Sebastien Now Ages the Wines Longer in the Tank and the Bottle
- Significant Uptick in Complexity
2017 Has 2014's Snap and 2015's Deep Fruit
2017 Sebastien Dampt 1er Cru Cote de Lechet
- Our First and Still Most Popular Chablis
- Nose - Classic Lechet: Mineral, Seashells, Lemon Zest, Lime Pith
- Terrific Complexity
- Incredible Concentraion, Super Juicy and Awesomely Intense
2017 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru "Vaillons"
- More Refined, Super Perfumed
- Sweet Kumamoto Briny Sweetness
- Extraordinary Balance, Epic, Deep
"It is not a vintage that offered every producer a royal flush of great Chablis, but overall it is a vintage that may end up being the best since 2014." Neal Martin, Vinous
I love to listen to all kinds of music. Opera, classical symphonies, hip hop, some jazz. But there is always a place in my heart for some old time rock n roll. Kansas, Boston, Aerosmith, The Who, The Clash, The Cars. There's something about it that just cheers me up. For me, Chablis is classic rock. Of course, you have other things in your cellar but there are times that you want to break out a bottle of mineral, acidic Chablis and either drink a glass on the roof or have it with some sauteed snapper. It's Old Time Rock N Roll.
Now if you like Chablis, everybody loves Sebastien Dampt. His wines are consistently delicious. Year in year out. No matter the vineyard. They all have typical Chablisien acidity and minerality to spare and combine that with delicious balancing fruit. They have the typicity to satisfy your Chablis craving and the premier crus have the balance (and affordability) to be really good whites that can be drunk ever day. His father has been making making terrific wines for decades and the son has continued the family tradition. He was our 9th offer and this is our 7th vintage working with him. It's amazing. knew from the first sip years ago that I loved Sebastien Dampt's wines. They have always been terroir specific and perfectly made but also so drinkable and delicious. And everyone who' has had them agrees with me. But as I arrived at Dampt this year, things seemed different. Superficially, we had a lovely tasting in his brand new, gorgeous tasting room that has a 360 degree view of all the Chablis vineyards.
Under our noses, the wines have all taken a major step forward. And I don't mean because of the vintage. Sebastien now ages the wines longer in both the tank and the bottle (please recall that he was talented but very young when we started working with him). The result is that the wines all have more structure, volume and complexity to go with his traditional balance and drinkability. As usual there is no wood here and the steeliness and terroir are what makes these so classic and special.
2017 Quick Vintage Note
While there was a little frost this is a terrific vintage and has tremendous Chablis nerve and character while also showing terrific fruit and deepness. While the wines show great energy and sap the real star of the show is the incredible depth. Take 2014's snap and 2015's deep fruit and that is 2017 in a nutshell. A great vintage.
The Wines
I am thrilled to offer our sixth vintage of the classic 2017 Sebastien Dampt 1er Cru Cote de Lechet for $26.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Man is this a smoking vintage of Lechet. The nose is classic Lechet aromas of mineral, seashells and lemon zest, lime pith and hint of smoke with terrific complexity. But man does this bring the OYSTER! Maybe like the brine of some powerful east coast oyster like from Prince Edward Island. It's oyster central always in this Lechet. The palate is just nuts and glimmering and shimmering with energy, some tart fruit and oyster brine that is rendered so so pure. Really incredible and powerful lemon and lime fruits with pith and purity just intertwine with the classic and powerful seashell minerality. It's very, very dense. Sebastien has improved so much and the extra elevage has made these wines better and deeper than they have ever been. Incredible concentration and the deepest Lechet I've ever had. Huge palate impact here. Super juicy and awesomely intense. Really intense. If you leave it in your mouth, it almost feels like its alive and almost pushing at the corners of your mouth trying to escape. This will age wonderfully. You can feel the additional depth in the wine trying just screaming its presence. Awesome classic Chablis acids. The palate tingles and pumps juicy seashell complexity with a refined delivery. Really elegant. Lemon lime seashell saline finish that keeps on going. Just the best part of the oyster juice from the best oyster of the dozen. Oh man I can taste it now. It's young. That is for sure. Totally awesome Lechet. I see this aging very well. Inquire about case prices. Some of the vines from this bottling were planted in 1937! It was bottled in March of 2018. That is very late. Longest elevage ever for this wine. Neal Martin gave the 2016 a 91, which is a more difficult vintage. Good promise for the far superior 2017.
Up next I have what many critics think of as Sebastian's best wine. While I have a soft spot for the Lechet I do have to say the Vaillons might be a better wine just because of pure geography. Location. Location. It's everything in Chablis and this is Vaillons which is a better site than Lechet at the end of the day. The 2017 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru "Vaillons" is $26.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack today. It's an incredible bottle of Vaillons. What a killer Vaillons. This is an insane wine and is the best young Vaillons since the epic 2014 and this comes close. Perfumed, deep nose of classic oyster shell, some nice green apple fruit and Meyer lemon. You can tell this is less the wild child of Lechet wine has more of a refined heir about it. It's super perfumed and just has more depth but less in your face oyster than the Lechet. More round. Smokey, saline, refined and even some apple butter. Great aromas. So refined and clean. Almost feels like there is so much more, which there is. Palate is so epic and deep with grace, depth and refinement. Balance is extraordinary. So juicy and serene with a sweetness and oyster juice brine quality that is more Kumamoto this time. More of a briney sweetness. More west coast than east coast. So pure, resonant and long. What a great vintage 2017 is. It's silly how cheap this is. Inquire about case prices.
2017 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru Cote de Lechet - $28.99 ($107.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)
2017 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - $28.99
($107.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)
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