Tasted in Milly with Sebastien and Vincent Dampt, 16 January 2019.
Domaines Daniel, Sébastien and Vincent Dampt
1 Chemin des Violettes
89800 Milly
Tel: +33 3 86 42 47 23
www.sebastien-dampt.com
2016 Notes on ‘Vignobles Dampt’ in Collan, who are cousins, can be found (as usual) here.
On 2018:
“After 2018 we can breath again. Lots of rain in the winter and spring. A little hail in Beines and Milly but it never reached Chablis – we could see the clouds but they never got here. We assumed it would be a vintage of modest volume, the young vines were suffering in the dry, it was only the dew that could have done this as we had no rain! On the other hand great cleanliness again – and much less work in the vineyards as the weeds could hardly grow in the dryness. We started harvesting early to privilege the acidity – we don’t look for a maturity or a richness of sugar we like a wine to be more classic. Absolutely no comparison to the 2003s – we can see a lot of minerality – analytically the acidity is very different to 2017 but if you compare the two by tasting, they seem very similar.”
On 2017:
“In 2017 we lost between 25 and 30% due to frost – of-course the actual amount varied considerably depending on the area. One night in Fourchaume we used a whole day’s candles as the temperature was already minus 4° at 1am. But the area of Vaillons was really okay. The sanitary conditions were really very good though – far better than in 2016. August was not that warm – I lit my fire in the house one day – that really aided the acidity in the wines I think. Unlike in 2016, the grapes looked good but there really wasn’t a lot of juice – even with some strong pressing – but we had easy vinifications.”
The wines…
A first-class address in 2017 – many great wines – the rest are no slouches either. Fresh and classically structured – even some wines with that rare thing in 2017 – a little rigour!
DIAM + screwcap for the basic wines – all Petit Chablis and villages Chablis, the 1ers are mixed. There is also screw-cap for some markets. Sébastien has been trying out DIAM for 1ers since 2014. For 1ers most tests are still ongoing – they find the DIAM10 more hermetic, but that works well for Beauroy which is a softer 1er.
2017 Domaine Daniel Dampt, Petit Chablis
Screw-cap. In Fyé near 1er Berdiot. All tank elevage.
Yellow fruit, faintly reductive. Lots of volume, very pure, no fat, a drive to this, one of the rare PCs with a little rigour. Excellent – and very nice and wide finishing!
A parcel in Milly – called terroirs de Milly – planted in 2007. DIAM, bottled in March.
Also a touch of reduction, more forward lemon fruit. Supple – wider, fresher, beautiful points of complexity and salinity – not the rigour of the last. Bravo!
2017 Domaine Vincent Dampt, Petit Chablis
Also Screw-cap – a couple of parcels here. Half in tank, half in barrel – at least 5 year-old barrels up to 8 years old.
Almost nothing reductive here. Ooh fresher, much fresher there is drive here, a melting line, also with a small touch of rigour – very classic – almost too much! Wait a year – the finish is vivid and excellent.
2017 Domaine Daniel Dampt, Chablis
Assembly of parcels, 80% for Milly, plus Beine and Fontenay. About 30-35 year-old vines on average.
A width that is a little tight but majors on mineral and saline notes. Hmm, classic, deep, mineral a faint rigour – wide, for patience – 12-18 months. A little extra vibration of energy in the finish
Mainly in Charlevots that brings about 50% and another vine just below Fourchaume here with a little more richness and less acidity. All in tank.
Hmm – this is really wide and minerally fresh. Hmm – a little like the last but with a little sucrosity and fine tiny points of more lime complexity – ooh great!
From 5 parcels in Milly totaling 5 hectares. The main parcel near Les Lys with 45-year-old vines – ‘the older vines provide more ripeness, but the young vines complete the wine with more freshness.’ All tank elevage.
Mineral, pure, fresh, a little darker depth. Vibrant, ooh depth to the flavour – very mineral but without austerity – oh a little citrus zest finishing but with some sucrosity too – bravo again!
2017 Domaine Daniel Dampt, Chablis 1er Beauroy
0.5 ha, in the climat of Beauroy, just behind the Côte de Lechet, the soil has a very fine white clay that’s hard to work. Sometimes less acidity here but high ripeness – can be an opulent place.
