Tasting comments
The 2021 vintage is bright red with ruby hues. The nose is marked by red fruits with a slightly floral expression. A nice presence in the mouth with a round and supple attack; very nice concentration with notes of crispy black fruits.
Weather
One vintage follows another but no two are alike. The 2021 vintage called for a lot of patience and commitment. We worked relentlessly to protect our vines from disease pressure. The vintage began by an especially mild and rainy winter. Bud break was uniform and occured early but the extra-cold and rainy spring meant that the head start was soon lost. During the spell of frost in April, Château Dauzac’s vineyards were protected due to their proximity to the Gironde estuary, which acts as a natural thermal regulator. Flowering began around May 25th in ideally warm and dry weather. June was especially rainy, with approximately 127% more rain than avarage. At times, the rain had an impact on flowering, with traces of coulure (also know as shatter) and millerandage. The cold and damp summer called for watchfulness at all times. Mildew pressure increased and was more intense. Preventing the mildew from developing turned out to be one of the summer’s main goals. Veraison was delayed due to the lack of sun while temperatures remained cool and below average. We will have to wait until between August 15th and 20th to observe a homogeneous veraison. The harvest began on September 22nd with our earliest Merlot plots and ended on October 13th with our great Cabernet Sauvignons, which were able to take advantage of the sunny days after the rainy spell in early October. Plot-by-plot selection and meticulous sorting of the grapes harvested allowed for high-quality winemaking. The mature balances are reminiscent of the past century’s great vintages: aromas of crisp fruit, lots of subtlety and great length on the palate. It has the freshness and structure that have made Bordeaux wines so famous.
