2023 Mas de Daumas Gassac, Haut Vallee du Gassac Blanc, L’ Herault Languedoc White, France.
The historic Mas de Daumas Gassac, set on unique glacial limestone hillsides, was founded in 1974 by Aimé & Véronique Guibert, now called the Grand Cru of the Midi, makes some of the Languedoc’s most desirable and age worthy wines, like this serious dry white wine. The pretty, aromatic and pale gold 2023 vintage of the Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc, a blend of Viognier, Petite Manseng, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and some Muscat, shows off crisp detailing and a nicely vinous medium/full body with a fine palate of lemony citrus, white peach, melon, apple and golden fig fruits, as well as honeysuckle, hazelnut, wet stones, fennel, unsweetened honey, clove spice and saline notes. The Guilbert’s say the domaine, which is located in the majestic Gassac Valley, benefits from the cool microclimate derived from the Gassac River, several natural springs (from which the Guibert family drinks), and the influence of the nearby mountains. The soil that dominates the valley, they add, is a rare and still unexplained red, with its powder-fine glacial soil, which is strikingly similar to that found in (some of) the prime areas of Burgundy. The terroir here help provide lively acidity and the grapes, which are all organically farmed, don’t need any wood to deliver depth and complexity. The Gassac Blanc sees a cold soak skin maceration for 5-7 days before a fermentation exclusively in stainless steel tank, where it is lees aged just about 4 months before being bottled quickly to preserve freshness and purity.
Pioneers of this area of the Languedoc, the Guibert family, now led by Samuel Guilbert, son of legendary Aimé Guibert who originally planted un-cloned Cabernet Sauvignon from the Bordeaux here in the Haut Vallee du Gassac in L’Herault, a small mountain surrounded valley not far from the Mediterranean Sea. In fact the Daumas Gassac vines, according to the winery, owe their very being to Professor Emile Peynaud, a renowned œnologue, who had famously been an advisor to the Chateaux Margaux, Haut Brion, and Mission Haut Brion, who believed in the site and who helped Guibert make the first wines, even by phone when needed. Peynaud was a leading light in French wine and at the time of the first Daumas Gassac vintage in 1978 he noted that he’d advised the greatest producers in France and that included the Mas de Daumas Gassac estate. While known mostly for the Cabernet based Rouge, I just love this Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc and this 2023 really wowed some first time wine enthusiasts. The Mas de Maumas Gassac “Grand Vin” Blanc, coming from mature 30 plus year old vines, is typically an exotic blend of Petit Manseng, Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay mostly, along with small amounts other varietals that add interesting background elements. This focused, minerally and textured white, as noted before, is beautifully judged stuff with verve and stylistic flair. If you want to blow your white Burgundy loving friends minds, there are few wines you must introduce them to, as I’ve suggested before, including Luis Anxo Rodriguez Vazquez’s Ribeiro Blanco from Galicia Spain, the Sadie Family white blends from South Africa and this amazing Mas de Daumas Blanc!
($68 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive