Located just outside the village of Saint Andelain sits Dagueneau’s 11-hectares vineyard, which is now managed by Didier’s son Louis-Benjamin. ‘Silex’ is the premier wine from Dagueneau and is sourced from low-yielding plots, which contain the most silex. The Sauvignon Blanc then undertakes fermentation in Dagueneau’s famous concrete cigar barrel tanks, which were designed to allow maximum lees contact during fermentation. The result is an utterly brilliant wine, which instantly impresses as smoky accents immediately begin to take shape around nuances of smoldering ash and crushed stones, framed by bosc pear and hints of melon aromatics, which dazzle the senses. The palate shows incredible weight and textural richness, as this beautifully balanced Pouilly-Fumé leads to complex flavors of white peach, orchard fruits, gooseberry, smoke and a lovely intense saline mineral character, which persists through the precise finish. Overall, a simply striking effort from Louis-Benjamin, which is already showing some inviting appeal, however Dagueneau’s wines have earned the reputation for ageing extremely well, and this certainly possesses the characteristics to cellar well past the next decade. (Best 2018-2030) - August, 2017 (OB)
Wine Specifications
- Report Date: August, 2017
- Producer: Didier Dagueneau
- Vintage: 2014
- Drinking Window: 2018-2030
- Estimated Value: $120
- Country: France
- Region: Loire Valley
- Appellation: Pouilly-Fumé
- Importer: NA