“Un peu bénie des Dieux” is the phrase one Sancerre grower used to describe Sancerre’s 2022 vintage. A little bit blessed by the gods. Even by the standards of this iconic grower—whose family have been working the soils of Chavignol for 11 centuries—2022 has summoned something unique and special. Unique because, for the first time in decades, quality and quantity are on the same level. Special because the balance between ripeness, moderate alcohols, aromatic intensity and freshness could hardly have been better. To give an idea of how excited the Boualys are about 2022, Gérard Boulay compares this year to his father's vintage of 1959—a legendary, benchmark year for the family. The logic behind the quality and style of the 2022 wines is much as we will see in Burgundy. It was a warm, sunny year with a hot summer, much like 2020. But unlike 2020, which was considerably drier, 2022 had some good rain at the right moments, especially in August, and this—along with cooler nights later in the season—has made an enormous difference to the wines’ balance. Without exaggeration, Boulay’s ‘22s are probably the most exciting young wines we can remember tasting at the domaine. They have the typical layered succulence and rocky texture that we expect of this producer, yet there is also thrilling clarity, mineral steel and precision. Sancerre for lovers of great white Burgundy and Riesling if you like. If this doesn’t make 2022 an unmissable vintage, we don’t know what does.Tasting is only one part of the attraction of visiting this storied domaine. History and culture play an equal role, more so now that Gérard’s son Thibault has joined full-time and is taking more and more control. Thibaut is a historian by training and comes from a successful academic career. He has produced two excellent books on the history, geology and general terroir of both the Sancerre area and, more specifically, Chavignol. For the first time this year, we learnt that the Boulay’s famed Comtesse vineyard on Monts-Damnés was only grafted after 1945, making it France’s last ungrafted white-grape vineyard, as la Romanée-Conti was for red grapes. This tells you something about how revered this site was.