In my WSG trip to Bourgogne in Jun 2018, I
also visited this famous estate. I could still remember when we first arrived,
it took a while to figure out the entrance as there was only a small plaque
showing the name of the domaine outside the door without any fancy sign to
match with its famous status.
Entering was a nice garden and Vincent
himself came out to greet us. He could not speak English that fluently, so
Andrew helped to translate along the way. After a brief introduction of where
we all came from, Vincent took us to the cellar where he shared with us his estate
and winemaking philosophy.
Since 1931, Dauvissat had been selling wine
under their own label and they remained one of Chablis’ great traditionalists.
As the torch was passed from generation to generation, little had changed here —the
practices were still classic. Vincent joined his father, René, in the 1970s to
start his journey. 
Vincent preferred natural farming, using
vine treatments sparingly, if at all. The fruit was harvested by hand and not
de-stemmed; fermentation was part in enameled steel vats and part in wood, and
all aging was done in six to eight-year-old barrels.
The family had always aged their wines in
barrel, believing that this allowed the wine to breathe during the élévage. The
synergy of air and wood added character, also helped soften the wine.
Malolactic fermentation occurred spontaneously and only the winter cold was
used to precipitate tartrates.
Vincent emphasized a lot during the
conversation “terroir is everything,” explaining his desire to allow everything
to happen as naturally as possible. Also, the same process was used for grapes
coming from different sites, to enable the differences in terroir to shine to
the fullest on the wines.
There were now over 23 acres of
meticulously kept vineyards, all in Premier and Grand Cru appellations. These
vines (4.5 acres of Vaillons, 2 of Sechets, and 9.4 of Forests among the
Premiers Crus, 2.5 of Preuses and 4.5 of Clos among the Grands Crus) were splendidly
sited on hillsides underlain by Jurassic limestone. Its Montee de Tonnerre site
was more recently acquired in 2013. 
Yields were limited to about 50 hectoliters
per hectare, modest by the standards of the region. A loyal following among
France's most esteemed restaurateurs sharply limited the availability of
Dauvissat wines for export. Nonetheless, it was no surprise that they had
attracted the praise and attention from Hugh Johnson, Alexis Lichine, Robert
Parker, and Anthony Hanson.
On the day we had the fortune to taste most
of his wines, from the vintage 2016, including Petit Chablis, Chablis, 1er Cru
Sechet, Vaillons, Montee de Tonnerre and Forest, as well as Grand Cru Preuses
and Les Clos. Interestingly with the size by size comparison on the same
vintage, we could clearly distinguish the differences among the wines.
Seeing how all of us enjoyed so much his
wines, Vincent went to his cellar to retrieve another bottle and open for us to
taste. We could not stop gaping at the intensity, richness and perfect balance
of acidity for this wine. It turned out to be a 1999 Les Preuses and was truly
remarkable, full of energy and vibracy while also evolving beautifully.
The below listed the tasting notes of the
Dauvissat wines I owned in my portfolio:
CHABLIS PREMIER CRU SECHET 2003
Appearance
Bright and clear, the wine is of light lemon
colour, with watery rims and legs.
Nose
Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of
citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of pear, stone fruit of peach, oak notes of
toast, kernel notes of roasted almond, mineral notes of saline and stony,
maturity notes of honey. The wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium
alcohol, medium body and medium (+) intensity flavours of citrus fruit of
lemon, green fruit of apple, kernel notes of roasted almond, mineral notes of
stony, oak notes of toast, sweet spice of ginger. The wine has a medium (+)
finish.
Conclusion
Very good quality
Chablis with an intense nose showing good complexity, the wine has good acidity
but not overly so, with a richness that can make you think it is a grand cru,
good in balance and exhibiting firm structure. It has good concentration in
flavours with some interesting spiciness and a fairly long finish. It is ready
to drink now and can keep for another 4-6 years.
CHABLIS PREMIER CRU
VAILLONS 2003
Appearance
Bright and clear, the wine is of medium lemon
colour, with watery rims and legs.
