Doisy Daëne 2005

Tasted blind at the 10-Year On Tasting in Sauternes. The 2005 Château Doisy-Daëne has a very attractive nose with perfumed apricot blossom, white peach and honey all infused with cold stone scents. The palate is very well balanced with beautifully judged acidity. This feels harmonious in the mouth, almost Coutet-like in style with a long, lightly spiced finish. This is an excellent Doisy-Daene from Denis Dubourdieu. Drink 2015-2040.

This is fantastic, with masses of sweet fruit. Passion fruit, caramel and apple--this has it all. Full and sweet. Extremely serious for this estate.

Medium to deep straw-gold in color, the 2005 Doisy Daene shoots forth with pronounced lime jelly, lemon marmalade, and dried mango scents plus hints of caramel waffles, shortbread, and hazelnut butter. Concentrated and powerful in the mouth, it delivers loads of savory and nut layers with a long, honeyed finish.

Sweet and round. Very flattering and charming. Lovely texture and freshness. Quite delicate and certainly wonderfully appetising. One of the few 2005s that could be served before a meal??? Long, neat. Not as full and sweet as some but very well judged. No enormous weight of sugar but very zesty. Drink 2014-26

Pale yellow color. Spicy, perfumed aromas of pineapple, peach nectar, nutmeg and ginger, with a complicating smoky nuance. Juicy, pure and penetrating, with harmonious ripe acidity framing the pineapple, white peach and citrus flavors. This has an almost painful spiciness today that gives the finish a somewhat aggressive character, but this is long and promising.

The nose has that lovely fruit acidity of a great German Riesling Auslese. The wine is very complex and fresh; length and real class without great weight but so much finesse that this could almost be five stars. This is the sort of wine Denis Dubourdieu and his father Pierre want to make. 4 stars