2023 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru “Bougros”
– I Don’t Think That There Is a Better Under $65 Grand Cru Value in France
– His Only 2022 Grand Cru
– One of the Most Epic Bougros I Have Ever Tasted
– Nose: Wafting Seashells, Oyster Shells
– A Gorgeous Lemon Oil
Lime Blossom
– Mega Florals
– Spice
– Green Apple
– So Mineral
– Like Pulverized Rocks Made from Petrified Green Apples
– Palate: Brilliant Freshness and Complexity
– Stunning Density as It Opens
– Damptian Balance Between Glorious Fruit / Saline Freshness
– Incredible, Precise Green Apple Fruit
– Classic Chablis with Grand Cru Densityand Dampt Drinkability
– Finish Is God’s Lemons (Perfect Fruit and Acid Balance
– Saline and Compact
– Drinking Well Now – The Structure to Age
– Terrific 2022 Vintage
– 90-93 Burghound (2022)
– If You Like Chablis and Drink Grand Cru Chablis, This Is Very Sage and Safe Addition to Your Cellar
The 2023 Vintage at Dampt
2023 is a great vintage at Dampt. It’s like 19 which is in my top 3 of what we have worked with.
– It’s got fantastic freshness
– allied with deep fruit and
– great power and depth
– but also has elite finesse and length. Man were all his 23’s long.
This is another successful vintage in a long line of successes at Dampt.
Dampt’s Grand Cru Chablis wines don’t get talked about as much as his 1er Crus and that’s a shame but the best value in all of Grand Cru white Burgundy is Dampt’s Bougros. In Sebastien’s hands, it truly reaches its exalted Grand Cru status. Sebastien’s Bougros always has amazing texture, depth, minerality, finesse and concentration. Yes he’s lost his Valmur and Les Clos connections but he’s put all that hard work and effort into his Bougros.
If you like Chablis and drink Grand Cru Chablis, you should stock up on this. 2023 is not short but I still only have 84 bottles.
The Wine
Today I am thrilled to offer the 2023 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru “Bougros” for as little as $63.99 on a 4-Pack. This is a great deal for Grand Cru white Burgundy. Bougros, for me and everyone else in Chablis is the early drinking Grand Cru. It is always so generous in its youth and combine that with the tense yet accessible 23’s and you have a Grand Cru Chablis that is ready to be drunk now but can age 20 years. There is never any austerity on these and they always have glorious finesse.
It is an epic Bougros. Just a beautiful bottle of Chablis. Reminiscent of the brilliant 2017 and 2019, the 2023 is an amazing accomplishment. And because Sebastien is not particularly greedy and because he is still young and has not reached the “status” of the top 4-5 growers, his wines are crazy values, especially his Grand Crus.
The nose is gorgeous. It’s big and wafting with beautiful seashells and oyster shells along with green apple. It’s almost like if a green apple grove in full fruit turned into rocks over 1,000 years and those rocks were pulverized – that’s what it smells like. Just stunning. After air it gets into wow territory. Stunning aromas of lime blossom, mega florals, spice and green apple. So much depth, so complex and airy. 9.6 nose. Insane complexity on this nose. Cannot remember a young Bougros from Dampt that has this much aromatic complexity.
The palate has brilliant freshness and complexity and is giving so much now. When you first taste it, you get the more obvious Damptian delicious profile. Waves and waves of juicy green apple fruit, silly amounts of minerals and wet stones along with the perfect amount of balancing intense Chablisien acidity. Ripe, juicy and energetic, with insane density and sap. So pure. Very salty. Excellent purity. Long and dense. Terrific inner mouth aromas. Really slathers palate with minerals. Amazing minerals. Just so complex and regal. Looooong.
As this wine opens, you get the density of Grand Cru terroir. The fruit integrates a bit with some coiled richness and more of a dark stone minerality. It still has that green apple but the complexity starts to come out and you get that Grand Cru experience. Saline and compact like the 19 and a skoche more ripe yet very generous but not at the sacrifice of terrific thundering acidity. The fruit is pure and vivid as is the salinity on the very long Grand Cru finish. Very sappy and structured.
The finish really shines here. It’s like rocks that were rehydrated with God’s lemons. What are God’s lemons? Well you know how regular lemons are a bit too acidic and Meyer lemons are a bit too sweet? God’s lemons are a hybrid of regular and Meyer lemons with that perfect lemon flavor that has laser-like acidic balance so you get the perfect balanced lemon flavor lingering on the palate after you swallow.
The wine is classic Sebastien Dampt – he has a way of maximizing fruit but keeping it in balance with great acidity and minerality. I don’t think that there is a better under $65 Grand Cru value in France. Epic wine and highway robbery at this price point. This will be limited. I was super impressed. It can and should age for 3-5 years before it reaches peak but there is no structural (closed) reason it should not be drunk now. It is utterly compelling and delicious.
Bougros
Bougros is located on the NW section of the big hill where all the Grand Crus are located. The excellent 1er Cru Fourchaume is to the North and Preuses Grand Cru is above Bougros on the hill. The soil is more clay dominated as it is near the water and actually gives Bougros a lovely earthiness. It is also very steep, maybe the steepest of the Grand Crus and also is southwest facing so gets excellent sunshine. Sebastien makes this wine under the Maison Dampt label with his brother.
“Moderate wood sets off aromas of green fruit, lemon lime and a suggestion of oyster shell. The rich, round and moderately dense medium-bodied flavors that offer solid depth and length on the youthfully austere, compact and balanced finish. This could use better depth but that’s often the case with young Bougros.”
90-93 Points Burghound (2022)
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your firstorder if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
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