Gerard Boulay

I don't know of any other Sancerres that have so much soul and energy, so much tension and expression. Even the yellow labelled entry level is fascinating. STEPHAN REINHARDT, Wine Advocate

Gerard Boulay is a very humble, quiet man in his early 60s who four years ago moved his cellar out of the village of Chavignol in order to have more space to handle the crop from his 12 hectares of vines. With four workers assisting him in the vineyards, he has done an excellent job over the past couple of years to delineate the style of each of his sites. All are harvested by hand and fermented with wild yeasts in 300-liter oak barrels, but you never taste the wood as you often do in the wines of his colleagues. Given the crystalline purity of his sauvignon blancs, he has become one of my favorite producers of the central Loire. If you want to know what true Sancerre tastes like, try one of his single-vineyard bottlings. It does not come any better! Further, even the entry-level wine that he calls Tradition, which represents half of his total production, offers excellent value for money. JOEL B PAYNE, vinousmedia

The Boulay style is a world away from the regular refreshing but forgettable norm….…[it] should really be compared with a white burgundy in terms of its rewards and complexity. JANCIS ROBINSON MW

A conscientious grower with a growing collection of old vines; Boulay’s wines – while delicious in youth – can be riveting after 7-12 years. DAVID SCHILDKNECHT, Wine Advocate