Tasted in Chablis with Vincent Dauvissat, 01 February 2024.
Domaine Vincent Dauvissat
8 rue Emile Zola
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 46 11 58
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Vincent’s morale was on a low ebb when I visited – a disc hernia and associated sciatica was wearing him down – I could see his pain. My best wishes to him for a speedy recovery – many producers would have, quite understandably, cancelled our appointment. I had similar problems 12 years ago – it can sometimes take time to overcome. I offer you photo of him taken 2 years ago.
Vincent on 2023:
“I’m happy with the volume and the ripeness of fruit but it wasn’t a simple year. In the summer we had 10 days of almost tropical weather that brought mildew – we lost 10-15% of the crop but the unaffected fruit ripened well – we had to do triage at the vines as there was also a little acid rot close to harvest and the vineyard was the best place to remove it – but in the cuverie all went very easily – no problems. After two big vintages we lack a little wood for the pruning but assuming no ‘problems’ we can still make a normal rendement in 2024. After the triage in 2023 we ended up with roughly the same volume as we produced in 2022.”
Vincent on 2022:
“2022 very happy; not high acidity, rather somewhere between 2018 and 2020. Nature was incredibly kind to us this year because the weather warmed directly after the 2022 frosts and the opposing buds were not frosted – a miracle but I’ll take it! We did a soft fast press as there was lots of porritire but that did the job – the wines are not marked by the rot apart from a little more colour. We saw 3 successive heatwaves – one quite early. It was a relatively dry year but the vines didn’t seem to suffer from that dryness – so we had quite high volumes – we even had a bit of VCI from this vintage. I think there’s a good expression of flavour from the extra dry extract that we got in this vintage. The reds from 2022 are not yet bottled – Irancy & Côteaux Bourguinons – and there’s a bit more Forêts to bottle but all the rest are done.”
The wines…
As Chablis in general with 2022s, I found fewer ‘great’ wines – though, of course there are some at this address – but the average quality was still on a very high level – and all delicious!
2022 Petit Chablis
A little width, a fizz, of minerality on the nose – though it’s a shy nose today. Round, with a certain generosity, then burst of finishing energy – and a long finish too – really discreet to start and completely the opposite in the finish – that’s a great finish!
2022 Chablis
More direct and of course more open. There’s more scale from the start here. Extra juicy in style. Such a fine, vibration of finishing energy. Super yum!
2022 Chablis 1er Sechets
A broader, but airy invitation – this is very lovely. A small cushion of oak but this is a flavour that melts over the palate – round but not too round today. Supple, generous even, in the middle and finishing flavours. The last impression a faint tannic texture.
2022 Chablis 1er Vaillons
‘Obtained these vines in 1979, it was a fatter wine and not really in the style of the house at that time – I didn’t think that it was a wine for ageing at the start – but I was wrong!’ The vines are in Chatains & Beugnons, ‘They have never been separated to compare the two as the component parts are a little too small. Normally we start our harvest here but it was the last after the frost of 21.’
Airy again, a little more direct but also very attractive. Mouth-filling, there’s concentration here too – but less overt generosity. Supple, texturally fine and delicious finishing. Also a little tannic finishing but finer grained. Haunting length…
2022 Chablis 1er Montée de Tonnerre
The 10th vintage – ‘a very small plot.’
A more discreet nose. In the mouth a more direct wine, driving you towards the middle and finishing flavours. Broadening in the finish. I like the combination of the intensity and fine texture. A little rare lime fruit for this vintage too – really wide – that’s an excellent wine!
A super width of aroma here – airy but panoramic. Clarity, purity – next level – incisive precision, and juicy base of mineral flavour – you could say a bit more strict – I love it! Bravo!
Another really panoramic aromatic, faintly showing some extra complexity – mineral with fine herbs too – slowly becoming more floral with air. Extra breadth and depth to this flavour – as you should expect – then another peak of finishing intensity – waves of finishing flavour. A simply great finish – what a wine in 10 years – it won’t be bad this weekend either!
Normally from 7 different parcels ‘makes the chance to bring a nice synthesis of the vineyard.’
Breadth but there’s also a little extra depth of aroma even after the Preuses. More direct and fluid in style today. The energy in this finish brings a mouth-watering, almost airy, complexity vs the extra power of the Preuses today – that’s another great wine – but in a very different style. The finish equally long but more discreet vs the Preuses today.
And for the road. First two blind wines, open for 3 days in the cellar but Vincent was confident. I was, seemingly tasting well today:
1. This has an old smell – I’m less confident 😊 Open, there’s super scale and good fluidity. Almost an accent of green, of asparagus – so my first though is 2004 – ‘don’t be stupid, it’s younger’ I think – so I go with 2011 – it’s Forêts 2004! “We had more oïdum than botrytis but it was a big volume year – we had 80 hl/ha”
2. Rounder, fuller, probably older but ‘cleaner.’ Plenty of leafy complexity. But in the mouth, there’s a direct style despite the padding. Riper and more generous than the last. I think its too direct to say 2003 so I go for 2002 – yes! I don’t really have an idea of which cru but Vincent often has an older Preuses and, yes, it was indeed a Preuses!
2021 Irancy
I’ve actually never tasted Vincent’s Irancy but he was more than happy to oblige – but the 2022 wasn’t bottled so I happily tasted this 2021. ‘It was a very small vintage but we harvested ripe grapes with good acidities.’
Large scale in the mouth but it’s clearly a wine of fluidity. Modestly framed with tannin but there’s no grain to see here just a faint drying. It’s very pure in the finish – airy and delicious. Harmonious wine!