91 John Gilman - View from the Cellar

"Gérard Boulay is clearly one of the finest vignerons in all of Sancerre these days, and I have the feeling that his also hailing from the village of Chavignol, which is already home to the Cotat cousins and the Vatan estate tends to steal a bit of his thunder. But, year in and year out, his lineup of stellar Sancerre bottlings are amongst the highlights of all the wines I taste for this annual report. His 2012 'regular' bottling is excellent, offering up a pure and complex bouquet of gooseberry, tart orange, a bit of white pepper, a nice base of crystalline minerality, gentle notes of petrol and a very understated grassiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely structured, with a fine core of fruit, superb soil signature, a youthful personality and excellent cut and grip on the long, complex and classy finish. This is a superb young bottle of Sancerre. 2013- 2019."