2016 | Vincent Dauvissat | Les Clos

Pale yellow. High-pitched aromas of grapefruit zest, ginger and quinine; much spicier than the Preuses in the early going. Silky on entry, then fine-grained and firm in the middle, a bit more austere than the Preuses and not showing quite as much early personality. Strong element of crushed stone and saline minerality. This racy grand cru finishes with terrific pungent lemon zest and mineral flavors and outstanding length.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2016 Chablis Grand Cru les Clos has a correct, strict and intense bouquet with white citrus fruit, apple blossom, flint and just a faint touch of blackcurrant. After aeration it loosens its tie and starts to evolve smoke and hazelnut aromas. The palate is very mineral driven with beguiling tension that demands the full attention of your senses. It comes across quite spicy in the mouth with touches of ginger, curry leaf and Chinese five spice.

• Allen Meadows: A much more floral nose invokes ample citrus and white orchard fruit aromas that are liberally laced with an abundance of classic Chablis elements along with hints of clove and anise. As is almost always the case, the big-bodied flavors are more obviously powerful and punchy than those of the Preuses while culminating in a driving, explosive and mineral-driven finish where the only nit is a hint of warmth.

Producer Information

Vincent Dauvissat is one of the most prestigious producers from the Chablis region of northern Burgundy. It is family-owned and -operated and has been selling wine under the family name since 1931. In 1976 Vincent began helping his father René Dauvissat and he has since taken over. The wines can be bottled as Vincent Dauvissat or Domaine Dauvissat-Camus – the latter denoting wider family holdings farmed and made by Dauvissat. Chablis in general is known for its steely, crisp wines made from Chardonnay. The soil of the best sites is Kimmeridgian, a mineral-rich clay with significant lime content formed by a high density of marine fossils. Vincent Dauvissat has sections in two Grand Cru vineyards: Les Clos and Les Preuses. Additionally, Dauvissat boasts four premier cru sites: Séchet, Vaillons, Montmains, and the acclaimed La Forêt (labeled by Dauvissat as "La Forest"), the quality of which can approach that of the grand crus in good vintages. Dauvissat also produces a Villages Chablis and a Petit Chablis. However, the small size of Dauvissat's basic Chablis holding (on the opposite side of the valley to the La Forêt vineyard) and its correspondingly small production means it can be the hardest of the wines to find. The fruit is naturally farmed and hand-harvested. No destemming is done (the wines are all whole bunch pressed) and malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously. Winter temperatures cause the tartrates to precipitate out of the wine and beyond this, the wines are unfined. Unconventionally for Chablis, Dauvissat forgoes bâtonnage (regular lees stirring). Vincent Dauvissat is also one of the few Chablis producers to use oak barrels during élevage (the wines' maturation in cellar), though the barrels used are 6-8 years old. The belief is that the oak is essential in developing the body and structure of the wine, but old barrels are used so that the flavor characteristics are unaffected.

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