Tasted in Beines with Florent Dauvissat, 14 January 2016.
Domaine Agnes et Didier Dauvissat
Chemin de Beauroy
89800 Beines
Tel: + 33 3 86 42 46 40
www.domainedauvissat.fr
This is a relatively recent domaine, founded by Florent’s parents, Agnes and Didier, roughly 30 years ago. Didier having worked in a number of domaines such as Moreau, Dauvissat and Chablisienne had the chance to buy parcels ‘en friche’ and then planted – the first parcel was actually 1er cru Beauroy, now they have 11 hectares and three levels of AOC. Florent has been working here for about 4 years and they have an apprentice who has also just started.
Harvesting is mostly by machine, though for the last 3 or 4 years, they have been harvesting about 1 hectare by hand. Production is about 30,000 bottles as roughly half is still sold to négociants – though the bottled part of the domaine is increasing.
Florent on 2015:
“We had a lovely summer in 15, dry and hot, with enough rain. It was looking great on the 31st August – until the hail and rain hit. We lost about 15% across half the production – so overall our yield was not bad. We will have to bottle some 15s a little early simply because of the last low volume harvests, but mainly it’s 1er crus the market are missing.”
Florent on 2014:
“We had a little less yield than in 15 – we lost some harvest, but much less than in 2013! A more typical type of Chablis vintage after the wines from 2013.”
The wines…
There’s not much of the last two cuvees. There are some DIAM equivalents at the base of the range here, ‘natural’ cork for the rest, but it seems that ‘DIAM’ use is expanding here. Lovely, classy 2014s here.
2014 Petit Chablis
An assembly of parcels, in plateau of Beines, near Vauligneau and above the grand crus.
Wide aromatic with some freshness, a little yeasty note quickly departing the glass. The palate is lovely; layered flavour, a little lime and a fine fresh balance – very tasty wine! A great start.
3.5 hectares and some more just planted totaling 4.5ha. Vines mainly around Fyé. All elevage in stainless-steel
A fine nose, some modest brightness, a little top note of salted lime. Big, bright – fresh, ebullient – layered, joyous flavour – this is just lovely – silky texture (I note eventually!), slowly lingering, sweetly mouth-watering flavour. Bravo – super-tasty wine!
2 hectares of vines in a single parcel.
Here is a nose of good width and a more ripe, green fruited expression. Cool fruit – really an argume expression – mouth-watering, flowing with flavour. A fine burst of mid-palate flavour that holds a wide and long line in the finish. I’m liking these wines very much – super!
A parcel in Courgis .50 ha, harvested by hand with a vinification that has one-third in-barrel elevage of about 5 years-old barrels.
A very different aromatic, deeper, a suggestion of extra ripeness to the fruit aromas. Bright, fresh, joyous flavour that fills the mouth in mouth-watering style. Bright wave of flavour in the mid-palate that holds really great into the finish – super!
2014 Chablis 1er Beauroy Eléve en Fût de Chêne
100% barrel elevage – as the name!
Here is a wine that shows much more of an oak style it’s a high-toned note a little creamy, but not aggressively so. Fills the mouth a certain minerality, very fine and precise notes, eventually with a little oak flavour in the mix too – bright, complex, pure and precise – again super wine but accented with a little vanilla at this time.