comtesse) Login and sign up and see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  8/23/2010, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (BOULAY Comtesse) Comtesse Vertical Dear Friends, This is special - even for me (I am first and foremost a wine consumer, just like all of you). Before the Boulay family changes their mind and keeps this library stock for themselves, I’ll put my hand up and vote for this set as the very best in Sancerre. Others will scream for Vatan or for one of the Cotats (maybe Alphonse Mellot?) and all are deserving but, pound for pound, Gerard Boulay and his family deliver what I consider to be the finest non-malolactic expressions of their terroir in Sancerre. This is Sauvignon Blanc – period. La Comtesse is Boulay’s rarest wine – from a hand-picked 65 year old vineyard in a micro-section of Monts Damnes (considered Sancerre’s most prized plot from the 1800s on). It is a tiny .40 hectare parcel with an uncanny ability to deliver solid mass extract ratios that are not the norm, even for Sancerre’s best sites. No yeast, enzymes or other are added and the fermentation can be slow but the wait is more than worth it. The final wine is never filtered or fined – it is the exact reflection of a grand-cru worthy parcel and the vintage that shaped it. I recently sent out a twitter tweet (Garagiste_Wine) on the 2004 Bouchard Corton-Charlemagne and its near perfection for the varietal (in that case, Chardonnay) – Boulay’s Comtesse reminds me in some way of that wine – it is bathed in a similar pinpoint minerality with glorious extract and acidity that coat the palate and the back of the throat (with the flavor of a specific time and place left squarely in the mind). In other words, the experience that Comtesse delivers is what most of us are chasing but rarely encounter in wine. As far as vintages are concerned, all three should age for years (15-20 is not unreasonable in a cold cellar) and all three are worthy of your most attuned consideration. While Comtesse is among the highest rated of all Sancerre (if not the single highest rated in a particular vintage), please try to ignore point scores - in 20 years points are not going to matter and scores are not really the “point” with Comtesse – your palate and the educational (as well as gustatory) experience are. This parcel is directly from the library cellar at Boulay with impeccable provenance: 2006 Gerard Boulay Sancerre “La Comtesse” - ( from Josh but the 2006 is every bit as good as any vintage of Comtesse with years of ageing potential in front of it – a cross between 2005 and 2008. VERY RARE, especially with this level of provenance – JR) 2007 Gerard Boulay Sancerre “La Comtesse” - 2008 Gerard Boulay Sancerre “La Comtesse” - Please give us your maximum number of each and we will allocate accordingly. To order: niki@garagistewine.com This parcel is set to depart from Chavignol – it will arrive in October (please check OARS for local pick up after October 25th). It will ship during the Fall shipping season (late) - please try to exercise patience and put these away for a few years – you’ll be very glad you did. Out of state orders will be held for free under ideal storage conditions (56 degrees/70%humidity) until shipping is possible. Locals may pick up at their leisure. For current local pick up and arrival/ship information, please see your OARS link below (at the bottom of this offer) - don’t know how to access your OARS? Simply click the link and see your account. You can also paste the link into your browser. If you are having trouble with your link or your account, please contact: support@garagistewine.com NO SALES TO RETAILERS OR WHOLESALERS Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Click here to view the status of your orders in O.A.R.S.

• By Jon Rimmerman
  8/28/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (Boulay COMTESSE) Sancerre Dear Friends, Gerard Boulay has determined 2008 to be a vintage year worthy of Comtesse and, like Noval Nacional or even Monfortino, when Comtesse is bottled that is a very good sign for the overall quality of the year in Sancerre. We have a group of collectors that only indulge once per year (literally, only one offer) and it is for this - our annual Boulay Comtesse in large format. I'm not sure if they are restaurant owners, speculators or other but they are always first in line for the miniscule amount that is produced. As one of the rarest wines in the world (in 750ml), Comtesse is almost nonexistent in large format, every 1.5 and 3.0 bottle is tapped and corked by Gerard Boulay himself. He saves the very best material he has for Comtesse and the cr_me-de-la-cr_me of Comtesse goes into the large bottles - you can use your imagination as to the quality of what is in every magnum (or double magnum). If history is any indication, this wine will outlive 90% of the Grand Cru Burgundy from the Cote d'Beaune you have in your cellar - in large format the Comtesse has the chance to last 2-3 decades and unfurl into something that is unlike any other wine in the world. If you can't defer your gratification, either format would make for an enticing centerpiece at a wedding in summer 2010 and beyond. Due to the rarity, I'll leave it at that - you can look up Schildknecht's or Josh Raynolds' comments on other vintages of Boulay (Comtesse is above the Monts Damnes or Clos de Beaujeu level but it is rarely reviewed because there are hardly any bottles out in the market). ONE SMALL SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the winery cellar with perfect provenance: 2008 Gerard Boulay Sancerre "Comtesse" 1.5lt 2008 Gerard Boulay Sancerre "Comtesse" 3.0llt Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Loire8321 Loire8322