Dauvissat - Premox?

Anyone have a good experience on Dauvissat and potential premox? I hear different views, hence I am reaching out to the community…

well documented with R&V, now V. 95 and 96, 375s also.

I’ve had more than my fair share of oxidised '07’s, '08’s and '10’s from them.

dauvissat-camus (same) had oxed 2010s and 2012s.

Me too. When not oxidized they are some of the best from Chablis however.

bunch of oxidized '02s here. Haven’t bought many since.

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How are the 2014’s?

The question that I would like answered is why the hell didn’t they do like Fevre and start using Diam.

Never had a premoxed Dauvissat (and yes, I know the characteristics of premox) and I both drink a cellar quite a bit of Dauvissat (currently 170 bottles in my cellar). Guess I should be playing the lottery more often …

I have the same response. I hope those who know Vincent, or visit the estate, can give that feedback. I at one time had 10-12 cases of Dauvissat back to 2002. I’ve had a fair amount of premox, worst in the later 2000’s, with 2008 being the peak.

There has been discussion about why some folks report none, others plenty. I live on the west coast (seattle), so the wines that get to me have to travel far, despite travelling regular distributor/retail channels. those in Europe report less premox, although one of the board participants in Belgium has reported extensive premox.

I have never seen R&V Dauvissat imported by Vineyard Brands, or Dauvissat-Camus imported by Grape Expectations and Classic Wine Imports, with wax covered capsules. However, Grey Market bottles for at least R&V Dauvissat often have wax covered capsules. I wonder how much, if any, difference the wax makes preventing premox?

A lot of his grand cru’s 08 were premoxed . Also other years . I stopped buying them.

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I skimmed my notes of wines from 1998-2006 from Dauvissat…premier crus…I keep the grand crus to age the most. I found some issues particularly with the 2000s…and random bottles from other vintages…though surprisingly few. What I also found in my notes is the phenomenon of a wine seeming shot/oxidized (“premature” is pretty subjective at this point) …assuming at first oxidized, then blossoming into beautiful wine with lots and lots of aeration. So, these wines, imo, were not oxidized…just the opposite…in need of oxidation to show their stuff. I know Dauvissat made wines in this style…but I have seen this in action too many times to assume that, as initially seems, the wines are oxidized. It usually fools me…so…I almost always let them air out to see what happens. Some are clearly oxidized; some blossom. Hard to distinguish which…and I aerate all Dauvissat wines…for at least a few hours. No pop and pour on them, for me.

1 of the 2 bottles of 2008 Les Clos I purchased was oxidized. Still have the other but not too optimistic.

Stuart–there is or at least has been clearly a phenomenon of very reductive Dauvissats that at first appear oxidized (darker color, weird off flavors, not much nose), but on further evaluation have none of the typical oxidized characteristics (sherry, baked apple, etc), and that can blossom amazingly over the course of 1-3 hours of air. These wines often came from the time period you mention. I really haven’t had this type of wine since 2005 or 06 r so. However, there is a separate very clear premox problem of unmistakably oxidized wines that get progressively worse with air, taste like browned apples, etc.

For me these wines really started to show up after 2005 or so, and hit a peak with 2008. I don’t really know why it was a later phenomenon (for me at least) than with Cote de Beaune whites.

Had the 2014 La Forest last night, youthful, pale colour, almost painfully intense, great mid palate concentration, long finish.

opened 3 2010 Dauvissat La Forest this year. 1 - phenomenal then 2 pox’ed. Still have 3 left…

2014 village wine was fantastic this past summer.
It needed a little time to open up but once it hit the 2-3 hour mark, it was showing very well.

Not sure, John, what “these” wines are…the oxidized or the reduced?..but…the danger , to me, is in not allowing the ostensibly spoiled bottles to aerate out to see where they head: either to premox/oxidized or to flower, with oxygen, into really nice wines. The distinction is not obvious, at least not to me, and the aeration the only way to be sure. I fear that many people throw out “the baby with the bath water” and …assume the reductive wines are oxidized…when Dauvissat has both results in their performances. Pretty much whenever I find a flaw in a wine, particularly a white wine, I let it aerate to see if it leaves. (I had a 2001 Boxler “Brand” riesling the other day that had TCA taint…and…it annoyed me more and more as it opened.) There are some pleasant surprises, though not the rule.

By “these wines” I meant pre-moxed. All of my Dauvissats get plenty of air. Majority of the time I decant them for an hour or two before beginning to drink. I never pour out a potentially flawed Dauvissat wine (except TCA) until the following day. After over 20 years of drinking Dauvassat wines fairly steadily (and over 30 of drinking them), it’s rare that I will get fooled by a reductive vs a premoxed wine even at the outset.