VINCENT DAUVISSAT CHABLÍS PREMIER CRU VAILLONS 2013

Vincent Dauvissat
Chablis Premier Cru
Vaíllons 2013

“Bright yellow. Ripe aromas of lemon drop and biscuit, with sexy nuances of wild herbs, ginger and white flowers. Vibrant and energetic in the mouth, spreading out to saturate the palate with classic, sharply chiseled flavors of ginger and crushed stone. Finishes tactile, saline and palate-staining, with impressive penetration. Vaillons appears to have been a favored cru in 2013, as most of this cru’s fruit was ripe enough to have benefited from an early harvest, before conditions deteriorated.”  – 91-93/100, Stephen Tanzer

VARIETIES: 100% Chardonnay
REGION: France / Bourgogne / Chablis / Chablis Premier Cru / Chablis 1er Cru ‘Vaillons’
AGEING: Mature in Nevers oak barrels for minimum a year, a portion of which is new each vintage
GUARDING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now or will cellar well up to 20 years
SERVE: Serve at 6 – 8ºC
FITS TO: Worked well with Fish and Chips, Southern Fried Goujons, Crispy Tahong, Salt-Grilled Crab or Garlic Butter Lobster Tails etc
CRITICS SCORES: 91/BH, 91/V
VIVINO: Average 4.2 ★★★★✰

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Overview | Of | Vincent Dauvissat EARL

About Vincent Dauvissat
Vincent Dauvissat is arguably the finest Domaine in Chablis, owning some of the oldest and best vineyards, including prized sections of the grand crus, Les Clos and Les Preuses. Established in 1931 by Robert Dauvissat, the Domaine has passed down from father to son for three generations. Robert’s son René is to thank for establishing the reputation of the Domaine. Vincent began working with his father, René, in the 1970s and today runs the Domaine. The Dauvissats remain one of Chablis’ great traditionalists. As the torch has been passed down from generation to generation, little has changed here.

If anything, the wines have become increasingly profound since Vincent officially took reins in 1989. One significant change is his preference for natural farming, using vine treatments sparingly, if at all. In 2002 he oversaw the implementation of biodynamic farming methods. His approach to oak is carefully considered, used to add complexity and dimension to his piercingly mineral concentrated wines; some of barriques are 30+ years old.

They resulting wines are rarely exotic in their youth, tight as drum in fact. But with age – and they do age by gracefully by the decade – they evolve and develop into exciting wines of the sophistication and intrigue.

In the Vineyards
Vincent Dauvissat farms nearly 30 acres of meticulously kept vineyards, following sustainable, organic and biodynamic methods. These vines (4.5 acres of Vaillons, 2 of Séchets, and 9.4 of Fôrets among the Premiers Crus; 2.5 of Preuses and 4.5 of Les Clos among the Grands Crus) are splendidly situated on hillsides underlain by Jurassic limestone. Yields are limited to about 50 hectoliters per hectare (3.7 tons per acre), which is modest by the standards of the region.

In the Winery
Vinification at the domaine is painstaking and traditional at a time when many growers in Chablis have adopted methods permitting increased yields producing simple wines that reach maturity quickly. Vincent Dauvissat, on the other hand, gives all his wines at least a year in Nevers oak, a portion of which is new each vintage. This practice, imposed on top-quality grapes slowly and carefully fermented, results in wines that are deep, complex, and long-lived. They are clearly characteristic of their respective cru, exhibiting the steely bite so typical of Chablis, but with a purity, intensity of flavor, and structural soundness increasingly rare in the region’s wines.