Domaine Gérard Boulay Sancerre Comtesse 2023

Comtesse is a rare bottling from 0.4 hectares of seventy-year-old vines at the chalky epicentre of Les Monts-Damnés in Chavignol.

Sancerre's finest ground lies around the hamlet of Chavignol, where steep Kimmeridgian limestone slopes give wines of a different order to the appellation's sandier sectors. The Comtesse lieu-dit has been considered the best single terroir of Chavignol for centuries; Thibaut Boulay traces the first mention of Montdampni to documents held by the Abbaye de Saint-Satur in 1252, and by the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878 its wines were already served at the leading tables of northern France. The parcel was only grafted after 1945, having been the last ungrafted white vineyard in France. The soil is pure Kimmeridgian limestone with a mere 30 to 40 centimetres of topsoil over bedrock, which absorbs heat by day and radiates it at night; the site is also cooler and less exposed, so ripeness and freshness arrive together, giving a finer and more restrained wine than a typical Monts-Damnés.

Fine now and capable of ten years or more. Serve at 10 to 12°C with oysters, grilled snapper or a Chavignol goat's cheese.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.