I have always loved Sebastian Dampt's father's wines. His father is indeed the great Daniel Dampt. I've been happily drinking Daniel's wines since the 1996 vintage. They are 100% stainless steel and scarily reflective of their respective terroirs. They are also screaming values, and with the Fass Selections model, banshee-like screaming values.
Today I am offering an insanely delicious wine from Sebastian. It is his 2011 Chablis 1er Cru "Cotes de Lechet," for $23.99 and $131.94 on a 6 pack. Do not blink as this is not a typo. This also received 91-93 pts from the Burghound. A 91-93 point Burghound 1er cru Chablis for $23.99 a bottle? Yup. Compare at $29 - $37. The great thing about this wine is that it combines classic Chablis acid and mineral overtones with juicy, luscious fruit.
For what it is worth I am a big believer in Burghound as he never lets me down. People will kill each other if Parker underrates or overrates some Bordeaux, but there is nary a complaint ever about Allen Meadows. Allen is extremely skilled and the palates of most people who drink Burgundies, including mine, align with Allen's.
This is classic Cotes de Lechet. It's a big vineyard at 37 ha. It faces southwest and has a 38% slope, so it is slightly steep. I adore top examples from this vineyard, as they are about femininity and elegance and this version from Sebastian is about as good as it gets. The wine is intensely mineral as one would expect from a Dampt wine, but also due to the character of the 2011 vintage it is accessible, juicy and amazingly floral(Lechet is always floral) and complex on the nose already. 2011 was warm, but not like '09 or '05. Think 2002. This wine really impressed me and I kept going back to it. People are selling this wine for $37 and I would still buy at $37 as it has uncommon depth and complexity. For $24 and $22 on the 6-pack this builds into white wine value of the year type of wine. I cut my margins and created 6-pack pricing on this offer because at this price, it's an every day luxury and a premium wine that you can serve at parties. |
Now I will let you in a wine importer's secret. This is how I came to be able to import Sebastian's wines. I was reading the latest Burghound this summer and saw that there was a new Dampt in town with no importer at that time, so I promptly e-mailed Sebastian, he e-mailed me back and we set up an appointment. So simple. I found out that he inherited 9 ha of AOC Chablis from his father and also 3.5 ha in Vaillons.
Getting there was not so simple. For some insane reason we (my business partner and I) had the GPS set to "avoid tolls." Not because we are cheap, but because we didn't know what we were doing. The road from Vougeot (where we stayed) was a long, winding one, pretty much on the side of a cliff. I was not driving, but my business partner was, and it was so high in elevation and so winding that he got dizzy and had to stick his head out the window like a dog (we couldn't pull over because we were next to the cliff). Besides it taking an extra hour to get there and us almost ramming into oncoming traffic, it was the best drive of my life as we drove from one ancient village to the next. Stunning stuff.
We finally got there and profusely apologized for being late, which became a habit. By the end of the trip I was an expert in profusely apologizing. Sebastian makes wine at his father's facility and makes his wines exactly the same way that his father, Daniel, does. 100% stainless steel all the way. No oak at all. This results in clean Chablis with razor sharp clarity not obscured by wood. At the prices he charges, these have to be among the best values in Chablis, if not all of France. This is not quite Dauvissat/Raveneau quality (or price) but this is clearly top, top 2nd tier stuff. I'd rather drink this than Fevre for example. Not even a contest.
A final word on pricing. Just because this is $23.99 does not mean it is cheap wine. I am trying to change the pricing paradigm with Fass Selections. Think of this as a $35-$40 bottle of wine in taste, but because I buy direct from the winery, it is $23.99.
Please reply to this E-Mail by Monday April 15th at 9 PM EST with your orders. After that I cannot accept any more orders. |
Below is Allen Meadows aka Burghound's review.
"A strikingly complex and refined nose features an abundance of citrus influence but also scents of green fruit, mineral reduction and sea shore aromas. There is really lovely intensity to the precise and stony flavors that possess terrific drive on the dry, clean and impressively persistent finish. This is potentially first rate." - 91-93 BH |
These wines will arrive in the Fall.
If I could please ask you to hit reply and send me your billing and shipping addresses along with your order if you are a first time customer. My phone number is 917-912-4355 and you can reach me to give me your CC #'s (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail). You will have an invoice within 72 hours after the offer ends.
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