This will be my last 2014 Chablis offering so pay attention. This is a terrific and classic vintage for the long haul and, like 2010 and 2008, we will all wish we bought more. We are about to ship the 2014 Jean Daivissat Pere & Fils (Fabien Dauvissat) Chablis AC with the spring ship and many of you will get to taste the genius that is Fabien Dauvissat. I adore his Chablis and with Sebastien Dampt and Isabelle and Denis Pommier I am thrilled to the gills with the whole bunch, but I am particularly excited for Fabien's wines as they are so unique and different than the other two and his style is so distinctive because of the extra aging the wines go through. The 2014 1er Cru's will be bottled in April 2016 which is much longer than typical Chablis. I've already delivered the Dampt 2014's, for example, and will complete that by this Spring. The long aging gives these wines an intriguing richness that in no way sacrifices their scintillating minerality and unreal depth. Their is so much depth to these. Fabien has 49 parcels on 22 ha, which was sold in bulk to merchants and negociants before he took over in 2009. He harvests each parcel separately and does almost no work in the cellar as he lets the terroir speak, and boy does it speak. The two wines I am offering today are the top examples of what Fabien Dauvissat did in this excellent and classic vintage. There is a purity and minerality that is only evident in the best Chablis and these both have it in spades. I am very lucky to have caught lighting in a bottle here.
Up first is the thrillingly mineral and oh so deep 2014 Jean Dauvissat Pere & Fils (Fabien Dauvissat) Chablis 1er Cru "Montmains" for as little as $29.99 a 4-pack. Chablis remains one of the world's greatest wine values and a thrill a minute bottle like this shows why. Montmains has a super stony terroir and Montmains easily can be identified by its typical stoniness. It has a riveting nose of wet Chablis stones, flowers and seashells; there is just amazing depth, fullness and richness to the nose and palate but also such grace, balance and especially insane mineral complexity that makes this wine unmistakably Chablis. It is so textured and dense. Such linearity and mineral spine. It's just that good and can and will age for 15-18 years. What a wine. Spectacular. This is one of best 2014 Chablis I've sold for the money. This might have to be allocated.
I also have a small amount of the 2014 Jean Dauvissat Pere & Fils (Fabien Dauvissat) Chablis 1er Cru "Fourchaume" and it can be had for $34.99 per bottle on a 4-pack. This wine is brilliant and so different than the Montmains. Fuller bodied with a different but just as compelling mineral drive. Fourchaume has earned its reputation as one of the best 1er Cru sites in Chablis and with good reason. The slope it lies on is in end same progression as the Grand Crus. It has ideal southwest exposure. So even in not so great years the grapes can reach maturity but in the great years such as 2014, it can soar to huge heights. It for me, has a roundness to it that is its trademark but also on a bed of minerality that is intermingled throughout. That mineral drive is extremely apparent and vivid in this wine in 2014. Their is terrific fruit in this with green apple, spice and even a hint of smokiness. The complexity of the Montmains and Fourchaume from Fabien in 2014 is breathtaking. I'll be honest I don't want to talk up the Fourchaume as I have so little, but believe me it is a special wine.
By now you might know the story of how I met Fabien and came to work with him. Long story short is it was the recommendation of a terrific restauranteur named Thierry, who ran the only restaurant in Irancy called Le Soufflot, before opening Au Fil du Zinc in Chablis. Thierry is going to also open another restaurant in Chablis this year or next. He is the Danny Meyer of Chablis and upon my 2nd visit to his restaurant last year, I asked who is the next great talent in Chablis and Fabien's wine is what he gave me. Fast forward one year later and I ate lunch there with Fabien and his export manager, Leslie, and it was a joyous lunch with many bottles opened, and it had come full circle.
2014 Jean Dauvissat Pere & Fils (Fabien Dauvissat) Chablis 1er Cru "Montmains" - $31.99 ($119.96 4-pack)
2014 Jean Dauvissat Pere & Fils (Fabien Dauvissat) Chablis 1er Cru "Fourchaume" - $36.99 ($139.96 4-pack)
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