Vincent Dauvissat - 2018 Vintage Preview
16 July 2019

"A lot of great wine was distilled in 2018," Vincent Dauvissat lamented. Vincent had never seen a vintage like 2018 - unprecedented, high volumes coupled with top quality. (At least chez lui, I'll insert with regard to the last bit. Not everyone was as successful as he was in managing the 2018 vintage.) The average yield across the domaine was a very healthy 80 hectoliters per hectare. Vincent asked the French authorities for 15 hl of VCI (Volume Complémentaire Individuel, a program that allows producers to reserve production over the maximum allowed yield in one vintage to be used the following year if that vintage's maximum is not achieved) but was granted only 10. Quelle frustration!

Vincent harvested between September 3rd and 12th. The grapes were concentrated due to the heat of the growing season as well as the beginning of the Indian summer. Cool and collected as ever, Vincent didn't express any concerns about the vinification or élevage of the vintage, as some other producers did. 

The wines were all pretty reserved, and some were a little stinky with reduction. However, the underlying fruit focus and girdled structure were evident. The ascent up the quality scale was evident as well, even with the Petit Chablis - only in its fourth vintage - showing breed that some Premier Crus from other cellars barely muster. Vincent said that all of the wines hovered around 13.5% abv. The wines are written up in tasting order. Naturally, if you're a fan of older Chablis - and Vincent's older Chablis, these windows will look short. In this case, you can use them as starting points!

90
Petit Chablis 2018
Made from three parcels hailing from the Right Bank above Les Clos, this is an especially vinous Petit Chablis. Initially stinky on the nose, the palate was more forthcoming with bruised apple aromas and evident spiciness. The tight fruit core should unfold nicely in time.
Drink: 2020-24 

92
Chablis 2018
This is made from a plot behind Les Clos as well as five others. Pleasantly fruit-driven, this smells of yellow apple core and Asian pear complemented by savory spices. The impressive concentration of dry extract gives the wine a highly textured mid-palate. The finish turns nutty with an attractive, oxidative twinge. Though "just" a Chablis, this wine's density shows that it will benefit from time.
Drink: 2020-28

92
Chablis Séchet PC 2018
Hailing from 40 ares planted in 1962, the Séchet smelled of lees, hay and almond skin. Its yellow fruit core tasted of mirabelle plums, pluots and Poire Williams. While the palate showed an extract-driven richness, the persistent finish was noticeably dry. Interestingly, it gave the wine a refreshing lift on the back palate. Overall, this wine seemed a bit out of sorts on this day, but it will give plenty of pleasure in time.
Drink: 2021-30

93
Chablis Vaillons PC 2018
This wine comes from three parcels, two in Châtains and one in Beugnons. Leaping out of the glass, this Premier Cru smelled of straw and honey. The palate tasted of hazelnuts and savory spices. Almost full-bodied for a Chablis, there was a compelling tension between the underlying acidity and pithy tannin tug. This is built for the long haul.
Drink: 2021-32 

92
Chablis Montée de Tonnerre PC 2018
This is the sixth vintage of this wine grown in the Côte de Bréchain sector, with a southwest exposition. The palate shows a lovely silkiness that embraces the rounded and juicy fruit core. Yellow cherries and Canary melon build with accents of leesiness into a medium finish.
Drink: 2020-30 

94
Chablis Forest PC 2018 
A vinous delight, this elegant - if fleshy - Chablis tantalized with a suave texture and mild tug of tension on the lingering finish. An intellectual fusion of flavors set off my writing of a good list of characteristics: spice, oyster shell, yellow apple peel, sawdust...my list could have gone on. That characteristically terse, terroir-driven tension on the salty finish was particularly delightful.
Drink: 2020-34

95
Chablis Preuses PC 2018
Coming from a hectare of vines planted in 1970 that abut La Moutonne, this wine showed its usual vigor. It was also the most vibrant in the cellar that day, showing a crystal clear purity. The robust and juicy core of bruised apples, pomelo and flint is gripped by a combination of nervous acidity and tonic tannin. This easily will bring pleasure for the next decade and a half.
Drink: 2020-34 

96 
Chablis Les Clos GC 2018
An assemblage of three sections - two at the top and one in the heart - of Les Clos, this stalwart of a Grand Cru is mouth-filling, textured and scintillatingly dry from the crisp entry to the tingly finish. Its intense structure seems to stand in defiance of the warm vintage and west-facing exposition. A bit stern now, the savory flavors of earth and toasted nuts are lifted by a hint of grapefruit peel. It will be a true pleasure to watch this drama unfold over time.
Drink: 2020-38 

Vincent always kindly opens an older vintage, and this year he chose the 2001 Preuses. Smelling of hay and dried white blooms, there was a surprising sensation of ripe fruit for such a cool portion of that climat in a challenging vintage. The medium body was wrapped in crackling acidity and seemed to vibrate with energy. As ever, never underestimate an initially less-loved vintage (by the press) in the hand a leading producer.  

Nota bene: At the beginning of our visit, Vincent mentioned that the 1983s are sublime right now. If you have some, it sounds like the right time to extract some corks!