Château Doisy-Daëne 2006

The flagship sweet wine of Professor Denis Dubourdieu, this is a beautifully made wine and one of the best I have tasted from the chateau. The wine, which is usually about 70% Semillon, 20% Sauvignon, and the rest Muscadelle, exhibits a bold, opulent style with gobs of fruit, some honeyed peach, apricot, and pineapple notes, an elegant yet substantial mouthfeel, and superb purity backed up the zesty acidity, giving the wine a laser-like focus. It is moderately sweet and by no means cloying at all. This is a gorgeous wine, probably not among the longest-lived of the vintage, but it has at least 20 years left in it.

There's lemon meringue on the nose, with candied lemon and apple crumble. Full-bodied, with medium sweetness and a ripe fruit aftertaste. This is spicy on the finish. Needs time. Better than from barrel. Best after 2012.

A lively, spicy wine that shows ginger and nutmeg character, followed by ripe white pears. Beneath this vivid character, the texture is smooth, honeyed, deliciously ripe.

Intense yellow. A delicately sweet bouquet reminiscent of a ripe Sylvaner, with flinty notes, sweet yellow fruit and a lovely touch of vanilla. On the palate, fine elegance and verve; one of the few Sauternes with well-balanced acidity, leading into a long, elegant finish. Already a great pleasure to drink while young.

The attack is wonderfully elegant and fresh, the mid-palate is dense; the whole is straight and fully caressed by the sugar. The balance is perfect. The wine is still very young, as the components have not yet come together.

The score is the same as the one given during En Primeur. Pale yellow color; a fruity, fresh, refined nose with notes of truffle and forest floor. The palate is rich and airy through the mid-palate, evolving into a finely creamy, dense finish. Very good length, flavorful and distinguished. It’s one of the year’s successes.