Château Dudon is an organic estate winery in the commune of Barsac on the left bank of the Bordeaux region. Dudon has been in the Allien family for several generations. The main building ‘was built during the reign of Louis XIII in the seventeenth century, but was badly neglected until Mme Allien decided to bring it back to life again. For forty years, after the premature death of her great-grandfather, its wine had been sold in bulk. The property had descended through the female side of the family and in the 1980s Mme Allien resolved to put Dudon back into production as an estate-bottled wine. She restored the property, hired a cellarmaster who had worked at Coutet and issued her first wine from the 1988 vintage,’ (Stephen Brook: Sauternes 1995, p.148).

The family elects to bottle under the wider Sauternes AOC rather than under the communally-named Barsac AOC.

Owner: Allien family.

The château: Early 17th-century.

Vineyards: 12 hectares (30 acres) in the commune of Barsac. 80% Sémillon, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Muscadelle. Between Château Coutet and Château Broustet. Soil: ‘Stony, with plenty of sand and clay, and the subsoil is typical Barsac limestone,’ (Stephen Brook: Sauternes 1995, p.148).

Certification: Full organic certification from the 2007 vintage. | 2017 Still certified.

Wine style: Clean, delicate, precise, anonymous.

Winemaking: Fermentation starts in barrels, does the main phase in tank, then finishes in barrels. ‘In good years, one third of the barriques are new. The wine is bottled about two and a half years after the harvest, but not all at once,’ (Stephen Brook: Sauternes 1995, p.148-9).

White wines

Sauternes AOC, Château Gallien: The second wine. | 2007 Crisp, simple, appealing (Millésime Bio 2009).

Sauternes AOC, Château Dudon: The grand vin. 1989 ‘Little apparent botrytis, peachy but dull,’ (Stephen Brook: Sauternes 1995, p.149). | 1990 ‘Lacks concentration, although the average must weight was 21º,’ (Stephen Brook: Sauternes 1995, p.149). 1992 ‘Much of the 1992 was sold off to wholesalers,’ (Stephen Brook: Sauternes 1995, p.149). | 2004 Barrel fermented, some icing sugar (Millésime Bio 2009). | 2005 Bottled. | 2006 Bottled. | 2007 Bottled. | 2014 Esters, clean, crisp, simple (Millésime Bio 2017).

Contact

Château Dudon

F-33720 Barsac (Gironde), France

Tel+33 (0)5.56.27.29.38 | Website: www.chateau-dudon.com