2020 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros"
- I Don't Think That There Is a Better Under $60 Grand Cru Value in France
- His Only 2020 Grand Cru
- One of the Most Epic Bougros I Have Ever Tasted
- Nose: Wafting Seashells, Oyster Shells
- A Gorgeous Lemon Oil
- So Mineral
- Like Pulverized Rocks Made from Petrified Green Apples
- Palate: Brilliant Freshness and Complexity
- Stunning Density as It Opens
- Damptian Balance Between Glorious Fruit / Saline Freshness
- Incredible, Precise Green Apple Fruit
- Classic Chablis with Grand Cru Density and Dampt Drinkability
- Finish Is God's Lemons (Perfect Fruit and Acid Balance)
- Drinking Well Now - The Structure to Age
- Terrific 2020 Vintage - VERY SHORT
- 91-94 Burghound
If You Like Chablis and Drink Grand Cru Chablis, This Is Very Sage and Safe Addition to Your Cellar
The Bad News
Sadly again the source that Sebastien Dampt gets for Les Clos and Valmur in 2020 was not able to supply him with fruit. So that means we only have one Dampt Grand Cru in 2020. But what a smokeshow it is and what a devastating value it is.
If you like Chablis and drink Grand Cru Chablis, you should stock up on this. 2020 is short and Chablis has problems with frost pretty much every other vintage these days. I don't see that problem getting solved any time soon
The Wine
Today I am thrilled to offer the 2020 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" for as little as $59.99 on a 4-Pack. This is a great deal for Grand Cru white Burgundy. Bougros, for me and everyone else in Chablis is the early drinking Grand Cru. It is always so generous in its youth and combine that with the tense yet accessible 19s you have a Grand Cru Chablis that is ready to be drunk now. There is never any austerity on these and they always have glorious finesse.
It is an epic Bougros. Just a beautiful bottle of Chablis. Reminiscent of the brilliant 2014, the 2020 is an amazing accomplishment. And because Sebastien is not particularly greedy and because he is still young and has not reached the "status" of the top 4-5 growers, his wines are crazy values, especially his Grand Crus.
The nose is gorgeous. It's big and wafting with beautiful seashells and oyster shells along with green apple. It's almost like if a green apple grove in full fruit turned into rocks over 1,000 years and those rocks were pulverized - that's what it smells like. Just stunning.
The palate has brilliant freshness and complexity and is giving so much now. When you first taste it, you get the more obvious Damptian delicious profile. Waves and waves of juicy green apple fruit, silly amounts of minerals and wet stones along with the perfect amount of balancing intense Chablisien acidity.
As this wine opens, you get the density of Grand Cru terroir. The fruit integrates a bit with some coiled richness and more of a dark stone minerality. It still has that green apple but the complexity starts to come out and you get that Grand Cru experience. Saline and compact like the 17 and a skoche more ripe yet very generous but not at the sacrifice of terrific thundering acidity. The fruit is pure and vivid as is the salinity on the very long Grand Cru finish. Very sappy and structured.
The finish really shines here. It's like rocks that were rehydrated with God's lemons. What are God's lemons? Well you know how regular lemons are a bit too acidic and Meyer lemons are a bit too sweet? God's lemons are a hybrid of regular and Meyer lemons with that perfect lemon flavor that has laser-like acidic balance so you get the perfect balanced lemon flavor lingering on the palate after you swallow.
The wine is classic Sebastien Dampt - he has a way of maximizing fruit but keeping it in balance with great acidity and minerality. I don't think that there is a better under $60 Grand Cru value in France. Epic wine and highway robbery at this price point. This will be limited. I was super impressed. It can and should age for 3-5 years before it reaches peak but there is no structural (closed) reason it should not be drunk now. It is utterly compelling and delicious.
Bougros
Bougros is located on the NW section of the big hill where all the Grand Crus are located. The excellent 1er Cru Fourchaume is to the North and Preuses Grand Cru is above Bougros on the hill. The soil is more clay dominated as it is near the water and actually gives Bougros a lovely earthiness. It is also very steep, maybe the steepest of the Grand Crus and also is southwest facing so gets excellent sunshine. Sebastien makes this wine under the Maison Dampt label with his brother.
"Restrained aromas of ripe white and yellow fruit flirt with the exotic though this is otherwise classic with its nuances of iodine, shellfish and tidal pool. This is rich and dense to the point of being borderline thick while flashing good power on the vibrant, dry and clean finish. This focused and moderately structured effort isn't particularly refined though elegance is not why one buys Bougros."- 91-94 Points Burghound
2020 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" - $61.99
($239.97 4-Pack)
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