Very, Very Good Grand Cru Chablis from (Everybody Loves) Sebastien Dampt - Crazy Value for Some of the Best Wine Made in Chablis

The Vineyard
 - Arguably the second best Grand Cru next to Les Clos
 - Steely, Dense and Powerful Personality
 - Much Racier than Les Clos

2018 Vintage
 - Tremendous Chablis Nerve and Character
 - Wonderful Fruit and Depth

2018 Maison Dampt Valmur 
- Terrific Value for Very, Very Good Grand Cru Chablis
- Seashell, Algae, Chlorophyll, Oysters and Ocean Scents
- Gorgeously Nuanced
- Sea Air, Salt, Pear and Apple Fruit
- Intense Minerals
- Palate: Taut with Intense Minerality and Spice
- Enormous Core of Dense Green Fruits
- Outstanding Length on the Super-Saline and Impressively Complex Finale
 - Compare OTHER 2018 Valmur at $75-$113

There is Premier Cru Chablis and there is Grand Cru Chablis.  I love Premier Cru Chablis and I can drink it twice a week.  The ones I sell have lovely fruit but always that crushed rock minerality that I crave.  But  Grand Cru Chablis?  That's another level from a great producer.  They have the fruit and minerality but the density is always kicked up a notch.  Everything is just a bit more intense.  Alas, it's hard to source great Grand Cru Chablis at Fassy prices.  There is not a lot of very good to great Grand Cru Chablis and the most well recognized priducers have become very expensive (and maybe not such great values).  So I'm always excited to sell these from (everybody loves) Sebastien Dampt. 

This is the first Dampt Valmur since 2014! That's 5 vintages age. Sebastien lost his source on the Valmur and the Clos but he did get to buy some Valmur grapes in 2018 and made a doozy. Arguably Valmur is the second best Grand Cru next to Les Clos. I'll always be a Les Clos guy for its power

allied with finesse but Valmur slays me every time with its steely, dense and powerful personality. Les Clos is to the south and it's sandwiched between Grenouilles and Vaudesir. Valmur for me is much racier than Les Clos and has awesome finesse but the finesse is not as intense as Les Clos because Les Clos has more power and the juxtaposition between the power and finesse of Les Clos is more evident.  Valmur sometimes blind can be mistaken for Les Clos but usually the give away that it is Valmur is the raciness and it is a teeny weeny bit sleeker.  Sebastien's in 2018 is epic and maybe as good as the transcendental 2014. Maybe better.

2018 Quick Vintage Note
While there was a little frost (which hurt quantity, not quality) this is a terrific vintage and has tremendous Chablis nerve and character while also showing terrific fruit and depth. While the wines show great energy and sap the real star of the show is the incredible depth. Take 2012s character and compactness and 2015s deep fruit and that is 2018 in a nutshell. A great vintage. Some old timers in the region compare it to 1982 and think we will have a good surprise with the best wines in time.

The Wine
I'm very excited to be selling the 2018 Maison Dampt Valmur for $52.99 a bottle on a 4 pack.  This is a very well made bottle of wine from a great producer and fantastic terroir.  It has that Chablis typicity that you want and for this price, it's a wine to buy in quantity if you like Chablis.

The nose.  I want to Imagine that oyster beds under Chablis came alive, with seashell, algae, cholorophyll, oysters and ocean scents and that is what abounds on the gorgeous nose.  Gorgeously nuanced nose with sea air, salt, pear and apple fruit that is so delicate and covered by intense minerals. So many salty seashells. 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.


The palate is taut with intense minerality and spice. Once again there is just enough wood to notice framing the green fruit, quinine, algae and ocean breeze-inflected aromas. The mouth feel of the big, bold and robust flavors is muscular and serious while displaying outstanding length on the super-saline and impressively complex finale. This too is terrific though it is very clearly built for extended aging. Complex and concentrated but so so elegant and has tangy, rich complexity on the finish. Amazing fruit set on the palate when you think it's over but it really just begins. Superbly complex with a mineral explosion and such amazing length and sap. So long. Superb wine that is at once playful and at once very serious. 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 very limited.

2018 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru Valmur - $54.99

 ($211.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)