Vintage 2003 (17th VINTAGE)

Technical sheet

Denomination:

Vin de Pays de l’Hérault.

GRAPE VARIETIES:

– 35% Chardonnay.
– 35% Petit Manseng (origin of the vine: Charles Hours – Béarn).
– 16% Viognier (origin of the vine: Georges Vernay – Condrieu).
– 1% Chenin blanc (origin des bois : Domaine Huet – Vouvray).
– 13% rare grape varieties : Marsanne, Roussanne, Petit Courbu, Muscat Petit grain, Muscat d’Alexandrie, Gros Manseng, Semillon (France).

CLIMATE:

Rain early in the year (96 cms water) filled the underground aquifers and ensured the Gassac valley springs ran all summer until the end of September. A burning hot summer (40°C and more in the midday sun) lasted 8 weeks. But the grapes sheltered under foliage, so not one was burnt, not one leaf singed.
Harvest: 10 days early, a dream harvest, ripe grapes, thoroughly healthy, not one damaged or mis-shaped.

HARVEST DATES:

20 August – 26 August 2003 (6 days).

TYPE OF SOIL:

White Lutetian Limestone.

Vinification:

Skin maceration for 5 to 7 days Fermentation in stainless steel tank.

MATURING:

2 – 4 months in stainless steel tank.

Residual sugar:

7.2g

PH:

3.44

HARVEST:

100% Manual.

YIELD:

30 hl/ ha

ALCOHOL BY VOL.:

12.70% Vol.

TOTAL ACIDITY:

3.26

HARVEST NEWS

Full of flavours, honey, pear, acidulous exotic scent, brought by our collection of vine varieties.

The 2003 Harvest News

DRINK OR LAY DOWN

EVOLUTION OF THE VINTAGES & TASTING ADVICE

Drink or Lay down

TASTING HINTS

The two lives of Mas de Daumas Gassac White Wine

Laid down in a cool cellar (14°-16°C, 57-60°F) even the oldest can happily wait with no problem for many years. However, being laid down in warmer temperatures will speed up the wines’ maturity.

First life

To taste within the first three years if you appreciate wonderful fruity flavours.
Drink our white wines as an aperitif or with a meal. They drink beautifully with most dishes.

Second life

Quite a different wine from the third or fourth year! Its youthful fruitiness will have disappeared, to be replaced by new flavours reminiscent of "sherry" or old "Sauternes", a touch "oxidative" with great finesse.
Take care: if you are not looking for this type of wine, slightly paradoxical as it ages, drink our white wines within the first couple of years.

Tasting hints
- Serve around 10-12°C (51°F). Do not over chill.
- Open the bottle an hour before serving, but always replace the cork. Decanting encourages wines to express their full complexity but, always replace the stopper.