Caves Jean et Sébastien Dauvissat, Chablis 1er Cru “Vaillons” Vieilles Vignes Cheap

Caves Jean et Sébastien Dauvissat, Chablis 1er Cru “Vaillons” Vieilles Vignes

Few wines have made more appearances on our platform than the one before you today. And even fewer can compete with it on a value-for-dollar basis. Jean et Sébastien Dauvissat’s “Vaillons Vieilles Vignes” is a Premier Cru that outperforms most Grand Crus—something I’ve been saying repeatedly since we founded SommSelect—and yet it remains under $60. Caves Jean & Sébastien Dauvissat, now run by Sébastien, has tended to be viewed by label-chasers as the “other” Dauvissat, but there’s no way to justify the yawning price gap between the two—we just need to be quiet and take advantage of it!

Today’s deeply moving old-vine (vieilles vignes) bottling from the fabled “Vaillons” Premier Cru is the perfect example: It represents a notable step up in power and intensity from Dauvissat’s regular Vaillons bottling with a negligible difference in price. Today’s ’18 comes from a choice parcel of 70+-year-old vines in Vaillons, creating a profoundly luscious wine that doesn’t lose any of the chalk-etched minerality we crave. If you are like me, and prefer your white Burgundy to be loaded with tension and chalky minerality, this 1er Cru Chablis is where you want to be if you also crave value. 

Sébastien Dauvissat is the most recent Dauvissat in possession of the family domaine near the hamlet of Chichée. This set of Dauvissats has been farming the same parcels since 1899 and vinification still takes place in the tiny caves under the 17th-century farmhouse where Sébastien lives. Since the untimely passing of his father, Jean, the property has become a one-man show. Sébastien is indeed related to the venerable Vincent Dauvissat, whose wines are the stuff of legend, and we’re happy to report that Sébastien inherited the same winemaking gene. 

The entire domaine consists of just under 10 hectares, of which the renowned Vaillons Premier Cru accounts for about five. It’s actually a climat comprising a handful of adjoining vineyards—”Minots,” “Chatains,” and “Vaillon,” the namesake—with full southeast exposure. The oldest vines are found within a distinct 0.7-hectare plot. They’re deeply embedded in that delicious Kimmeridgian limestone that etches unparalleled minerality into the best Chablis. This plot benefits from significant flint deposits that warm in the sun and radiate heat onto the grapes, further concentrating their powerful flavors. 

Dauvissat takes the tried-and-true middle path between oak and steel for maximum expression of terroir while kindly leaving your tooth enamel intact. The grape juice is pressed directly into neutral barrels for both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations on the raw lees (spent yeast cells), before a second year in stainless steel. Sébastien holds the Vieilles Vignes bottling back for additional bottle aging, so there are already a few years of positive evolution by the time you pull the cork. The result: resoundingly classic Chablis with an extra dose of unctuous texture, plush and focused and electrifying all at once.

We strongly recommend keeping a close eye on the temperature of this bottle. Don’t serve it too cold—55 degrees should be just right. This wine has all the tension of a loaded crossbow; let it soften in decanter for an entire hour (or two, or three!) to blow off some of its extra energy. But once it cracks open, this 2018 unleashes a wave of citrus sensations—Meyer lemon, kumquat, and yuzu. Its pale lemon-yellow is a bit deceiving for being profoundly rich and fat in the mouth, balanced by higher acidity and structure than the basic Vaillons cuvée. The palate has chiseled minerality padded by fleshy sweetness. Fresh pineapple, raw pie crust, and heady notes of white truffle build slowly towards a salty, yellow-fruited crescendo. It is tense and alive and ready to rumble now and over the next 7-10 years. Let it melt with bites of raw sea urchin on your tongue with this recipe for uni pasta, and thank your lucky stars you bought more than a single bottle.