Didier Dagueneau - A Nichols Worth of Wine

A Nichols Worth of Wine
June 2010
Out of the Shadow
That I’d even write a positive piece on
sauvignon blanc, let alone invest the time and
expense to visit the grape’s birthplace, would
have been unimaginable a few short years
ago. That, of course, was before I had yet
another wine epiphany.
The exact moment escapes me, though I think
it was while slurping oysters at Balthazar in
Soho, in New York City. I tasted my first
glass of Didier Dagueneau’s sauvignon. More
precisely, it was his Pur Sang Pouilly Fume.
Didier Dagueneau
At the time, I thought it was the best white wine I’ve ever tasted. Today, countless fabulous white
burgundies, a few explosive Sonoma Coast chardonnays, and a memorable vernaccia out of the
tank in San Gimignano later, I still do!
Plans to tour some great French domains were already
firmed up when I ran into an old friend, the larger-thanlife California winemaker, Jim Clendenen, of Au Bon
Climat vineyards. I was running the National Young
Sommelier Competition at the beautiful Bacara Resort in
Santa Barbara, where Jim was a featured vintner for the
event.
When I mentioned I planned to be in the Loire Valley in a
few months, Jim said he’d also be in the region at the
same time visiting Dagueneau. I actually had a
palpitation! For wine geeks, a chance to visit Dagueneau
is something akin to scoring box seats for Game Seven of
a World Series. We agreed to meet at Dagueneau in the
tiny hamlet of St. Andelain, in Pouilly.
Most sauvignon blanc is not a varietal I generally get excited about. In fact I really dislike a lot
of the styles. It’s a personal thing, but many of the grassy, herbal offerings out of California and
the puckering tart, fermented grapefruit juice from New Zealand, are just not to my liking.
Are there exceptions? Sure, Peter Michael, Araujo, Lail and Merry Edwards to name a few from
California, and the value-packed Montes, from Chile’s Ledya Valley, all produce great
sauvignon. But the mineral-laden wines of Sancerre and the Pouilly Fume, are where I find the
purest expression of the grape is grown.
Whether Dagueneau produces the “best” sauvignon in the world for some I guess is arguable, but
there’s little doubt they grow and craft the most heralded wines from the region. Pouilly Fume,
and neighboring Sancerre, are relatively small wine production areas by global standards (~ 30
million bottles compared to 900 million for Bordeaux). The majority of the growers there are
quiet, unassuming farmers who work the land following the traditional practices of the
generations that came before them.
Breaking all the rules, Didier burst on the
scene like a falling comet, producing his
first wines in 1982 with a single vision make the best sauvignon blanc in the world.
Using unconventional methods for the time,
he reduced crop size to unheard of levels
and fermented his wines in wood barrels,
often incurring the wrath and scorn of
neighboring vignerons and France’s winegoverning AOC. The wine world took
notice, and a legend was born.
Sadly, the always controversial and ever charismatic Didier Dagueneau, died tragically in
September 2008 pursuing another of his passions, piloting an ultralight aircraft. Thankfully,
Didier’s oldest son, Louis Benjamin, just 24 years young at the time, had worked alongside his
father for the past few years and assumed winemaking responsibilities. Quiet, pensive, and
patient, Benjamin, knowing the inevitable comparisons that might be made, has crafted his own
imprint on the wines. While not straying far from his iconic father’s distinctive style, he has
certainly proven he understands the unique
terroir of Pouilly Fume.
Sampling barrel after barrel - almost 20
wines in all, it was enlightening to watch the
exchange between Clendenen, the mentor,
and one of Didier’s closest friends, and the
pupil Benjamin. Although they spoke in
French far faster than I could comprehend,
my sense was that both mentor and pupil
learned a great deal from one another in the
bowels of the cellar that day.
There’s little doubt Dagueneau sauvignon blancs will continue to be the benchmark by which
others are measured. While the new generation may not entertain or antagonize as did the
iconoclast patriarch, if what I tasted this hot June afternoon is any indication, Benjamin’s wines
will not fall in Didier’s shadow, but stride step for step through the vineyards and cellar.
Benjamin Dagueneau
Yours truly
Jim Clendenen
For more information on Dagueneau wines, visit their distributors website at
www.polonerselections.com or write to them at silex@wanadoo.fr
Check out Au Bon Climat at www.aubonclimat,com
Eat, drink and be merry!
Cheers,
Bruce
http://www.anicholsworthofwine.com
anicholsworthofwine@comcast.net