Chateau Dauzac 2018
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2018 vintage, with a level of quality seldom achieved, is characterized by hints of spicy, ripe cherry, very nice concentration and exceptionally silky tannins. Our suggestions White meat, poultry, red meat, game, cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of crushed black and blue fruit on the nose with licorice and crushed gravel, too. Hints of tobacco. It’s full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Balanced and precise. Tight at the finish. Tannins are integrated and mouth filling. The grow nicely on the palate. 68% cabernet sauvignon and 32% merlot. Try from 2024.
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Decanter
Opens to a wall of tannins alongside black spicy fruits, black pepper and fresh acidity. Architectural overall. A trace of heat on the finish detracts from the successful balance but there is plenty to enjoy here. Drinking Window 2025 - 2042
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Wine Spectator
Very fresh and silky in feel, with a bright display of raspberry coulis and cassis notes that glides through, infused gently with rooibos tea, incense and savory details through the caressing finish. Understated style, but there's a lot to like. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2034.
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Wine Enthusiast
Powerfully structured, this is a big wine. Black fruits, ripe tannins and concentration are not shy in their richness. Juicy blackberry flavors are just beginning to develop and integrate with the structure. Drink from 2026.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Château Dauzac is another charming, nicely balanced, textured wine from Margaux with plenty of ripe red and black fruits, notes of dried flowers, chocolate, and incense, light tannins, and outstanding length. It's a fleshy, balanced, flavor-filled beauty that is already drinking nicely today yet is going to keep for 15 years in cold cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, 2018 Dauzac comes galloping out of the glass with powerful notes of blackcurrant cordial, stewed black plums and blueberry compote, plus suggestions of violets, clove oil and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with ripe black fruits, framed by firm, grainy tannin's and bold freshness, finishing long with a peppery kick.
Other Vintages
2022-
James
Suckling - Vinous
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Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
It was here at Dauzac, in 1885, that Ernest David, then estate manager of both Dauzac and Ducru Beaucaillou, perfected the "Bouillie Bordelaise", thus saving the european vineyard from mildew.
As in the majority of Medoc vineyards, the principal grape-varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Grapes at Dauzac are destemmed and crushed before fermentation in stainless-steel vats equipped with a patented system for breaking up the cap, giving excellent tannic extraction. Wines are matured in oak barrels, the percentage of new oak adapted to the characteristics of each vintage.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.