Didier Dagueneau Pouilly Fume "Silex" 2017
(Loire, France)

About the Winery:
Born in the Nievre, where Burgundy meets the Loire Valley, Didier Dagueneau was the fourth generation in a family of winegrowers. Influenced by wine legend Henri Jayer of Burgundy, his grandfather Louis Dagueneau, Andre Chabanne of Pouilly-sur-Loire, enologist Denis Dubourdieux of Bordeaux, and Professor Renaud of the Pasteur Institut in Paris, Didier quickly found his own style. By fusing modern winemaking with ultra-traditional methods of vineyard management, he was able to realize the ultimate expression of terroir and technique. Today the estate is run by fifth generation Louis-Benjamin Dagueneau, who took over following the untimely passing of his father Didier in 2008.

The wines at Domaine Didier Dagueneau deserve their rightful place among the great 'singular' wines of the world. Eric Asimov, in his obituary of the late Didier Dagueaneau in the The New York Times, seemed to sum it up well: 'Tasting a Dagueneau wine for the first time was a revelation. His Sauvignon Blancs had an unexpected purity and clarity to them. The flavors were intense but nuanced. It wasn’t the fruit that was piercing, as in so many Sauvignon Blancs, but the freshness and the focus. As powerful a personality as he was, his wines did not exalt the stature of the winemaker so much as the beauty of the terroir.'

About the Wine: 
Assemblage of different parcels of 50-year-old vines, entirely from the butte and only from those parcels with high levels of silex. Vinifed and aged in new oak "cigar-shaped" barrels built to domaine's specifications. Rich and powerful with great age-worthiness. One of Dagueneau's top cuvees.

The incremental changes made in both the winery and vineyards over the years and more recently by Benjamin Dagueneau have come together with a vintage that could best express what he was trying to say.  Aromatic ripeness without high alcohol.  Massive mineral concentration that will yield over time and marry perfectly with the high-toned fruit components and barrel and bottle complexity that seem in perfect harmony.  The most young and backward of the bunch (as usual), this wine has massive acidity that provides the perfect balance to the mineral profile that is so prevalent in the mouth.  No shortage of fruit, but for the time being, this wine is all about structure and potential.  Sit back and marvel at what the years have in store for this wine, and make sure you save some.