2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses- France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (6/10/2017)
A quintessential pairing with lump crab cakes. Took out of wine cabinet, popped cork & poured. Drank at my low low 50s cabinet temp which seemed ideal in Riedel white Burg glasses. 13% Alc. Lighter gold color and smelling very clean and healthy, yea! Seashore and light floral aromas. Gorgeous and harmonious with plenty of energy and grand cru intensity but also showing resolved as it’s previous youthful brightness dims. Minerality, lime, orange rind, and salinity dominate the palate but there is lots else going on under the surface. This was awesome with the crab cakes! Drinking very well but Ill roll the dice and space out the next 2 btls. This btl drank immeasurably better than my first from a little over 3 years ago. It would be fun to hold out for age 15 in 2020 for my next btl. That said, my cork was evenly soaked a little over 1/2 way and these Dauvissats can be a roll of the dice. I’m pretty sure there is a chance for some decent upside and premox defying bragging rights if, I can hold off to 2020 and, the wine survives. (95 pts.)
Thanks for posting this tasting note, and agree heartily to pairing this wine with crab. I still am holding 3 of these bottles, remaining from a case. The consumed bottles were as you described, classic Chablis from a riper year, and have been drinking so well for the past 3-4 years that it’s hard to keep my hands off of them. The longevity of Chablis from 2005 has been a pleasant surprise for me.
I have to say, Craig, I am skeptical of “popping and pouring” any Dauvissat wine under 20 years old…and what shows up. How long did you have the wine in decanter? or did you just keep pouring from the bottle?
I have a bunch of these…so I am particularly interested, though not enough to open one, though I did open one 1er cru.
But, for me, almost any Dauvissat wine…is best with lots of aeration…often not until the next day.
What I usually get initially from a Dauvissat that is on…is a lean, mean version of what flowers with air, often featuring acidity, but never that honey-suckle element that comes with age or aeration in Dauvissat’s wines. To me, that’s what makes his wines so amazing…that honeyed/honeysuckle aspect with all the other stuff…and the Preuses is the champion for that in his stable.
Though I am a big proponent of aeration…to get the best out of such a wine…I think Dauvissat needs this the most of any producer of any wine I know. Not sure why…And, I try to give them a minimum of 15 years before popping one.
Just curious…whether any was left for later “analysis”?
Hopefully, we can compare notes in 2020, when I’ll open my first one, probably.
Might have shown well due to the vintage, Stuart? I’m glad to see this note on a 2005, which I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to for Chablis, sandwiched as it is between 04 and 07/08
I do think this vintage is more open knit and even a bit alcoholic on the finish. But, it still shut down after an hour only to re-emerge on all cylinders the next xam. (I had the 2005 Vaillons). A good food wine, as this is not an elegant vintage, at least in the Vaillons. Pretty open knit, with lovely aromatics …those oyster shells…
It will last fine…though when alcohol is showing…the wines don’t improve that much with age, IMO. But, I don’t know about the grands crus in 2005. Just opened this, Mike, to respond to youir query.
I agree with Stuart, decanting benefits white Burgundy, adding a bit more freshness at the same time adding more flower and fruit. For my palate, the 05 is not a great vintage for white Burgundy.
2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos- France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (1/17/2015) Impromptu dinner - 96 Krug, 02 Churchill, 02 Raveneau MdT, 67 Latour, 01 Mugnier Amoureuses & etc. (Blacksalt, Washington DC): Starts dense and tight, a hint of lemon and alcohol. With air, lemon, saline, seashell, a slight hint of butter scotch and mineral. Excellent concentration, ripe yellow fruit driven palate impression, good acidity, mineral and sweet finish. This is a ripe and dense style of Duavissat Clos but being Dauvissat, still shows good precision. Started around 92 but definitely around mid 90s. No sign of premox so I recommend another five years of cellaring. If one plans to open now, a few hours of decanting would be recommended. (94 pts.)
This is unusual for me to say with Dauvissat, but I think the 2005’s were best early, at about 4 to 5 years of age, when they tasted less like Chablis and more like good white burg. Not sure that they will be wines that reward a more usual Dauvissat aging curve.