CHABLIS

2020 1er Cru Forest Domaine Vincent Dauvissat

EN PRIMEUR

Mozart in a glass: lively and bright and lots going on. A sunny brightness, at once taut and springy, a great smiling bounce to it without any heaviness. It stays 'incisive to the end' as Vincent puts it. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040L&S (Oct 2021)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

A highly complex nose combines notes of green apple, citrus rind, sea breeze, petrol and shellfish. There is excellent size, weight and intensity to the more robust and muscular if less refined flavors that brim with dry extract before terminating in a mineral-driven and bone-dry but not really austere finale. I very much like the balance, and this should also age gracefully yet it’s not so structured that it couldn’t be approached after 5-ish years if desired. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 93 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2023)

The 2021 Chablis Fôrets 1er Cru takes a little more coaxing on the nose, yellow plum and light lemon sherbet aromas, vibrant and energetic after three or four minutes. The palate is well balanced, primal on the entry, quite sappy with a touch of ginger and allspice towards the finish. Needs a little more cohesion. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2022)

A more upright aroma, with a hint of tarragon. This has compact energy. Umami notes. It is the most exuberant wine in the flight but still holds back more than it gives. There is tension. I like the brightness and the lean, dry, salty finish. A touch of aniseed bitterness carries the end of the palate. Drinking range: 2024 - 2030 Rating: 93 World of Fine Wine Magazine (Apr 2022)

Vincent holds a healthy chunk of La Forest, aka Forêt, with 3 hectares and 70 ares. These 65-year-old vines produce a complex and persistent mouthfeel that – relatively for Chablis – shows power. The aromas include rising bread dough, broth, oyster shell and roasted apples and pears. A hint of glycerol bolsters the juicy fruit core while crisp acidity keeps everything in its place. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 94 Christy Canterbury MW - TimAtkin.com (Feb 2022)

Pale primrose, the nose takes some teasing out but all is there. Then the wine starts to build, some liquorice, lots of stones, succulence without sucrosity, complete with a lovely acidity. Really quite backward but all is there. 12.5% alcohol, and a long term winner. Rating: 93-95 Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy  (Jan 2022)

The 2020 Chablis Fôrets 1er Cru is backward on the nose, the most stubborn and recalcitrant of Dauvissat’s Premier Crus despite rigorous coaxing. The powerful palate is linear, like the Montée de Tonnerre, but displays a little more puissance toward the finish. But, maybe, the Montée has more charm. We will see. Drinking range: 2026 - 2044 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Oct 2021)

A domaine of 12.7 hectares, comprising a hectare each of the Grands Crus Clos and Preuses, 3.7ha of Premier Cru Forest, 1.3ha of Vaillons, 0.4ha of Séchet, .3ha of Montée de Tonnerre, 3.3ha of Chablis, 1.1ha of Petit Chablis, and .6ha of Irancy (red).

Vincent Dauvissat remains one of the (if not the) leading lights of Chablis, and his wines are always in high demand and limited volume.

Vincent's grandfather Robert was the first to start bottling under the family name in 1931 and Vincent uses the same cellar today - but the family have been growing grapes here since the 18th century. Today his single-minded determination in the vineyard, where he follows biodynamic principles (without certification) followed by very subtle use of old oak barrels as part of a long élevage, produce some of Chablis' most age-worthy and fascinating wines.

Vincent advises drinking the Grands Crus either young, (within the first three years) or after 10 years when they are becoming fully evolved. Serve at 13C, so that the wine will warm up to about 15C before tasting - any colder masks the subtleties. He prefers to serve the wine directly in glasses rather than decanting it, so as not to miss the first nose and its evolution - with an old wine he advises simply smelling this evolution over the first half an hour before tasting.

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Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

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BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

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