Fresh – open, deep but with no reduction – very fine lemon fruit here. Supple, depth of flavour, ripe but not too ripe – still a little soft vs the villages wines, but certainly a strong mineral base. Almost too easy – very tasty wine.
From 4 parcels with a majority of old vines, amounting to 1 ha. one parcel in Vaupulent.
Ooh – that’s a great nose. A line, a suggestion of florality. Ooh drive, energy, no austerity. Great line on the palate too – great wine!
2017 Domaine Daniel Dampt, Chablis 1er Vaillons
4 ha, 60% Lys, 25% Chatains, the rest from Sechets. Vines older than 40.
Ooh a nose that practically opulent – yellow fruited but not a bit heavy. Zip, freshness, melting ripe fruit of plenty of freshness – another wine of drive and energy – simply excellent.
2017 Domaine Vincent Dampt, Chablis 1er Vaillons
A mix of 2005 and 2011 vines, part in 2/3 Beugnons, the other 1/3 in Chatains– one third barrels of 300 litre for elevage
Ooh that’s a deep and attractive nose! A little richness vs the last, weight but pretty good energy – fine flavour though – lovely purity. The shape of this doesn’t quite live up to the great nose – but a lovely wine all the same.
2017 Sébastien Dampt, Chablis 1er Les Vaillons
60 year-old vines in Beugnons in stainless-steel – 1 hectare.
Not the biggest nose , but ooh – that’s so good – touched with a floral perfume. A great open architecture, flavour that drives towards the finish. Not the most intense today, but such a fine purity and complexity. This to wait for but it’s on the cusp of greatness!
2017 Domaine Daniel Dampt, Chablis 1er Les Lys
From the oldest parcel of vines in Les Lys – and the only one exposed north, made separately since 2001. 60 year-old vines directly on the hill above the winery. A part goes into his Vaillons, this is the ‘pure Lys’
A deep nose but one that’s very saline. Good volume in the mouth, very mineral, no austerity, bubbling with citrus acidity. A tiny richness but this is very fine indeed – excellent wine.
Wax-topped bottles whose elevage was in a concrete ‘egg-shaped’ tank with built-in thermo-regulation – ‘It’s ‘raw’ concrete so there’s some oxygenation.’ All harvested the same day as the rest of Sébsatien’s Vaillons.
Fresh, ripe attractive nose. A touch of gas, but ooh this has such a melting citrus energy – this is quite the most delicious thing of purity and complexity – bravo – great wine – so juicy!
2017 Domaine Daniel Dampt, Chablis 1er Cote de Lechet
About 45 years-old on average, an assembly of 4 parcels – south, south-west facing, usually riper here.
Lovely ripeness and energy. Big in the mouth – but nothing aggressive just mouth-watering flavour. Delicious finishing precisions – nearly great!
50 yo vines, a parcel of vines from bottom to top. Lots of court noue here.
A blend of weight and balancing fine freshness for this nose. Ooh that’s a great line of flavour, a slight touch of rigour but line, fresh concentration and pure complexity. Such a great finish. This I find great!
2017 Domaine Vincent Dampt, Chablis 1er Cote de Lechet
“The historic 1er of Milly.” 2 parcels, 0.80 ha, 1964-68 planting dates. This all tank elevage.
A fine nose – open and wide but more guarded below. Ooh that’s big – lost of volume, juicily mouth-watering, layers too – a wine that’s got everything – except calmness I suppose! Big in the finish – ripe but fresh. Ooh that’s good.
the 350 litre barrels that have already done two vintages, wanted to do all in barrel with a longer elevage. A little more than 800 bottles.
No obvious oak but an obviously broader, seemingly riper fruit – beautiful top notes. Big, energetic, complex, a touch of rigour – it seems such a larger wine, layered finishing, with intensity – great!
2017 Maison Dampt Chablis Bougros
228 l barrels, 3-7 years old, no battonage. It’s really too hard to get the grapes these days.
Attractive, ripe obviously oaked but not unattractively. Ooh – this is big, deep, very complex and has some power – the oak is all the way through the wine, but the fruit is beautiful and of line, touched by oranges. Excellent but wait at least 2 years if you don’t want any overt oak.