As I was going over all the old Sebastien Dampt offers I realized when I offer the 2015 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru "Cote de Lechet" today for as little as $24.99 a 4-pack it will be the 5th vintage I have offered. I just want to take a step back and say that is remarkable. I remember scrambling so hard to put together a portfolio and was so anxious, nervous and full of self doubt. I was a mess. Anyone who knows me well knows I can turn up the anxiety to 11 sometimes but also that I live and die for my customers. I want them to have the best possible wines for the money. Every wine I sell I would happily drink and do so myself. Dampt is one of the OG Fass Selections producers and maybe I get a bit nostalgic talking about him, but it really took my breath away that I am about to sell our 5th vintage of Cote de Lechet. And I could not have done it without all of you. So thank you so much.Dampt Côte de Lechet in every vintage I've offered is a slam dunk. Enter 2015, which is a warmer vintage than '14 and there was also a hailstorm so quantities for certain vineyards are very low. But the quality I tasted in '15 is terrific, albeit in a riper style. It is more like '11 and maybe '13 (which are both drinking insanely great now). The '15 jumps from the glass and is very expressive with loads of minerals and tons of pure sea shells. The nose for me was very mineral and subtle yet aromatic if that makes any sense. It has terrific fruit and wonderful freshness and finesse. As a customer who wrote me recently said (I'm paraphrasing here), there are tons of geekier wines, maybe a handful of better wines, but I don't think there is a more satisfying and delicious wine you sell than the Dampt Cote de Lechet. That is what the palate is about here. The purest, freshest, most complex and life affirming mouthful of wine you will have from Fass Selections.
It is one of the best Dampt Lechet's I've offered and reminds me more of the '11 than anything, and if anybody has that now please pop a bottle as that is in an amazing spot. I adore the '15. It is terrific wine and will age for 10-15 years I think, but be delicious and accessible in its youth.
I'd have to say this wine is the most universally beloved wine that I sell. Everyone loves it. Everybody buys it. Everybody writes me about how killer a value it is. As his prices have gone up and the Euro has fluctuated I've tried to keep a hard line on the price of this wine. I'm happy to say I've kept the same price as the 14 and 13, but by taking a lower margin. It's important to me that this wine is always, if I can help it, under $25 a bottle. There are not many white wines one can buy for this coin that are this delicious and ageworthy. He blinded me on an '84 his father made that just blew my mind.
Sébastien Dampt is one of the bright young stars in Chablis. His three Premier Crus are all knockouts and he has been producing some wonderful Grand Cru Chablis under the Maison Dampt label. He's also a great guy to work with. 2015 shows his ever evolving skill as a winemaker, given that he made some of the best wines I've tasted from him given some difficult conditions.
Sebastien Dampt has become one of our core producers and it is very easy to see why. Whenever I taste Dampt with anybody they are just blown away by them. The quality price ratio is perhaps the best in Chablis and one of the best at Fass Selections. Sebastien is still relatively young and is getting better every year (he learned from his father, one of my favorite producers, so he was quite good when he started). Allen Meadows at Burghound is also a fan (we're big fans of the longtime leading American Burgundy critic).
2015 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru Cote de Lechet - $26.99
($99.96 4-pack)
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