Château Doisy-Dubroca
If you enjoy the wines of Sauternes and Barsac as much as they deserve, then it seems inevitable that you should be familiar with the twin estates of Château Doisy-Védrines and Château Doisy-Daëne. These faux jumeaux offer wines of great quality, combining botrytis complexity with that classic Barsac vibrancy.
Except, of course, these estates are not really twins; together they are in fact two-thirds of a set of triplets. There is a long-lost sibling here, one much less commonly seen. The estate in question is Château Doisy-Dubroca, a tiny slice of the original Doisy estate, and by far the smallest of all the classified Sauternes premiers and deuxièmes crus. Even when it was in full production its annual output was often just a few hundred cases of wine; this explains why it always maintained such a low profile, and why my encounters with it were almost non-existent.
Indeed, during the first two decades of the 21st century it seemed that the property had ceased to exist; as it turns out, that was not quite true, as it was pulled back from the brink of extinction. Before I come to this dramatic rescue and resuscitation, however, I first present a little history.
Origins
The three Doisy vineyards of Barsac, Château Doisy-Dubroca, Château Doisy-Védrines and Château Doisy-Daëne, all originate from one estate, the origins of which are not well described. The earliest records are from the 18th century, which refer to an estate to the south of Château Coutet owned by the Védrines family. The newlyweds Jean-Baptiste de Védrines and Marie de Raymond settled in a little village here named La Pinesse, which was owned by the Raymonds.
