Chateau Dauzac has a history marked by numerous notable and interesting figures, and is itself a vineyard that has been something of a little lab that finds itself in Bordeaux. It is after all one of the oldest estates in the whole of the Medoc!

A Brief History Of Chateau Dauzac

The oldest known owner on the record of this Cinquiemes Crus (Fifth Growth of the 1855 Bordeaux Wine Classification) was a Petrus d'Auzac, who had received the land in 1190 from Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart, the King of England. Eventually though the estate would come into the hands of Benedictine monks who not only tended to some vines, but also used the land to grow livestock. The land would eventually find its way to the local order of Carmelite nuns, who continued to tend to the land, before it would be sold to Pierre Drouillard. The 1685 Drouillard purchase was important because their family would share close ties to the Lynch family, and indeed the estate would at one point come under the helm of Jean-Baptiste Lynch. The Lynch family are of course also famous for another estate, that of fellow Fifth-Growth Chateau Lynch-Bages!

Fast forward to the late 1800's, the estate would later be acquired by yet another famous Bordeaux family, the Johnston's, who had also happened to own Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and Chateau Phelan Segur, both well-regarded estates as well. It was during this time that the vineyards of Dauzac were tended to by Ernest David, who had taken liberty to use the Chateau's extensive 162 hectares of land to conduct some of his own experiments - the most famous of which was the discovery of the Bordeaux mixture, which was a type of fungicide that was used to fight off mildew that had posed a huge threat to the vineyards of Bordeaux.

Yet another notable owner of Chateau Dauzac was Jean-Jacques Bernat, who had purchased the estate when it was placed on auction as the Johnston's had by now lost much of their wealth due to the Great Depression. Bernat was a prolific ice cream manufacturer in Bordeaux, and it was under his helm that the practice of using temperature controlled vats for vinification of the wines was brought to Bordeaux - an idea that he carried over from making ice cream!

Today Chateau Dauzac is owned by Christian Roulleau, an entrepreneur who had made his name as a business services provider.

Into The (Massive) Vineyards Of Chateau Dauzac

As for the vineyards of Chateau Dauzac, it's first of all worth noting just how extensive the estate is! It is 42 hectares planted with vines, with an additional 120 hectares of farmland and forestry, making this one of the most scenic estates in Margaux. Of its 42 hectare vineyards, it is planted with 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, and has since let go of its 5% Cabernet Franc that it once held. The vines are mostly between 35-40 years old, planted to a density of 10,000 vines per hectare (considerably high density to produce more intense and rich fruit!). The estate can be broadly characterised by gravel soils, yet what is more notable is its proximity to the Gironde river which makes the estate somewhat warmer and more well-hydrated, and thus fruits here tends to be riper and so harvest season tends to take place earlier at Dauzac.

As the entire estate is fairly sizeable, it has numerous micro climates and thus you'll find that the Chateau bottles numerous labels apart from its Grand Vin - these shouldn't be considered second wines as many of them are more along the lines of small experimental parcels that are insufficient to produce enough fruit to be used for the Grand Vin. For example, the estate holds a 0.6 hectare parcel of incredibly rare ungrafted Cabernet Sauvignon that's farmed entirely biodynamically - this is a total rarity considering that very few Bordeaux producers make a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon expression and much less from original, ungrafted vines. Yet as the total fruit produced is incredibly small in yield, all of it goes to estate's Franc de Pied label.

Two other labels are produced from differing terroirs, the La Bastide Dauzac from soils that are more clay rich, and the Aurore de Dauzac from more sandy soils. There's even a Cuvee Neutre Carbone that is farmed from a 1 hectare parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon that is produced in an entirely carbon neutral manner, with every step completely monitored, and with 100% recycled bottles that are sealed with vegetable wax - this is however only sold locally so that it meets carbon neutral requirements! Overall as you can guess, the estate has a firm desire to maintain the sustainability and biodiversity of its estate!

As for the Grand Vin, this comes from a 25 hectare section that sits on the peak of the gravel slopes of the Laborde plateau. In the cellars, the wine is vinified in temperature controlled stainless steel vats, with malolactic fermentation taking place in the tanks as well. The wine is then aged in 50% new French oak barrels for 12 month, with minimal sulfur used.

With all that said, let's try the 2018 vintage of the Grand Vin Chateau Dauzac!

Let's go!

Wine Review: 2018 Chateau Dauzac, Grand Cru Classe Margaux

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark Ruby

Aroma: It opens up with great richness and concentration of raspberry fruit leather, roses, as well as some freshly toiled soil. Here it remains alittle closed off, keeping to itself, yet there’s clearly that richness concentrated at the core. 

Taste: Incredibly fruit driven, with great richness, lots of raspberry jams, gentle aromatic wafts of tobacco, with more on cassis filling in the body. The body here is rich and cohesive, very firm and supple, with a good muscular yet nuanced structure. Medium-bodied yet it feel fuller. It’s got very good precision, really honing in on that vibrant swath of raspberry jams, incredibly vibrant here, yet also silky and plush, with a really nice depth to it.

Finish: Firm tannins, more on those raspberries and blackberries. It recedes gently, with the tannins firming up. Some black tea into the finish.

My Thoughts

Incredibly impressive richness on the body! It’s ridiculously concentrated, supple and cohesively structured! It’s pure raspberry jams, with such vibrance and a lifted glimmering elegance. What also impressed me here is how it moves with alot of precision, with such great definition on the body, you could easily trace its satin-like outline, it carried with it so much understated power and energy, with a really lovely tautness to its body. Whilst on the nose it might have been alittle closed off and quiet, the body more than made up for it, with also a nice textural contrast into the finish, with the tannins firming up on cue.

This is quite honestly such an underrated producer, and slaps so hard, way above its price. This one you’ve definitely got to pick up - absolutely blown away!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot