What are your thoughts on entry level Bordeaux? Which ones would you recommend?
This week I had the opportunity to taste the 2022 Château DAVIAUD. Château DAVIAUD is produced by the Sichel Family, a Bordeaux label you may be more familiar with. Maison Sichel, now seven generations deep, was first established in 1883 as an acquisition office or négociant.
Négociants go back to the 18th century when Châteaux were owned by the very wealthy and sometimes even by royalty. Châteaux were responsible for tending vineyards, making wine and putting it into barrel. Due to the social status of this group, the act of going out and marketing their wines for sale seemed beneath them. This is where négociants come in. The Châteaux would sell their barrels of wine to négociants who would then age, blend, bottle and sell the wine. This arrangement was also advantageous as viticulture and winemaking was, and still is, very costly. Being able to sell the wine as soon as it was made provided the Châteaux with an injection of capital to keep things going.
Thus Maison Sichel carried on as a négociant for generations. At the end of the 1960s though, they decided to do something different. The Sichel Family became the first Bordeaux négociant to acquire its own winemaking cellar, using this facility to improve their procedures, infrastructure and wines. In 2020, the Sichel Family purchased another facility, Château Daviaud. The Sichel Family had purchased wine from Château Daviaud for years, and rather than risk losing a valuable partner, they decided to purchase this Château, adding a new property to their range.
The vineyards of Château DAVIAUD are planted on sun-filled, south-south-west facing slopes, on the right bank of the Garonne river, in Bordeaux. At the top, the slopes are composed of limestone covered with gravel soil, mid-slope there is clay and limestone, while at the foot of these slopes there is fine gravel mixed with silica. This soil composition enables Merlot to maintain its phenolic balance and Cabernets to reach their full potential.
2022 Château Daviaud $21.99
The 2022 Château Daviaud is a blend of 45% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Malbec. Grapes were sorted and destemmed prior to putting them in vats for fermentation. The temperatures were held at 30°C to encourage extraction. The wine was then run off and the grape skins pressed using a pneumatic press to optimize extraction of tannins. The wine underwent Malolactic fermentation followed by aging in vats for six months before bottling.
This wine has aromas of mocha, cherry pie filling, star anise, dried blackcurrant and cedar. It is a dry, red wine, medium+ in body, with high acidity and medium+, fine, powdery tannins. The palate offers notes of cherry, blackberry and blackcurrent with a touch of mocha on the medium+ finish.
The 2022 Château Daviaud does benefit from time in a decanter and would pair well with red meat like a ribeye steak.
References
Leve, J. The Wine Cellar Insider, En Primeur, Negociants, Courtiers, Place de Bordeaux Explained. Retrieved from: https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/negociants-courtiers-en-primeur-bordeaux-wine-system/