The three Doisy vineyards of Barsac,
Doisy-Vedrines, Doisy-Dubroca and Doisy-Daene all stem from one single estate. The
earliest record showed that from the 18th century there was a
mention of a property south of Chateau Coutet owned by the Vedrines family. Jean
Vedrines and Marie Raymond settled in the little village named La Pinesse and
established an estate, as well as planting vines.
In the same century the family had expanded
the property by acquiring a small portion of the Coutet vineyard. By the early
19th century it was recognized as one of the leading vineyards of
Barsac, along with Coutet and Climens. It was not clear when the vineyard was
divided, with the largest portion becoming Doisy-Vedrines, with the original
owners.
The two smaller portions, with the first
acquired by the Faux family, becomes today Doisy-Dubroca. The
remaining portion was purchased by Jean Jacques Emmanuel Daene, believed to
derive from the English name Deane, becoming Doisy-Daene. It
remained in the hands of the Daene family when it was ranked a deuxieme cru in
the 1855 classification and was later inherited by Jean’s sons.
Subsequently it was sold to Jean Paul
Billot, and later changed hands a few times more, first to Billot’s daughter
Pauline who married to a local negociant Jean Lodois Juhel-Renoy in 1884. She
later sold it to Jules Debans and his brother in 1889, after which it was sold to
Georges Dubourdieu in 1924, whose descendants continue to manage the property
till today.
From Georges it came first to his son
Pierre, who improved the estate by expanding from 4 hectares to more than 15
hectares, as well as an ambitious replanting programme. After retiring in
2000, he passed to his son Denis Dubourdieu, the famous Professor of Oenology
at Bordeaux University.
Now the running of the estate is handed to his sons
Fabrice and Jean-Jacques.
The vineyards largely lay to the south and
east of the buildings and cellars, with typical Barsac soil of red sand and
clay on top of limestone bedrock with fossilized shellfish. The
vines are mature after the replanting in the 1950s and 1960s, averaging more
than 40 years old. The size of the estate now is 18 hectares, with the majority of the
vineyards sandwiched between Climens to the west and Coutet to the north and
east.
Planting density is 7000 vines per hectare,
with 87% Semillon, 12% Sauvignon Blanc and 1% Muscadelle. Minimal
treatment is adopted, with no herbicide used, and maintaining regular ploughing. For many years the wine made is dry instead of
sweet, which is not the case today but there is still a dry cuvee produced. In
better vintages there is a super-cuvee made.
The caring is done by hands, such as
pruning, training and leaf-stripping, manual harvest with at least three but
often up to six tries.
Pierre’s approach was unusual and experimental, with
plots of Riesling and Chardonnay in the vineyard. The grand vin is
Chateau Doisy-Daene with about 3300 cases per annum, typically a blend of
85-90% Semillon and 10-15% Sauvignon Blanc.
The fruit is pressed and then fermented in
barrel, with one-third of the wood renewed each year, followed by elevage for
12 months in barrels and another 6 months in stainless steel vats. The two
notable cuvees include a dry white made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, fermented
and aged in oak barrels of which one-third is new, with typically 2500 cases
per annum.
The rare L’Extravagant de Doisy-Daene is
the super-cuvee first produced in 1990, only made in selected successful
vintages. Four or five bunches are left on each vine, delaying the harvest
until November, with botrytis and passerillage had done the best to dehydrate
the berries. The concentration of the sugar is exceptionally high at 230 g/l at
the minimum, way above the typical Sauternes of 120-140 g/l. Quantities
are very limited, with as little as 100 cases depending on vintage.
I have
recently tasted the 2006 vintage and below is my tasting note:
Appearance
Bright
and clear, it has medium gold color, with long legs.
Nose
Clean,
with medium (+) intensity aromas showing stone fruit of apricot, maturity notes
of honey, citrus fruit of lemon, bitter orange and orange peel, oak notes of
cedar and toast, dried fruit of sultana, kernel notes of almond. The wine is
developing.
Palate
Sweet
with medium (+) acidity, this wine has medium (+) in alcohol and is of full
body, with medium intensity flavors of stone fruit of peach, citrus fruit of
lemon and orange marmalade, oak notes of honey, dried fruit of sultana. The
wine has a medium finish.
Conclusion
Good
quality Barsac with a refreshing acidity balancing well the sweetness, the wine
has a good intense nose showing complex characters, on the palate it demonstrates
robust structure and freshness, though overall the concentration is a bit weak
than one would expect. Highlighting similar flavor profile, the finish of the
wine is also a bit shorter than desired. Ready to drink now, the wine can
benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.
沒有留言:
張貼留言