2017 Dauvissat Chalis 1er La Forest
Let's be honest. The 2017 Chablis vintage was so good, you too drank your stash way too early. Am I wrong?
No judgment—we did. It’s benchmark quality but now, it's basically become a ghost on the market. The 2017 vintage in Chablis is easily among the finest vintages we've seen in the past 25 years. Most bottles have now largely vanished from the market.
Well, not only have seen a ghost, we have his wine to sell too!
We have a small allocation of Vincent Dauvissat's 2017 Chablis. If you've had his wines, you know they're the gold standard. We're talking pure, transparent Chardonnay that tastes like lightning in a bottle. It's the kind of wine you could drink for the rest of your life and never get bored.
Now, the part that might make you flinch: it's $200 a bottle. Why? Because you literally can't find it anywhere else in the US. This isn't for a casual Tuesday night. This is for the serious collector who knows exactly what this is and needs that reference-point bottle in their cellar.
Vincent Dauvissat has been at the helm of his family’s domaine since 1989, and today it stands as one of the absolute top addresses in Chablis. If you’ve tasted the wines, you know: they represent some of the purest, most transparent expressions of Chardonnay grown on Kimmeridgian limestone anywhere. Freshness, energy, and depth, all delivered with an ethereal lightness. It’s a style that’s nearly impossible not to fall for. My mind is wandering to a recent bottle of 2012 La Forest, is was absolutely stunning! These wines age effortlessly while at the same time never seem to lose the freshness and vibrancy they display in their youth. If I only had drink one Chablis for the rest of my life, I honestly don’t think I’d tire of Dauvissat’s wines.
Now, I know $200 isn’t going to resonate with every collector. But with no other bottles available in the U.S. (aside from a few retailers listing a Liv-Ex price by the case), this is a wine for the client who’s looking to add or replenish one of the truly reference point Chablis to their cellar..Â
A brilliant rendition of Vincent Dauvissat's emblematic premier cru, the 2017 Chablis 1er Cru La Forest reveals a complex bouquet of oyster shell, crisp green apple and lemon oil mingled with notes of dried white flowers and freshly baked bread. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, satiny and complete, with a deep and concentrated core, striking energy and cut and a long, mineral finish. Amounting to some 4.5 hectares, La Forest accounts for a third of the domaine's surface area, so it will be the easiest Dauvissat wine for readers to find. Happily, it ranks alongside the 2014 and 2008 as one of the very best of recent years. Â
- William Kelley, 95
The 2017 Chablis La Forest ler Cru is a standout and one of the wines that brings together so many of the best elements of the Dauvissat house style. A Chablis of marvelous contrasts, the Forest is at once light on its feet and also packed with notable intensity. At the same time, the Forest is mysterious and not ready to show all of its cards yet. There is so much to look forward to. The Forest emerges from eight parcels spread across 3.7 hectares, Dauvissat's largest holding. I imagine the diversity of these micro-parcels goes a long way in giving the wine dimension and complexity.Â
- Vinous Media/Galloni, 95
This is aromatically cooler than the Vaillons with its airy combination of algae, lemon rind and wet stone where the latter element can also be found on the sleek, intense and energetic middle weight plus flavors that are a bit finer than usual, all wrapped in a bone dry and aggressively mineral-driven finale. A classic tightly coiled La Forest that is clearly built-to-age.Â
-Â Burghound, 93 Outstanding!
