High expectations for the 2015 vintage across southern France have seen one of the most prestigious estates, Mas de Daumas Gassac in Languedoc, sell all of its top red wine within six weeks.
Merchants and clients have hoovered up all 8,500 cases the Daumas Gassac 2015 red wine on pre-release in near record time, the estate said.
‘It came to a point few weeks ago where we had more orders than wines,’ Basile Guibert, second generation co-owner and head of sales in Asia, told Decanter.com.
His brother, Samuel, co-owner and winemaker, said the estate had only seen something similar with the 2000 and 2009 vintages at the estate.
‘We had to drastically reduce allocations [of 2015] to meet everyone expectations,’ he added.
The strong demand reflects ongoing confidence in a 2015 vintage that drew excitement in many French wine regions; in stark contrast to what some have seen this year.
Daumas Gassac production for its signature Vins de Pays de l’Herault red 2015 was around average for the past few years, at 107,000 bottles, according to Daumas Gassac technical sheets.
UK merchants Goedhuis and Majestic-owned Lay & Wheeler were selling Daumas Gassac 2015 red on pre-release at £120 for six bottles in bond. That makes it roughly the same price as the 2009 vintage now.
Mas de Daumas Gassac lost its enigmatic co-founder, Aimé Guibert, earlier this year at the age of 91.
Guibert built the estate from nothing, gaining respect from those in-the-know. He eventually established Daumas Gassac as a ‘first growth’ of the Languedoc-Rousillon region at a time when that area was attempting to rid itself of the reputation of producing cheap, average quality wine.
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