Château Dauzac Château Dauzac 2022 750ml

This has enticing aromas of dried violets, chocolate, oyster shells, bark, blackcurrants, black plums and cloves. There’s plenty packed into a medium body, with ultra-fine, creamy tannins enveloping a perfumed core of black fruit. So creamy and caressing. 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot. Drink from 2025. (James Suckling)

Firm and structured with medium body and beautiful dark and blue fruit underneath. Tannins are fine-grained and linear, with some chalky minerality to it. It is seamless and delicate, very attractive and fresh. Long.

Fresh, pure and driven, with lilac, violet and iris notes streaming through in unison, plus red and black cherry and blackberry puree. There's a late, minerally echo on the lengthy, minimal-oak finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2038. 8,000 cases made, 2,000 cases imported.

Expressive and enticing, with a showy core of loganberry, mulberry and black currant fruit flavors that meld nicely, picking up singed alder, sanguine and tobacco notes along the way. Reveals warm earth that spills in on the finish, along with a violet echo. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2027 through 2037. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 8,000 cases made, 1,500 cases imported. (James Molesworth)

A terrific effort from this Margaux château, the 2020 Château Dauzac has a plump, medium-bodied, rounded style that gives it plenty of accessibility even today. Ripe black cherries, currants, smoked tobacco, and chocolate notes define the aromatics, and it has supple tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and outstanding length. I’d happily drink a bottle today, but it will evolve for 15+ years or so. (Jeb Dunnuck)

The 2020 Dauzac has an impressive bouquet, very well defined, taut and linear, pure blackberry and blueberry fruit mixed with subtle pressed violet and incense aromas. The oak is deftly integrated here. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, fine tannins, just a light herbaceous note towards the finish with a marine-infused aftertaste, black olive compote and brine. This is a well-crafted Margaux that should age very well in bottle. (Neal Martin)

The 2022 Dauzac, aged 75% in new oak and 5% amphora, takes time to settle in the glass. In fact, I'd allow it 10-15 minutes of aeration. It eventually offers attractive blackberry and sea spray/estuarine scents, as if a bit of the Gironde fell into the glass. Nothing wrong with that! The palate is medium-bodied with granular tannins and tensile black fruit laced with graphite. It tails off a little toward the finish. Nevertheless, this is a very admirable Margaux in the making. With five to seven years in bottle, it will be doling out a lot of pleasure.

The 2020 Dauzac is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot, aging in French oak barriques, 66% new. The alcohol is 14%. Deep purple-black colored, it sashays out of the glass with lively, carefree scents of kirsch, black raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of dried Provence herbs, graphite and damp soil, plus a waft of tobacco. The medium-bodied palate maintains a bright crunchiness to the fruit with just enough acidity and well-managed, approachable tannins, finishing with an earthy lift.