Nose
Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of
citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of pear, mineral notes of stony, stone fruit
of peach, maturity notes of honey, kernel notes of roasted almond, autolytic
notes of brioche. The wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol,
medium (-) body and medium (+) intensity flavours of citrus fruit of lemon,
green fruit of pear, mineral notes of stony, floral notes of blossom, kernel
notes of toasted almond, maturity notes of honey. The wine has a medium (+)
finish.
Conclusion
Very good quality
Chablis with an intense nose showing good complexity, comparing with the Sechet
I tasted earlier there is a more profound mineral notes, the wine has good
acidity, lively and vibrant, with good structure and a good concentration of
palate of similar profile, as well as a fairly long finish. It is ready to drink now though can maintain for another 3-5 years.
CHABLIS PREMIER CRU VAILLONS 2011
Appearance
Bright and clear, it has light lemon color, with watery rims and
legs.
Nose
Clean, with medium intensity aromas of citrus fruit of lemon, green
fruit of pear, floral notes of orchard, mineral notes of sea brine, oyster
shell and chalk, maturity notes of honey. The wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol, light body and
pronounced intensity flavors of citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of apple,
maturity notes of honey, mineral notes of stony, floral notes of orchard. The
wine has a long finish.
Conclusion
Very good quality Chablis with an interesting
nose showing a lot of minerality, including brine and even oyster shell, with
nice intensity, the wine has the signature acidity, highly refreshing and have
a crisp structure, well-defined and on the palate, it is of great concentration
and length. A wonderful Chablis premier
cru which is ready to drink now though can further develop for another 3-5
years.
CHABLIS PREMIER CRU LA
FOREST 2009
Appearance
Bright and clear, the
wine is of medium lemon colour, with watery rims and legs.
Nose
Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of citrus fruit of lemon,
floral notes of blossom, mineral notes of stony, saline and oyster-shell, green
fruit of tart apple and pear, autolytic notes of yeast, maturity notes of
honey. The wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol, medium body and
medium (+) intensity flavors of citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of tart
apple, mineral notes of stony, dairy notes of cream, floral notes of blossom.
The wine has a medium finish.
Conclusion
Very good quality Chablis with an intense
nose showing great complexity, particularly interesting on the minerality and
the oyster shell characters, the wine has good acidity, a crisp and sharp
structure with a good concentrated palate and a reasonable length on the
finish. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of
another 3-5 years.
CHABLIS GRAND CRU LES PREUSES 2008
Appearance
Bright and clear, the wine is of medium lemon colour, with watery
rims and legs.
Nose
Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of citrus fruit of lemon,
green fruit of ripe apple, kernel notes of toasted almond, mineral notes of
stony, maturity notes of mushroom, dairy notes of cream, floral notes of
blossom. The wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol, medium body and
medium (+) intensity flavors of citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of apple,
mineral notes of stony, floral notes of blossom, maturity notes of mushroom,
kernel notes of toasted almond. The wine has a long finish.
Conclusion
Very good quality Chablis with an intense
nose showing great complexity, this wine is one of the best Chablis I have ever
tasted, with good freshness and vibrancy, everything in good balance and highly
enjoyable, and the palate having good concentration and a very long finish. It
is ready to drink now and can maintain for another 4-6 years.
CHABLIS GRAND CRU LES CLOS 2007
Appearance
Bright and clear, the
wine is of light gold colour, with watery rims and legs.
Nose
Clean, with medium intensity
aromas of citrus fruit of lime, green fruit of pear, stone fruit of peach, floral
notes of jasmine, mineral notes of stony and saline, maturity notes of honey. The
wine is developing.
Palate
Dry with high acidity,
the wine has medium alcohol, medium (-) body and medium (+) intensity flavors
of citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of green apple, mineral notes of stony, stone
fruit of peach, floral notes of blossom. The wine has a medium (+) finish.
Conclusion
Very good quality
Chablis with an intense nose showing good complexity, the wine has good acidity
but not overly so, with a richness that can make you think it is a grand cru,
good in balance and exhibiting firm structure. It has good concentration in
flavours with some interesting spiciness and a fairly long finish. It is ready
to drink now and can keep for another 4-6 years.
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