Ep 389: Chateau Doyac and the Diversity of Terroir in the Haut-Medoc of Bordeaux
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In our continued exploration of the M\\xe9doc (which will culminate in two free, live, online classes that I hope you\'ll join or watch on YouTube afterwards), on the Left Bank of Bordeaux, I spoke with Astrid de Pourtal\\xe8s, co-owner of Ch\\xe2teau Doyac.\\xa0This property is a Cru Bourgeois Sup\\xe9rieur\\xa0located in the northernmost part of the Haut-M\\xe9doc appellation that is unlike what you think of when you consider this region.\\xa0This show presents a high level overview of a different part of the M\\xe9doc (versus Ch\\xe2teau Meyney, where Anne Le Naour gives a very detailed view of St-Est\\xe8phe) and a nice view of what a family owned ch\\xe2teau is like in the region.
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Astrid de Pourtal\\xe8s owns the ch\\xe2teau with her husband Max and her daughter Cl\\xe9mance. She discusses her experiences in being fairly new to Bordeaux after a career in the New York theater scene (they bought Ch\\xe2teau Doyac in 1998) and the bold move that Max made to transition Doyac to an ECOCERT certified organic vineyard in 2018 and then a Demeter certified biodynamic vineyard in 2019 (this is no small feat in Bordeaux, which has an erratic climate, we don\\u2019t go into extensive detail but it is an interesting contrast to the show with Sof\\xeda Araya of Veramonte in Chile who discusses biodynamics in that easier to farm area).
Astrid tells us how they came to buy the ch\\xe2teau, the measures they took to improve it (including hiring famed consultant Eric Boissenot, who consults for the majority of the Grands Crus Class\\xe9 in the M\\xe9doc), and the role her daughter, Cl\\xe9mance, an agronomist, will take in the future to run things for this small, high quality property that makes about 100,000 bottles/8,300 cases.
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We discuss a number of high-level topics:
- What it is like in the very northern part of the Haut-M\\xe9doc where the effects of the Atlantic and Gironde are stronger and the soil has a big proportion of limestone (Doyac\'s Sauvignon Blanc is on my list to try \\u2013 apparently it is reminiscent of Chablis - not a typo she says it\'s like a minerally Chardonnay!).
- We talk about the reasons Max pursued the organic and biodynamic paths for Ch\\xe2teau Doyac and the results: better, easier to work soils, and much improved vines and wines that demonstrate elegance, acidity, and pure fruit character (right now the mix is Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon but in the future about 20% will be Cabernet Franc, with 70% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc is their most recent planting -- it does well on the limestone clay soils here).
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- Astrid discusses their second wine, Espirit de Doyac and their newest wines in Le Pelican line.
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- Astrid tells us why Doyac uses amphora (you can listen to this podcast to really learn about that topic) and what the benefits of that is versus oak.
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- We wrap up with a discussion of the Cru Bourgeois and talk about the bright future for Ch\\xe2teau Doyac.
Photo from Les Grappes: Astrid and Max de Pourtal\\xe8s
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Astrid mentions a few chateaux in the conversation. Here are links that will be helpful if you missed anything in the conversation:
- Chateau de Malleret, Haut-Medoc, France \\u2013 the chateau Max\\u2019s father in law owned (Holy COW this is a huge ch\\xe2teau and gorgeous!)
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- Chateau Ferri\\xe8re in Margaux (very pricey wines, BTW) where a group meets to discuss and mix teas for \\xa0biodynamics
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- We also talk about the Saint-\\xc9milion Classification issues (Article) and the Cru Bourgeois.
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