2008 Pouilly Fume Silex

This is more fruity than the Sancerre Mont Damné and still very, very rich. Green pea and mineral and stunningly fresh youth and tension. Super-intense and alive and mineral (TA is 6.2 g/l sulphuric). Just starting to show a slight cedary character. Complex, fresh and long. (JH)

Hot top note of minerals. Very intense and tense. Alcohol not at all evident. All on the finish. Very serious and no hurry to drink. (JR)

Ripe pear and white peach along with sage, and fusil, chalky notes of crushed stone rise from the glass of Dagueneau 2008 Blanc Fume de Pouilly Silex. On paper, this reminds one of 1996 (as Benjamin Dagueneau mentions immediately after I make a note of the fact), boasting – assuming you consider that word appropriate to the circumstances – 14.2% alcohol and well over 6 grams acidity. Lime zest and huckleberry notes serve for the sort of bitter concentration one noted in the corresponding Buisson Renard, but here that is imbedded in a far lusher, riper context; accompanied by a more refined texture; and without betraying its alcohol in any heat or roughness. “This will be a great keeper,” predicts Benjamin Dagueneau, and I would certainly not be surprised if it were worth re-visiting for more than a dozen years. Tasting the 1996 along side (a wine whose analysis reveals negligibly less alcohol and acid than the 2008) one is struck by the malt and caramel notes it has developed, but I really ascribe that to the more obvious application of oak in those days (which I noted when, as it happens, I was able to taste this 1996 in barrel) rather than simply to bottle age. Didier Dagueneau’s son Louis-Benjamin (whose name now appears on the label) is in charge of the domaine that his recently-deceased and much-lamented father brought to such notoriety. Benjamin Dagueneau – whose intense focus is obvious – has been working alongside his father for several years, and the crew here – one person each for the estate’s 11 hectares (27 acres) – are no doubt exceptionally capable of carrying on. The 2009 collection (whose Pouilly-Fumes weigh in between 13 and less than 14% alcohol) promises to be the best group of Sauvignons rendered in that year. A late June visit offered my first opportunity to taste the Dagueneau rendition of Sancerre Monts Damnes (of which 2005 was the inaugural but 2007 effectively the first commercial vintage). All of the 2009s were still in barrel when I visited. The 2008s – harvested a mere two weeks after Didier Dagueneau’s death in a flying accident at age 52; and in bottle for only two months when I tasted them – are also superb as a group. The fermentative and elevage regiment here has for some time been entirely in larger barrels, in particular demi-muids and customized, 350-400-liter, cigar-shaped casks of Dagueneau design that maximizes lees contact. Fermentative temperature is controlled when necessary by inserting an exchanger. In view of how long Didier Dagueneau’s success had been recognized and how many ambitious Loire attempts at wooded Sauvignon prove inexpressive of their fruit and sites but depressingly similar to one another, one would think that the “methode Dagueneau” should be studied and adopted by at least a few other ambitious Loire growers, but it that’s happened, I have not tasted it! Incidentally, this is one domaine where (already high) prices have not remained static, so unfortunately it’s simply a fact now that you have to make the same well-justified sacrifice to experience these wines that you would in order to put top-notch Burgundy on your table.. (Incidentally, while this is the subject for another time, the nobly-concentrated Dagueneau Jurancons – of which I tasted a 2005 and 2004 – are magnificent, with superb detail, magical levity, as well as irresistibility rather than over-the-top sweetness. “The idea is to have a balance with high acidity, not a confiture,” remarks Benjamin Dagueneau. “Chateau d’Yquem is very good, but heavy. These wines aim at something a little more Germanic in style.” I was already grinning before he said this!) Importers: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334 8191; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040 and Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisko, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404