2011 Chablis Montmains

Apple and lime mingled with clam stock distinctively mark the Dauvissat’s 2011 Chablis Montmains – which I tasted from tank, whence it had been transferred from barrel last year. Chalk and toasted nuts add to the striking animal and mineral savor of a silken palate, leading to a buoyant, soothing yet simultaneously stimulating, sustained finish. Look for memorable encounters and great versatility at table through at least 2020. Sebastien Dauvissat himself is especially pleased with how this wine is turning out, and remarked that only now are his still relatively young vines in Montmains really beginning to showcase the potential of their terroir. Sebastien Dauvissat expresses his delight that the 2012s have emerged with a fine sense of equilibrium, considering how imbalanced and vine-stressing the weather was, with its dry and, at times, downright hot August flanked by periods of coolness and rain. Overall, the results remind him of 2002 – high praise in my book – with, he opines, a combination of early appeal with age-worthiness. The highest finished alcohol – which was also natural – in this 2012 collection was a mere 12.7%, and Dauvissat’s 2011s are even lower, with just a few lots having been lightly chaptalized. This estate practices very long elevage: its generic A.O.C. 2011 Chablis was the sole wine of its vintage yet in bottle when I tasted in June; and while that represents only a slightly later bottling schedule than in most recent years, Dauvissat planned not to bottle the rest until November. Perhaps not coincidentally, his wines have established an enviable track record for viability in bottle. What’s more, since Dauvissat offers so many older wines for sale – especially, but by no means exclusively, to benefit restaurants – it is easier than at other addresses to monitor just how well they age. If many well-reputed Cote d’Or growers offered their wines at his pace, I suspect they might find few takers! (Since it applies to nearly all of Sebastien Dauvissat 2012s tasted in June following their harvest, it’s worth consulting my explanation in the introduction to this report of how I utilize plus signs in rating wines before bottling. Note also that the absence of retail price indicators reflects not the eventual availability of these wines in U.S. markets – which is widespread – but simply the fact that the wines currently on offer stateside as well as at Dauvissat’s cellar door are mostly from vintage 2009 and before!) Imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990