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+