2011 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru

Sebastien Dauvissat compares 2012 to 2002 for the wines' overall balance. Yields are down 25% because of poor weather during flowering. Dauvissat, who is always among the last to bottle, showed me all of his 2011s (except the Chablis) from tank, Dauvissat describes 2011 as a less flattering vintage than 2012, which certainly seems to be the case with some of these wines, as a few of the 2011s were less expressive than they were last year.

Sebastien Dauvissat describes 2010 as a lighter vintage, along the lines of 2000, that yielded less structured wines than 2011, reflecting an unusual, contrarian opinion in how these two vintages are viewed by the producers. But then again, that is what keeps things interesting. In 2011 Dauvissat began harvesting on September 3, As is his custom, Dauvissat warmed the cellar in December to encourage a quick start and finish to the malolactic fermentations. By comparison, the 2010s were brought in quite a bit later, beginning on September 20. Dauvissat is among the last to bottle some of his wines. I tasted a handful of 2010s that were to be bottled in October and November of this year.

Sebastien Dauvissat was afraid that sugars would rise quickly and wanted to preserve freshness in his wines, so he started picking early in 2011, on September 3. In contrast to most of his colleagues, he believes that the 2011s have more material than the 2010s. "They're similar in structure and aromas, and more minerally," he told me, "but the grapes were lower in sugar." With the exception of the village wine, Dauvissat had not yet bottled his 2010s, which I first reviewed a year ago. I have chosen not to publish a second set of notes on these unfinished wines, but should point out that the last three in the line-up--the Sechet, Vaillons Vieilles Vignes and Les Preuses--were all in a rather awkward oxidative phase. I wondered if they would go into bottle with sufficient freshness. Other wines tasted: 2011 Chablis (83-85).