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.
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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
Domaine Stéphane Magnien
Domaine Stephane Magnien is located in Morey-Saint-Denis. The range is very exciting, with not only Morey-Saint-Denis Villages and 1er Cru but also some Chambolle-Musigny Villages, 1er Cru, a Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru and a Clos St Denis Grand Cru. There are also some regional appellations. A very complete range with 80% of the vineyards in the commune of Morey-Saint-Denis.
Founded in 1847 by Victor Magnien, the domaine’s holdings cover 4.4 hectares, with an average vine age of around 50 years. There is a high proportion of Pinot Tordu, a clone of Pinot Noir producing particularly small berries.
Stephane is the fourth generation to run the estate, the family having started to make wine at the beginning of the 1900s. The chai is in the family house, dating back from the 18th century. Jean-Paul Magnien, Stephane’s father, was the first to bottle the wines under the family name, rather than selling them to negociants. Stephane took over in 2008, which was his first solo vintage.
Domaine Stéphane Magnien
Burgundy En Primeur

We were introduced to Domaine Stephane Magnien in 2017 and the London Fine Wine Buying team went to taste the wines in October of that very same year. Vintage 2016 was our first collaboration and so far we’ve had good comments about the wines each time we’ve shown them.
After another successful tasting at the domaine in October 2018, we are now releasing our 2nd allocation with the acclaimed 2017 vintage. Stephane was very kind and supplied some samples for the Burgundy en primeur tasting that we held in Singapore and Hong Kong in early January. The wines have the purity of the vintage and the precise aromas of fruit, the hallmarks of Stephane’s winemaking.
THE DOMAINE
Domaine Stephane Magnien is located in Morey-Saint-Denis.
The range is very exciting, with not only Morey-Saint-Denis Villages and 1er Cru but also some Chambolle-Musigny Villages, 1er Cru, a Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru and a Clos St Denis Grand Cru. There are also some regional appellations. A very complete range with 80% of the vineyards in the commune of Morey-Saint-Denis.
Founded in 1847 by Victor Magnien, the domaine’s holdings cover 4.4 hectares, with an average vine age of around 50 years. There is a high proportion of Pinot Tordu, a clone of Pinot Noir producing particularly small berries.
Stephane is the fourth generation to run the estate, the family having started to make wine at the beginning of the 1900s. The chai is in the family house, dating back from the 18th century. Jean-Paul Magnien, Stephane’s father, was the first to bottle the wines under the family name, rather than selling them to negociants. Stephane took over in 2008, which was his first solo vintage.

Viticulture and Winemaking
The domaine’s vineyard work is carried out by hand. Strict green harvesting helps to control yields and maintain concentration. The grapes are sorted in the vineyard at harvest time. Pesticides and herbicides are avoided. Historically all the work of ploughing was done by horse although in the late ‘80s, small tractors were introduced. A living soil is very much a priority here, as is a deep root network.
Winemaking is traditional and minimal-intervention. All grapes are destemmed with the exception of the Aligoté. Fermentation lasts about two weeks using wild yeast, in stainless steel tanks. This is Stephane’s only nod to modernism: after taking over from his father, he replaced the 50 year-old oak tanks with stainless steel ones.
Stephane looks for elegance, a sense of fruit and terroir expression. He does not force extraction. The reds are aged in barrel for up to two years, in “new” barrels (by which Stephane actually means one-to-five year-old barrels!) for the first year and in “used” ones afterwards. It can be inferred that new oak use is minimal! The village wines see 15% of “new” oak, the premiers crus about 20% and the grands crus about 35%. The wines are bottled without filtration and fining.