Château Doisy-Védrines 2022

Interesting aromatics with nutty notes, floral tones, dried apricots, dates, macerated raisins; a powerful, full palate that remains elegant, with very long-lasting aromas; an impressive Sauternes that can age for a long time.

Luscious and lifted, this has vibrancy and crystalline fruit with purity and class. Honey and caramel, some buttery toastiness but lots of florality too and a really sugary centre with mango, pineapple, lemon zest, apricot and peach fleshiness. Ends cool and crisp.

A very classic Sauternes with dried apricots, sliced peaches and apples with caramel and honey. Medium- to full-bodied with a very sweet palate and intense botrytis. Really flavorful and lovely, showing the great modern era of Sauternes. This will age beautifully. One of the best bottles I have had from here in years. Drink or hold.

The 2022 Doisy-Védrines has a pretty nose with dried honey, peach skin and beeswax scents that unfold in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with an unctuous opening. This feels very smooth, with better acidity than its peers and a brightness on the finish that is very appealing. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.

Lush, sweet, ripe, yellow tropical fruits with pineapples, apricots, and candied orange, all coated with honey, are on the nose and palate. Drink from 2025-2045. 93-93 pts.

Medium golden yellow in colour with silver reflections. On the nose, an inviting bouquet of fine lanolin, pleasant nuances of botrytis, and subtle light nougat notes. The palate is juicy, elegant and beautifully balanced, with fine freshness, integrated sweetness, and fine fruit on the finish. Delicate, already approachable but with great potential for ageing, a superfine style.

Exotic honeyed mint, caramelized pineapple, and orange marmalade all emerge from the 2022 Château Doisy-Védrines, another ripe, powerful Sauternes that has beautiful balance and length. Despite the richness and opulence of the year, it has a good spine of acidity and stays light on its feet.

Delicate perfume, fresh pear purée, mandarin oil and linden blossom honey. On the rich palate, an oily texture with peppery extract, balanced drive and a multi-layered body. In the aromatic, long-lasting finish, a firework of yellow dried fruits, saffron and preserved mirabelles.

Sharp pineapple and pink grapefruit, with lemon and lime zest, with a ton of personality and kick. Impossible to suppress a smile while tasting this lovely wine, that captures the exuberance of the vintage while maintaining its sense of abandon and contrasting acidities. Even more impressive when you see this has a tiny 8hl/ha yield (an improvement on 2021, when no wine was made following frost), 33% new oak for ageing. Located in Barsac but bottled under Sauternes. Harvest October 2 to 28, four passes through the vineyard.

An aromatic, exhilarating nose that evokes the scents of the jungle. On the palate, the wine is precise, dynamic, with lovely acidity.

Inviting nuances of pineapple, nougat and almond cake on the bouquet of Doisy-Védrines. Dense and suave on the attack, the wine takes on a linear, non-exuberant profile. It prefers to bank on its freshness, on what it does best. It hardly seeks to tease the top tier; it prefers to perform where it excels—one does not preclude the other in the medium and long term. A Doisy-Védrines that never loses sight of its primary goal: to please and to be drunk!

A 2022 vintage defined by opulence and precision! A complex, explosive nose with notes of praline, white pepper, and roasted pineapple. The palate shows both elegance and power, with sweet spice aromas (saffron, ginger). Subtle citrus notes on the finish (grapefruit peel). Creamy and balanced, with a touch leaning slightly toward acidity and freshness. Majestic! Sauternes lovers, you have a benchmark for your en primeur purchases this year.