Skip to content

Domaine Vincent Dauvissat, "Les Clos" Chablis Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2020

Sale price $475.00

Shipping calculated at checkout

Only 1 in stock

Overview of the Wine
Domaine Vincent Dauvissat is arguably the finest Domaine in Chablis. Established in the 1970s by Robert Dauvissat, the Domaine has passed down from father to son for three generations. Robert’s son René is to thank for establishing the reputation of the Domaine. Vincent began working with his father, René, in the 1970s and today runs the Domaine. A loyal following among France’s most esteemed restaurateurs sharply limits the availability of Dauvissat wines for export. Despite limited quantities, the wines have attracted the praise and attention of critics worldwide.

Vinification at the domaine is painstaking and traditional at a time when many growers in Chablis have adopted methods permitting increased yields producing simple wines that reach maturity quickly. Vincent Dauvissat, on the other hand, gives all his wines at least a year in Nevers oak, a portion of which is new each vintage. This practice, imposed on top-quality grapes slowly and carefully fermented, results in wines that are deep, complex, and long-lived. They are clearly characteristic of their respective cru, exhibiting the steely bite so typical of Chablis, but with a purity, intensity of flavor, and structural soundness increasingly rare in the region’s wines.

Grape / Blend
Chardonnay

Origin
Burgundy, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
From the greatest plot of all Chablis, Les Clos is the finest plot of the Domaine and often the most closed-off in its youth; yet patience rewards the owner of these bottles. From clay-laden Kimmeridgian soils, hand-harvested, fermented in vat & barrel, then and in 6-8 year old barrels.

98 Points - Wine Advocate
I generally have a slight preference for Dauvissat's Les Preuses, a preference I suspect Vincent Dauvissat shares, but the 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, at least at this early stage, gets my nod as the king of the cellar—and the wine of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of citrus oil, fresh bread, oyster shell, white flowers and wet stones, it's full-bodied, layered and textural, with huge concentration, racy acids and a long, resonant finish. Technically retired but very much a continuing presence at his eponymous domaine, Vincent Dauvissat—who forsook a career as a shepherd to become one of France's most celebrated vignerons—seemed just as delighted with his 2020s as he had been with his 2019s. Chiseled, concentrated and pungently mineral, there's no grower in the region who has done a better job of retaining all of Chablis's classical signatures in the warmer, sunnier vintages of the last decade. Once again, Dauvissat has produced some of the wines of the vintage, and they will be worth a special effort to seek out. Readers will remember that farming here is organic but without certification. The harvest is by hand, and the wines ferment in tank before racking to barrel with the lees (Raveneau's Chablis, by contrast, are racked to barrel more or less without their lees), spending a second winter in wood before bottling. A first bottling, destined for the American market, sees a light filtration, while a second bottling—some of which is sealed with wax

97 Points -Vinous
The 2020 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru displays a little more depth and complexity than the Les Preuses. Touches of yellow plum, orange blossom, flint and light white tea scents percolate through with aeration. The palate is very intense on the entry and a bit richer than the Les Preuses. The harmonious, intense, well-defined finish lingers long in the mouth, leaving a spicy, peppery residue on the aftertaste. Excellent.
96 Points - Decanter
This was relatively closed out of barrel – imposing and powerful, but not seductive. A year after bottling, it has blossomed into stupendous wine with notes of ripe apricot, quince, marzipan and hay. It is undoubtedly substantial, with enormous amounts of extract and just enough acidity to balance it out. 'Chewy' is how Dauvissat described it, as if one wanted a knife and fork. This is special wine, but it is far from ready to drink. Give it 15 years and drink it over the next 40 after that.

Product size: 750ml

Free Local Delivery

Available for orders $100+ within 25 miles of Downtown Los Angeles, CA. View details