Château Doisy Daëne, 2ème Cru Classé, Barsac, 2023
Complexity and power combine in this deliciously deep and intense Doisy Daene. Fine ice crystal notes with the crunch of spun sugar and cool sleek peach notes. A commanding Barsac from up on the limestone plateau, this 2023 offers richness alongside a fresh spike of grapefruit pith which leaves the palate refreshed and invigorated. Unusually for this cuvee this includes 10% Sauvignon in the blend in 2023.
critic reviews
The 2023 Doisy-Daëne has a bright and quite intense bouquet: dried honey, candle wax and quince, quite complex but it deserves time. The palate is just exquisite on the opening, with a viscous texture, orange pith and quince mixed with wild honey and a touch of white peach. There is real weight and density on the finish, another superb Doisy-Daëne and perchance superior to the previous vintage, tasted a few weeks later.
A blend of 80% Semillon and 20 % Sauvignon Blanc, the 2023 Doisy Daene has a pale lemon-straw color. It charges out with notes of pear drops, grapefruit oil, and preserved orange peel, followed by suggestions of lime leaves, wild fungi, and crushed stones. The palate is densely packed with rich, seductive citrus fruit layers, supported by wonderful tension, finishing very long and pure.
Pale gold with vibrant edging, starts with concentrated and intense clove spices, luscious apricot fruit, opening to show juicy, sculpted slivers of steel and lime juice. A return to form for this excellent Barsac wine after the succulent but unbalanced 2022. Great stuff from this legendary Dubourdieu property, although once again the yields are extremely low and the character is more concentrated than you find in vintages like 2021. Ageing starts with 10 months in oak barrels, followed by 9 months in stainless steel tank before bottling.