My guilty pleasure, one of my favorite appellations, and 25% of my cellar - the Sauternais! A bit about Chateau Doisy-Vedrines - interestingly, despite being in neighboring Barsac, they label themselves as Sauternes (which one is allowed to do), and while the exact blend of the vintage was difficult to track down, the plantings of the Chateau are 80% Semillon, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, & 5% Muscadelle - average vine age of 30 years. The aging is done for about a year and a half, in 50-60% new oak barrels. This next tidbit I found particularly interesting - yields for them that year were 10 hectoliters a hectare, or about 40 sf of vineyard to make the halfsie bottle I'm enjoying. This particular bottle was a wonderful find for me at $12 - a wonderful vintage year & as a 2nd growth producer, I knew I'd be hard pressed to find a better bottle at that price point. Stored at 45, popped and poured - enjoyed sans pairing over two hours.

Visually, still a medium gold. Cork came out clean & intact with an ah-so, with plenty of tiny calcium mucate deposits on it.

On the nose - well, I went in expecting to pick up the usual tropical or stone fruit notes, but was immediately uppercut by strong chemical scents of superglue & acetone. Hello, ethyl acetate! Fortunately it wafted off within 10-15 minutes, replaced by tres leches, pie crust, creme brulee, brown sugar - faint at first, then increasing in intensity as it warmed & got air. Very little fruit notes here, I'm inclined to think the higher % of new oak barrels imparted more of these type of notes than I'm used to (my usual Barsac tends to be more Climens). The botrytis notes of honey & caramel joined the party soon enough, but it would take until the last glass for some fruit to appear - orange peel, roasted pineapple. This is wonderfully complex!

On the palate, we've got decent body here - not the lightness of a Climens nor the gobsmacking decadence of a Coutet, rather a middle ground. Faint tannic nibble thanks to the barrels, with an above average acidity (compared to its peers, anyway) to help balance a \~140g/L sweetness. The alcohol is only notable as it warms up (13.5%), but the finish - that finish! Flavors of being buried alive in a Miami bakery lasting over a minute. 

I have a Doisy-Daene & a La Tour Blanche from 2009 to compare this with, but the relative absence of fruit notes at this young age (to me) made for an interesting experience and memorable flavor profile. It was an intense year - hot, humid, plenty of sugar and alcohol, and I can feel that in this bottling. I haven't sampled the 2009 yet in my usuals - Climens, Suduiraut, Lafaurie-Peyraguey - and that's a comparison I look forward to making. Bottom line, the complexity/intensity of scent & flavor I received for just >>$12<< - hard to beat!

(Bonus photo of additional info from my Bordeaux and its Wines time, albeit a little outdated!)

2009 Chateau Doisy-Védrines Sauternes | 🇫🇷