Daosa Natural Reserve NV
Enter the new sparkling wine from Xavier Bizot and Lucy Croser.
While I’m not sure about the ‘Natural Reserve’ tagline – it feels more like a stab at the natural wine movement than anything else – this is really clever bubbles.
Disgorged April 18, it’s a blend of 85% 2016 vintage with 15% reserve wine. 85% Pinot and 15% Chardonnay in the mix and that Pinot dominance gives this breadth, power, weight. It’s a rich, table wine-esque fizz but that doesn’t hurt the style at all. Just makes for even more of a mouthful of flavour. Despite the youth, the lees character is still there, and the fragrance and weight instantly make it much more complete and enjoyable.
$40 for average generic Champagne or a bottle of this complex and complete wine. I know where my dollars would go.
Best drinking: Good now. 17.7/20, 92/100. 12.1%, $40. Would I buy it? Sure would.
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2 Comments
Thanks Andrew for kind words! The 15% reserve wines used for this wine are aged in barrels on no Sulfur for 18 months, which is why we called the wine “Natural Réserve”. Most sparkling wines made following the method designed in Champagne have very low Sulfur, and most of reserve wines actually have 10-20ppm of SO2 to keep the wine safe. We take the risk of leaving the reserve wine totally SO2 free, by topping regularly.
Thanks Xavier for the clarification. Great work.