Didier Dagueneau Pouilly Fume 2012

Description

Great growers never rest on their laurels. The wines here have not only “never tasted better,” but the style of wine, it seems to us, has also slightly evolved. In short, Benjamin Dagueneau is making his mark. While the wines today have the same tension and vineyard clarity that they did under his father, there is an added generosity and texture (dare we say, a little more Chidaine-esque flesh), which certainly adds to their appeal. Our impression is that Benjamin Dagueneau is little more relaxed at harvest time than his father and perhaps picks a tad later, searching for his idea of perfectly ripened fruit. Dagueneau, on the other hand, has been adamant that the practices in the vineyard and winery remain the same and that any stylistic differences simply reflect the Domaine’s continuing search for perfection in the vineyard. This also makes sense.

2013 is another tragically small vintage here. Dagueneau estimates that volumes are almost half of a normal year (yields came in between 15 hl/ha and 35 hl/ha). By way of recompense, the Domaine has released some additional stocks held back from 2012, and what a pleasure it is to see these wines with an extra year in bottle. By comparison the 2013s are as tight as a Scotsman’s wallet (as my Scottish Grandfather used to joke); strikingly dense and coiled (with perhaps the exception of the Fumé de Pouilly), promising to fill out and blossom well into the next decade. Out of interest, Dagueneau believes his first vintage, the 2008s, have only just started to hit their straps. 2005 and 2006 are really the current drinking vintages chez Dagueneau. Not your average Sauvignon grower, then.

This is the Domaine’s only wine that is not terroir specific and is produced from two vineyards that are not on the Saint-Andelain hill – a parcel of 15-20 year old vines on flinty-clay soils and another in the lieu-dit of Les Coques on limestone/marl soil. Fermented in 3-4 years old barrels and then matured in both wood and stainless steel to maintain the freshness, this is always the Domaine’s most direct and accessible expression of Pouilly-Fumé. It is also a wine that has improved drastically under Benjamin Dagueneau and now rivals the other wines in the range.

A note on the label:  The musical score depicted on the label was composed by François Cristin, a musician friend of Didier Dagueneau. It is written for trumpet (b flat major) and French horn (f major). The first line is actually taken from a famous song by Georges Brassens (a French singer-songwriter and poet), and the next four lines are Cristin’s personal interpretation of that theme.

“The only blend in the portfolio, from two parcels, one clay and flint, one clay and limestone. The aromatics here have great purity, with a real flinty, smoky undercurrent. In the mouth it feels tense and clean, elegant with very precise lines, a frame for the fruit which shows a fleshy weight at the start, while being more grippy and pithy through the middle. A very complete wine, polished but with a structured and finely mineral core. So impressive for what can only be considered an entry-level wine.” 17.5 points, Chris Kissack, thewindedoctor.com, June 2015