Wine Advisor
Doisy Daene 2012
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. The 2012 Château Doisy-Daëne put in a vexing showing after such a promising display from barrel. Here, it has a simple nose that feels rudimentary and maybe a little raw compared to its peers. The palate is balanced but very simple, very linear in style. There is just a touch of bitterness that surfaces in the second half that lacks depth and a sense of conviction. Maybe this is enduring a closed phase but I have tasted much better wines from this iconic Barsac estate in recent years. I will seek to re-evaluate this.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2012 Doisy-Daene has a light bouquet of honeysuckle and elderflower that presently does not possess the same minerality and race as recent vintages. But still, with patience the nascent wine gains vigor in the glass and offers pleasant dried honey aromas. The palate is much more convincing, with a lively opening with a wonderful seam of citric acidity, precise orange zest and marmalade notes with a hint of spice toward the finish. This is not a complex Doisy-Daene, but it has overcome the challenges of the growing season to offer a delightful Barsac. Bravo professeur!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2012 Doisy-Daëne comes across just a little disjointed on the nose, though it does begin to cohere with aeration with scents of white flowers and almond. The palate is well balanced with a tang of orange zest mixed with peach and elderflower, fine acidity, pretty with a caressing viscous finish. Not a top-ranking Doisy-Daëne, but it should give another 12-15 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2012 Doisy-Daëne is simple and rather one-dimensional on the nose because of the awful growing season, gradually offering light honey and almond notes. The palate is better with good weight, tangy marmalade and orange rind, a touch of lemongrass with fine acidity. At the end of the day, this is a fine Barsac let down by the aromatics. Tasted at the vertical at Doisy-Daëne.
About the Producer
Château Doisy Daëne is Bordeaux wine producer located in the commune of Barsac. Its sweet white wine ranked as Second Cru Classé (French, “Second Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It belongs to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves. The three Doisy wine estates, Château Doisy Daëne, Château Doisy-Védrines, Château Doisy-Dubroca, originate from one single estate, the early history and division of which is not very well documented. The earliest documented mention of the Doisy wine cru is in André Julliens book Topographie de tous les vignobles connus in 1832. The Daëne part of the name comes from Jean Jacques Emmanuel Daëne, who was the vineyard owner and a wine merchant in Bordeaux, and who at some stage bought one of three portions of the estate. J.J.E. Daëne's three sons inherited the wine estate in 1875, and in the same year they sold a portion of it the Dubroca brothers of Doisy-Dubroca. In 1878 Doisy-Daëne was sold to Jean Paul Billot, and his daughter Pauline inherited it in 1884, and sold it to the Debans brothers in 1889. From 1924 Château Doisy Daëne has been owned by the Dubourdieu family. Georges Dubourdieu acquired it from the Debans heirs in 1924. Georges stayed in control until 1949, when his son Pierre Dubourdieu took over. One of Pierre Dubourdieu's innovations, in the early 1950s, was to start also making a dry white wine, the first in the Sauternes area. In 2000, Pierre's son Denis Dubourdieu took over the control estate. In 1990 and as a result of an experiment, Denis had introduced l'Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne, a concentrated wine of higher sweetness than usual Sauternes, produced from highly botrytised grapes. Doisy Daëne has 18.2 hectares (45 acres) of vineyards, planted with 86% Sémillon and 14% Sauvignon blanc. Until the 2008 vintage, there was also a small amount of Muscadelle in the vineyards. Doisy-Daëne produces three wines: Château Doisy Daëne, its sweet Sauternes wine, in composition close to the average of the estate's vineyards; Grand Vin Sec du Château Doisy-Daëne, a dry Bordeaux Blanc from 100% Sauvignon blanc and aged 8 months in oak barrels of which 20% new oak; L'Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne, an extra sweet Sauternes produced in some vintages. 45% to 80% Sémillon and 20% to 55% Sauvignon blanc depending on the vintage.
