2009 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru

Sebastien Dauvissat is among the growers who prefer steel over oak for the vast majority of his wines. He also ages the wines for two years before bottling, which means he had not yet bottled most of his 2009s at the time of my visit in June, 2011. The 2010 harvest began on September 25th, a bit on the early side relative to the rest of the village. The approach to oak and aging on the lees varies with respect to the year. For example, in 2009, Dauvissat kept the fine lees, but in 2010 he did not. This is one estate I visited where the 2009s appear to have better overall balance than the 2010s, many of which come across as quite round for the vintage. Those wines still have time to come together, and it will be interesting to see how they mature over the next year.

Sebastien Dauvissat started harvesting on the early side in 2010 (September 20), as coulure cut the crop 20% to 30%, with yields in Vaillons and Les Preuses most affected. "I was ready with the sugar but really didn''t need much," he told me. Potential alcohol levels ranged from 12.2% to 13.2%, and the Preuses was not chaptalized at all. Dauvissat described the young 2010s as "minerally but not hard." He compared the vintage to the 2004s. "The wines have a similar green color, but they're a bit richer than the ''04s. In comparison, the 2008s are riper and more supple. And the 2009s are like the 2002s: balanced to drink early or to cellar." The 2010 malos finished on the late side, in February, and Dauvissat did not expect to begin bottling the wines until January of 2012.

It's as if Sebastien Dauvissat exists in his own microclimate, as his wines rarely seem to track their vintages. Dauvissat describes his 2009s as very minerally vins de garde that will require patience; he likened them to his 1999. In comparison, he went on, the 2008s are fruity and agreeable, "a bit like the 1998s." Dauvissat is never in a rush to commercialize, or to drink, his wines. At any given time, he's offering magnums of eight- or nine-year-old wines to his private clients, and he told me he won't start opening his 2002s for a few years. When I mentioned to him the issue of premature oxidation of some 2002 white Burgundies he assured me that his wines were still fresh. By the way, Dauvissat has stopped doing a first, earlier bottling for his premier crus.