The following article by Patrick Schmitt appeared on Drinks Business on 19th December 2012.
Xavier Bizot and Lucy Croser have created a traditional method, single vineyard, vintage, blanc de blancs only brand – in effect, Australia’s equivalent of Champagne Salon.
Called Daosa, the sparkling wine was released in September this year using Chardonnay from the 2009 harvest, which was grown on the “Bizot Vineyard” in the Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills.
Just 2,500 bottles have been produced from the single vineyard, which was planted by Xavier’s father, Christian Bizot, formerly chairman of Bollinger, who died in September 2002.
Christian’s involvement in the Piccadilly Valley stems from Bollinger’s investment in Brian Croser’s Petaluma Limited company in 1985, and Xavier has inherited the prized vineyard from his father, which was planted in 1995 and 1996 with Dijon clones 76, 95 and 96.
Xavier, who is married to Brian Croser’s daughter Lucy, and lives in Adelaide, told the drinks business, “I’m not trying to make a Champagne in Australia.”
However, he said he had been inspired to make a sparkling wine by his father-in-law.
“Brian made a blanc de blancs in 1997 (sic: 1987) and I really liked it, and the Piccadilly Valley produces amazing Chardonnay,” he commented.
The new sparkling wine has a dosage of 5g/l and has spent 39 months on its lees, while the base wine has benefitted from nine months in 10 year-old barriques, according to Xavier.
As for the unusual name, Daosa is a city in India’s Rajasthan, and was used by Christian Bizot as a name for a company he set up to concentrate on investments outside Champagne.
The sparkling wine is currently sold in Australia but Xavier says he plans to bring some bottles into the UK.
Xavier and Lucy also run a small domaine in Wrattonbully called Terre à Terre, which is next door to Brian Croser’s Whalebone Vineyard, the famed source of red grapes for his Tapanappa brand.
The original article can be found at: http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2012/12/bollingers-bizot-produces-salon-equivalent-in-australia/
