1996 Domaine Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru
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Tasting notes
Palish straw-yellow color; less bright than some vintages in this tasting. (I've seen published tasting notes on this wine dating back as far as a decade that described it as distinctly golden in color, but not this bottle!) Rather wild aromas of hawthorn, acacia flower, chalk and cedar, plus a hint of truffle; not about fruit. Powerful, large-scaled and penetrating on the palate; densely packed but a bit disjointed owing to its combination of sweetness and bracing acidity. Conveys a rare impression of solidity for Chablis, suggesting that it will live on in bottle for many more years. But will it ever truly be fun to drink? Dauvissat noted that there was not a lot of juice in the press in '96, and the wine is clearly high in dry extract. This wine actually finished its malolactic fermentation after the '97 Clos did, and it was bottled later than that wine. (Dauvissat described this wine as " le monstre --a bit special" for its combination of huge alcohol, gras and very high acidity; he picked what he described as a normal crop on September 23 with potential alcohol ranging from 12.5% to 14.5% and the wine finished with between 5 and 5.5 grams per liter acidity)
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Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Revealing powerful and expansive aromas of liquid minerals, spices, and cloves, the massive, oily, and full-bodied Chablis Les Clos is a he-man of a wine. Its complex and layered core is tightly packed with minerals, juniper berries, citrus fruit and apples. This extraordinary Chablis offers superb definition and delineation as well as an exemplary finish. As it finishes its elevage in Dauvissat's cellar I would not be surprised if this elegant monster becomes even better than when I tasted it in November, 1997. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2010.Bravo! The rating, with the range of scores in parentheses, indicates the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Vincent Dauvissat said he had never seen a vintage with grapes as concentrated, mature, healthy and as high in acidity as 1996, calling it "a 200% Chablis vintage." His father, Rene Dauvissat, reportedly believes it is comparable to 1949. A hail storm in May struck the village and premier cru vineyards but the grand crus were thankfully spared. The younger Dauvissat believes that the dry wind from the north-east that blew constantly during the months of August and September is responsible for dropping yields 25% through dehydration and the thickening of skins, and that the spring hail was responsible for another 25% drop in yields. He deduced this from the fact that yields in his village and premier cru vineyards were 50% off the norm while yields in Les Clos were only 25% below average. The estate is extending its normal elevage time to allow the wines to build body and complexity in the barrels, and to take advantage of this winter's drop in temperatures to help reduce the acidity levels (cold precipitates tartaric acid). Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel (205) 980-8802.