BORDEAUX 2020 En PRIMEUR - DELIVERY June 2022. PRICES IN BOND. Limited quantities. 100% - Sauvignon blanc.
Situation & History: Château Doisy-Daëne, Second Cru Classé in 1855, located in Barsac in the Sauternes appellation, has been in the Dubourdieu family since 1924. For over eighty years three generations of vine growers have exercised talents to produce great sweet white wines : Georges (1924-1948), Pierre (1949-1999) and
Denis since 2000.
How was it born ?
L' Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne' s First Vintage was produced in 1990. Pierre Dubourdieu recalls this quiet crazy experiment: "My son Denis wondered what would happen to a Sauvignon of noble rot if it reached its highest concentration potential; upon harvesting the Doisy-Daëne Sec, we purposely left two grapes clusters on each vine plant in a few plots and decided to wait as long as possible. When we harvested them in early November, the grapes were highly concentrated, entirely candied, slightly purple colored, the skin eaten up by Botrytis with the flesh gathered around the seeds. The sugar content was astonishing; 36° to 40° alcohol proof. Pressing lasted two days". This describes the grape selection for Sauvignon Blanc, but the blend is also composed of Semillon. Its harvest is performed according to the very traditional "grain à grain" (berry per berry) picking technique. Experienced picker are exclusively selecting the "grains rôtis" (berries having reached the optimal stage of noble rot). They are removed from the cluster and dropped in the picking basket by flawlessly using the pike of the picking shears. Doisy-Daëne's L'Extravagant was produced by using a similar process in 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The quantity produced were thus extremely limited: 4 barrels in 1990 and 1996; 5 in 1997, 2003 and 2004 ; 6 in 2001 and 2002 ; 8 in 2005.
Soils
The composition of the soil of the Barsac plateau is from a geological standpoint and for the Bordeaux region unusual A thin layer of clayey sands, known as "Barsac red sands", tops the chalky subsoil. This lightly cracked calcareous rock layer limits the rooting depth of the vine to about twenty inches. The water that got stored within the slightly porous rock throughout the summer, is progressively dispensed to the vine during the winter, preventing thus a water overload. This soil is particularly well-suited to the making of elegant and distinguished white wines.
Wine making and ageing
For three quarters of a century, oenological progress and sensible traditions have combined to create the characteristics of Doisy-Daëne grapes. With this know-how an astonishingly simplified process has been elaborated. After the juice has been extracted through extremely slow pressings, the musts, pure and rich, ferment in new oak barrels. Aging in oak lasts 18 months in the coolness of the cellar and is regulated by the weekly fillings of the barrels and regular racking.
Tasting
Doisy Daëne wine has a style of its own that privileges a bursting fruit concentrated by the "noble rot", strength, balance and subtlety of the flavors. The Doisy-Daëne style is all at once the expression of a great calcareous soil and a truly aesthetic family tradition, the one of distinguished white wines, of crystal-like purity, combining power and freshness, in an infinite youth.
