Château Doisy-Védrines 2016

A focused and forward style, offering a mix of peach, mango and flan notes lined with subtle ginger and marzipan accents. An almond cream echo lines the finish. Best from 2022 through 2036. 3,750 cases made.

Based in Barsac, and has that wonderful spicy, tight minerality of a Barsac. A really late harvest this year, right through to the end of October. This has such a beautiful balm, yet again for me it lacks some pep. It’s not a 2007 or 2001 or 2011. But it’s gorgeous. The texture of these wines is so crazily seductive, and the power and intensity of toasted blood orange slices is stunning, but it would benefit from a lime-soaked twist.

Tons of candied citrus and some floral honey character here. Not as lush as some Sauternes, but more lively and charming than most, and the bright finish is long. This is food-friendly – think blue cheese and pâté. Drink or hold.

The 2016 Doisy-Védrines has a rich, intense bouquet of marmalade and apricot, although there is some SO2 that slightly veils these aromatics. The palate is well balanced with satisfying purity on entry. The acidity is well judged, but some complexity and minerality are lacking on the somewhat predictable finish. I have had superior bottles of this, hence the question mark. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Fresh, lifted, energetic, with candied orange, pineapple, apricot, vanilla, honey and floral notes appearing on the nose and in all that sweet, ripe and overripe fruit, balanced by a jolt of acidity on the palate. Give it time for the secondary notes to emerge, if you can wait. Otherwise, it’s already a delicious, sweet treat.

Pure with intense aromas of peach, apricot, sweet citrus, almond, nougat and saffron. Fresh palate with balanced sweetness, good layers and fine extract with a long and harmonious finish.

Deep yellow with a green shimmer. Fragrant bouquet of cooked Williams pear, backed by pine needles and mandarin oil. Generous palate with a refined bitter note and perfectly integrated botrytis. Long finish with blossom honey and dried apricots. A brilliant Barsac that impresses with its delicate breed. 18.5/20

Kunz barrel sample 17: Dense, mineral, velvety bouquet; cooked pears, grapefruit, mint, Alka-Seltzer, raisins. Velvety, generously opulent, powerful palate with a creamy texture, pronounced sweetness, full fruit, well-integrated acidity, complex aromatics, long, full finish.

Dense, mineral, velvety bouquet of cooked pears, grapefruit, mint, Alka-Seltzer, raisins. Velvety, well-opulent, powerful palate with a creamy texture, pronounced sweetness, plenty of fruit, well-integrated acidity, multifaceted aromatics, long, full finish. 18/20 2022 - 2050

A blend of 83% Semillon, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, and 2% Muscadelle, the 2016 Doisy-Vedrines has 141 g/L of residual sugar. It has a pale to medium straw-gold color and gives up wonderful scents of ripe, juicy pineapples and green mango, before opening out to notes of honeycomb, coriander seed, chalk dust, and lime blossoms. The concentrated, full, rich palate delivers an impressive backbone of refreshing acidity, finishing with epic length and depth.

Very beautiful exotic-style nose, rich, unctuous, complex, great sweetness, but some bottles are more evolved than others. Beware of the closure.

Doisy-Védrine 2016 shows intensity, with candied fruit and mirabelle plum; a very delicate, fine sweet wine, as if some of its sugar had dissipated. It is probably between two phases, even if it exudes a sense of serenity, if not depth.

Golden yellow. What a bouquet! Subtle, complex, with notes of cocoa beans and currants. With a bit of aeration, I also pick up aromas of pineapple and papaya. Smooth and mineral character on the palate. Lovely tension, plenty of character and, above all, great potential!

93–95. Barrel Sample. This almost dry wine is full of botrytized fruit tones. Well balanced, it is likely to turn into a rich, dense wine as it matures, with ample acidity that shines on the finish.