2021 Domaine Vincent Dampt, Chablis “Côte de Lechet’ Premier Cru, White Burgundy, France.
I was treated to a brand new producer from Chablis by the guys at the I. Brand and Family Winery, who are real enthusiasts themselves, and I was delighted by this Domaine Vincent Dampt Premier Cru Côte de Lechet and the vintage, it was also the first chance to taste a 2021 Chablis, and while not as dense and complex as 2020, it was really good and an exciting crisp mineral driven Chardonnay. Poured to me by Ryan Kobza, winemaker for his own Kobza Wines as well as at Ian Brand’s winery, this Dampt Côte de Lechet is ultra pale greenish/gold in the glass and full of bright acidity with flinty aromas and citrus led fruit with lemon/lime and subtle orchard fruits on the racy, stony, and medium bodied palate, it is fresh and transparent, showcasing its terroir as expected with wet rock and oyster shells lingering on the saline rich finish. This wine begs for sea food and or creamy farm cheeses, where its dynamic energy can be put to good use, I enjoyed this very much and found it to be an excellent value and I can’t wait to explore more of Vincent’s Chablis! For old world Chardonnay and Chablis fans, this is a label to search out and I suggest grabbing both 2020 and 2021 from this producer and in particular this Cru.
The Beaune trained Vincent Dampt, who got his start in around 2002, comes from a family with a long history in the region and a tradition of winemaking, with his importer Skurnik adding that in fact both Vincent’s father, Daniel Dampt, and grandfather, Jean Defaix, own highly-regarded estates in Chablis. In 2004 Dampt was gifted some small plot and began his own Domaine using these vineyard sites on the left side of the famous Serein River, which all on the classic Kimmeridgian soils, a mixture of clay, chalk and marine fossils that play such a huge role in these wines. Vincent’s vines are mature, averaging over 40 years old, and he farms them all sustainably to producer small natural yields that adds to the depth in his wines, which usually only stainless steel. For his Côte de Lechet, which enjoys a ripe southeast exposure and has mainly 55 year old vines, Dampt used all native yeasts for fermentation and was aged 80% in stainless and 20% in used wood, employing four year old 350L barrels for this lively Premier Cru that just barley shows the texture of the oak. The lesser known The Côte de Lechet vineyard, which dates back to the 1400s, with a total of 120 acres, sits in sunny spot, just above the small village of Milly, on a steep, southeast-facing slope backing up to a forest and is capable of some quality, as seen here. This site has an underground following and after tasting this one you can see why.
($36 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive