Domaine Vincent Dampt 2022 En Primeur
THE DOMAINE
The new generation from an impressive lineage of Chablis winemakers, Vincent Dampt is a rising star of the region

Vincent Dampt is the scion of two great winemaking names, Dampt and Defaix, so it is hardly surprising that he would choose wine as his métier - or perhaps it chose him!
Vincent enrolled himself in wine school in Beaune aged just 14, then worked in Puligny-Montrachet (with Olivier Leflaive) before heading further afield to Marlborough, New Zealand – an experience he calls ‘mind-expanding’.
Vincent later returned to Chablis, to the family estate in the village of Milly, to work under the expert tutelage of his father Daniel.
In 2003, Vincent inherited a few small vineyard parcels, also in Milly, and was able to create his own domaine, adding a few further plots over the years.
Vincent and his wife Emilie now manage ten hectares of vines, including those in the premiers crus of Côte de Léchet, Les Lys and Vaillons: prized sites on pure Kimmeridgian soils – calcareous clays with limestone and marine fossils - which give Chablis their hallmark minerality.
Corney & Barrow is the exclusive agent in the U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore.
THE 2022 Vintage
The 2022 vintage has much to offer Chablis lovers.
There is delight for purists, in wines that combine elegance of fruit, a sense of freshness and mineral salinity; yet there is also an appealing generosity of fruit from this ‘année solaire’. But success was not a given. Achieving that peculiarly chablisien tension of ripeness and acidity, requires skill and sensitivity, mastery of timing and terroir; and in 2022, the growing season was far from straightforward.
The post-frost rebound set the scene. As so often happens in the year after a frost-stricken vintage, the vines set off at a sprint, apparently hellbent on pushing out leaves, compensating for the year before, in a bid for survival. So, it is unsurprising that we find an energetic, expressive character in this vintage, particularly given the warm, sunny growing conditions.
But ‘sun + heat’ is not an automatic equation for ambrosia, and the lack of rain compounded the effects of both (in fact, Chablis saw even less rainfall in 2022 than the parched Côte d’Or). While ripeness was almost a ‘given’, and the absence of disease a further relief after the previous year’s scourge, this dry, sunlit year required growers to be particularly vigilant to harvest date; preserving freshness became the all-important factor. Chardonnay is no fan of the heat, fattens quickly, drops acid. In these conditions, the approach to harvest is even more fraught - a tightrope walk of coaxing fruit to ripeness without compromising that vital seam of acidity that gives the wines their aliveness.
As always, it pays to know your grower. Fortunately, we are working with Vincent Dampt, who has been living all this since childhood, and has a keen awareness of the impact of climate change on style.

THE WINES
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CHABLIS 1er CRU LES LYS
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2028+
CHABLIS 1er CRU VAILLONS
Vincent’s holdings in Vaillons total 0.6 hectares. Above the classic Kimmeridgian seam lies a substantial layer of cool, moisture-retentive clay, a godsend in this warmer vintage. Vincent’s Vaillons blends fruit from the warmer, more sun-exposed part of the parcel, in Beugnons, with the fruit of cooler, higher-acid fruit in Chatains, next to Les Lys. The wine seems to capture the spirit of both in its sense of rich, golden fruit and refreshing minerality. An intense Vaillons, the 2022 is perfumed with white flowers, hinting at the exotic. The palate layers orchard/stone fruit and crème pâtissiere, expansive and ripe, its mineral length unfurling in the glass.
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2028+
CHABLIS 1er CRU CÔTE DE LÉCHET
Vincent’s fantastic vineyard parcels are found high up on the Côte de Léchet, the 38% gradient and poor, stony soils yielding wines with a characteristic, mineral signature. Vincent has two different parcels, one of which dates back to 1974, the other new to production following extensive renovations. Vincent has replanted at a higher density (8000 vs 5,550 vines/hectare) and adopted ‘guyot simple’ pruning, giving fewer grapes per vine but aiming for higher quality and concentration. The resulting 2022 is exceptional, showing all the class and potential of its site. Immediately compelling on the nose with its signature tang of ‘wet stone’ and white flowers, the wine is both expansive and precise on the palate, with ripe, savoury fruit wrapped sleekly around a steely core. Rich, dynamic and incisive, an exercise in focus.
Corney & Barrow Score 18.5+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2030+
TO ORDER
Henri & Gilles Buisson En Primeur 2023
Brothers Franck and Frédérick Buisson craft high-class wines in Saint-Romain, where their family history dates to the Middle Ages.
The duo’s driving force is their unwavering belief in the unique expressions of terroir in their wines. They operate with an open-minded attitude gained from experience working at other wineries around the world whilst also drawing on their long family history of viticulture in Saint-Romain. They make haute-couture wines, like many other grands crus producers (which they are on the hill of Corton), to reveal precise terroir expression.
Henri & Gilles Buisson
Burgundy En Primeur 2023

