Description

Daosa is a traditional method, single vineyard, vintage, blanc de blancs, grown on the “Bizot Vineyard” in the Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills. Just 2,500 bottles have been produced from the single vineyard, which was planted by Xavier’s father, Christian Bizot, formerly chairman of Bollinger. Planted in 1995 and 96 in the higher slopes of the valley which are perfect for making quality sparkling wine.  The wine spent 8 months in barrel and then 51 months on lees.

What makes this special is that Champagne is often a blend of varieties, vintages and villages. Rarely are quality wines there shown as a pure expression of one vintage, site and variety. But here we have a wine that does it so well. Delicate, nuanced, a beautiful mouthfeel and amazing quality. It’s a fair drink on its own but will work with steamed or baked fish and lighter white meats. Certainly this will improve with age, I’d suggest in 2020 it will be a delicious drink and maybe it will improve beyond that too.

Adelaide Hills – This is a big and varied region that basically stretches from the top of the McLaren Vale all the way to the bottom of the Barossa. This means there is a big scope for climatic conditions. In the central part where its altitude is quite high you can get some of the best sites in the world for Sparkling wine. In the slightly warmer parts of the centre, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme with Riesling, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc worthy of honourable mentions.

Chardonnay – The grape that you can plant anywhere, in any climate and do anything to and it will still taste like an OK wine. When people hit the sweet spot of site, climate, cropping and winemaking, Chardonnay becomes a magical wine that will age gracefully but charm you at any age. Chardonnays can range from cool climate lean and citrusy to warmer climate tropical and overt. Oak and lees can add flavouring as can malolactic fermentation.