2014 is a Classic, Wonderful Vintage in Chablis 40% off Market Prices for These Vineyards, Top Tier Producer Time To Stock up the Cellar

2014 as you've must have heard by now was a perfect vintage for Chablis. The first classic vintage since the 08/10 duo, so it has been a while. And when I mean classic, I mean incredible acidity and

minerality so pure and stunning that fruit is just a nice bonus. It's a Kimmeridgian Bachman-Turner Overdrive type of vintage. The fruit is pure, tangy and especially vibrant in 2014. There is structure, length, purity and these will keep for a long time. Good thing we have 11-13 for drinking now and over the next few years. Every vintage serves a purpose and is useful. I'm stoked purely as a collector for 2014 as I can buy and offer my favorites.

One of my absolute favorites in the vintage is the 2014 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru "Vaillons" which can be had for $24.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. (Compare at $38) . Dampt is the master of the Quality to Price Ratio at Fass Selections and all of you know it (direct from the winery prices combined with low prices because he is young and still building his brand). Many, if not most of you reading today have had Dampt and are all too familiar with the style and quality here. It's utterly classic stainless steel Chablis with just riveting minerality combined with wonderful finesse and backbone. The Vaillons in 2014 garnered 91 pts from Neal Martin over at the Wine Advocate and he said -

"The 2014 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons sees nine months in stainless steel, and has a reserved, stony, mineral-driven bouquet that could only come from Chablis: superbly focused and delineated. The palate is fresh and crisp on the entry, touches of bitter lemon and freshly squeezed lime, admirable depth of fruit with a nicely poised, focused finish that lingers in the mouth. This is another sterling effort from Sebastien Dampt."

Vaillons shows better than the Lechet earlier in my estimation and Lechet needs 1-2 years no matter what vintage to really strut it's stuff. But Sebastien just wrote me that it is the tightest of his 1er Cru's in 2014. So who knows? Vaillons has terrific zesty lemony/limey/appley fruit that really lingers here and is really clean and especially vivid. It has that Vaillons intensity (60 year old vines) that makes it a favorite amongst Chablis lovers everywhere. 2014 is special. The freshness is something to behold. The clarity of the wine is top notch. This will age 10-12 years easy. It needs 2-3, for me, to show more complexity and become more expansive. But it will drink well early due to its intense fruit and wealth of minerality and as it ages, but will reward those with patience. It's hard to have patience when a wine is $24.99. I know, I know.

Next up is a wine from Sebastien I have not offered before, because it was always sold out by the time I wanted to sell it. It is his 2014 Grand Cru Valmur for as little as $49.99 a 3-pack. Compare when the entry fee for any '14 Valmur is $80+ this is a terrific value. Valmur is also particularly mineral in 2014. Imagine that oyster bed under Chablis come alive, with seashell, algae, cholorophyll, oysters and ocean scents and that is what abounds on the gorgeous nose. This wine can not be from anywhere else except Chablis. Powerful and pungent aromas and tight as expected. It is still inward and brooding on the palate and closer to Les Clos when young than the more open Bougros. The bouquet in Valmur is very expressive when young but the palate is taut with intense minerality and spice. There is an enormous core of concentrated fruit bathed in minerals but it needs 5-10 years to become fully expressive. It gives hints of what is to come and how great it will be if you spend the evening with it now. An elegant, salty and mineral finish hints at the enormous potential of this wine. This is limited.

2014 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru "Vaillons" - $26.99 

($99.96 4-pack)

2014 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru Valmur - $52.99 

($149.97 3-pack) (LIMITED)