Brothers Franck and Frédérick Buisson craft high-class wines in Saint-Romain, where their family history dates to the Middle Ages.
The duo’s driving force is their unwavering belief in the unique expressions of terroir in their wines. They operate with an open-minded attitude gained from experience working at other wineries around the world whilst also drawing on their long family history of viticulture in Saint-Romain. They make haute-couture wines, like many other grands crus producers (which they are on the hill of Corton), to reveal precise terroir expression.
We are thrilled to add this exciting estate to the Corney & Barrow Hong Kong portfolio and can’t wait to open and share some bottles with you.
THIBAUT MATHIEU
MANAGING DIRECTOR, CORNEY & BARROW ASIA
JUNE 2024
HISTORY
The Buisson family have been in Saint-Romain since the 12th century.
Their official records date back to the late 18th century as unfortunately all earlier evidence was destroyed during the French Revolution.
The viticultural history of the family began in 1947 when Henri Buisson (Franck and Frédérick’s grandfather) purchased five hectares of vines to bottle and sell under his own name. Henri Buisson was a pioneer in Saint-Romain and the creation of his own domaine fortuitously coincided with Saint-Romain being awarded AOC status, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée.
Henri’s son Gilles (Franck and Frédérick’s father) took over the reins of the estate in the late 1990s and increased the vineyard holdings to 14 hectares by 2000. He worked alongside his wife Monica, who was the driving force behind the domaine’s acquisition of land in other appellations. Monica secured new vineyards in Pommard and Corton Grand Cru, whilst Gilles built a modern winery in Saint-Romain to properly vinify and age their wines, ensuring that their two sons would inherit a solid operation.
Franck and Frédérick represent the 8th generation of the Buisson family and they joined the estate in 2008. Their grandfather was an early adopter of organic viticulture in the 60s and 70s. Franck and Frédérick continue the legacy of their forefathers. They now own and farm 20 hectares of vines whilst keeping environmental and sustainable practices at the core of their estate. The domaine was certified organic in 2009.
At home in Saint-Romain, their two flagship wines are the white Saint-Romain Sous La Velle and red Saint-Romain Sous Roche with the two ‘Absolu’ cuvées at the pinnacle. They produce five additional single vineyard Saint-Romains from tiny plots, that show the intricate nuances of terroir expression within this exciting appellation.
Beyond the romantic village of Saint-Romain, the domaine extends to some of the most prestigious names across the Côte de Beaune, boasting vineyards in Corton, Corton-Charlemagne, Meursault, Volnay, Pommard, Auxey-Duresses and Beaune. The estate’s offerings are complemented by a small négoce business, where they exchange grapes with other grower friends from Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Philosophy
Frédérick succinctly summarises the Buisson philosophy of winemaking: "faire du vin c’est extraire du ciel de la terre" ("to make wine it is to extract a bit of Heaven from Earth").

Chez Buisson, sustainable practices have always been at the core of viticulture and winemaking. Henri (grandfather) was an early adopter of organic viticulture, never applying chemical products to his vines. This focus was continued by their father Gilles who banned the use of weedkiller. They achieved organic certification in 2009 (Agriculture Biologique).
Following an internship at Domaine Leflaive in 2004, Anne-Claude Leflaive’s philosophy and approach heavily influenced Frédérick. Since 2018, they have practised biodynamics, despite their teacher at the lycée viticole (winemaking school) of Beaune discouraging them to do so.
They prioritise respect for the environment across all facets of their business, from viticulture, to winemaking, use of machines, choice of dry goods (i.e. bottles) and their overall carbon footprint. What is more, they recently planted an orchard of 88 trees (lucky number!) to promote biodiversity. They also practise single plot vinification to highlight the individual terroirs - standardisation is not in their vocabulary!
Viticulture and Winemaking
Saint-Romain is a picture-perfect village, high up the valley overlooking Auxey-Duresses with Meursault in the distance. It enjoys all the benefits associated with high elevation, like cool nights and bright, sunny days. The vineyards are planted in an amphitheatre at the foot of a 40-metre-high cliff, with a multitude of different exposures and altitudes (ranging from 200m to 400m and some serious slope gradients). It is a tranquil place with abundant natural beauty and no electric poles or phone lines in sight!
Composed mostly of clay and limestone, the plots are a range of rocky, sandy, alluvial and marl soils, each imparting the signature minerality and tension associated with wines from Saint-Romain. The domaine’s 11 hectares of patchwork parcels across the village are reflected in the seven single vineyard cuvées they produce, two red and five white wines.
The two historic and celebrated vineyards, Saint-Romain Sous Roche and Saint-Romain Sous La Velle are at the heart of the domaine and represent three and two hectares respectively.
The vines average ages span a respectable 30 to 70-year-old, they have been certified organic since 2009 and they follow biodynamic principles since 2018. They grow cover crops between the rows and have adopted a special vine pruning method (Guyot-Poussard) for their Pinot Noir, to prevent disease. Frédérick, the trained winemaker of the family, converted his whole team to this technic.
Harvest is carried out at cool temperatures to preserve freshness in the wine, and after pressing the Chardonnay, they aerate the juice using a process called pre-oxidation. The early and intensive exposure to oxygen eliminates the more fragile components of the must and reduces the amount of sulphur needed later in the winemaking process whilst also preventing premature oxidation.
For the red wines, they aim for a high degree of whole bunch vinification, between 60% and 100%. Fermentation is carried out in concrete tanks and lasts between two and three weeks, as slow as possible, in their cool cellar. The Chardonnay is matured in large oak tanks of 500L for over 10 months. For the reds, they like long maceration, then the ageing is in barrel for a good 12 months with a maximum of 20% new oak.
Their two ‘Absolu’ wines are made without any addition of sulphur and are highly regarded and vastly oversubscribed. The vines used to produce Saint-Romain Blanc Sous La Velle Absolu and the Saint-Romain Rouge Sous Roche Absolu do not see any copper at all (a common organic treatment to fight fungus & bacterial attacks).