2005 Domaine Didier Dagueneau, Pur Sang, Blanc Fume de Pouilly, Loire Valley, France.
The legend of Didier Dagueneau continues, the man was larger than life and his wines show his passion and they continue to show his magic touch, these wines are mythical and wonderfully express his dynamic soul. Dagueneau sadly passed away in 2008 while flying his ultralight, and those in the wine world suffered the loss, it was a black day, but still his wines live on, and his son Benjamin has taken the weight of expectation on his back crafting the new wines from Didier’s cellars, and by all I’m seen the wines life up his father’s. Didier raced sidecar motorcycles internationally, dog-sledded and flew light aircraft with gusto, he was a wild man and lived life with a certain intensity and his wines were made with the highest standards applied and the focus was that of a professional sportsman and he was a zealot and loved his terroir, his wines were influenced by the famed Burgundy legend Henri Jayer, who went on to mentor him, and Didier honored his grandfather (Louis) too in the way he made his wines. It is hard to imagine a greater dry Sauvignon Blanc than a wine made by Dagueneau, and the chance to taste one of Didier’s creations is something that is not meant to be missed, and recently Beaune Imports shared a few old Didier vintages along with Benjamin Dagueneau’s new releases, and I got a rare chance to relive history and re-visit the 2005 Dagueneau Pur Sang. I seem to prefer the Pur Sang a tiny bit over the Silex, Dagueneau’s top cuvees, but that is personal preference only not a quality influence, I just love the Pur Sang, it sings to me, it is glorious and exotic. The 2005 is starting to reach it’s peak, even though it has another 10 or more years left of fantastic drinking ahead, it shows deep mineral concentration, vigor and breath taking purity and charm, flowing with layers of acid lifted mature fruits, stony notes and tropical essences. The nose has hints of chalk, white flowers, earthy character and feels like elements of a mountain stream, leading to a palate of lemon/lime, tangerine, mango, peach and gooseberry fruits with hints of cedar, truffle, river rocks, flinty spice, herb, saline, quince, verbena and tangy marmalade. This wine is brisk and steely still, dry and dusty, but with deep extract, it uncoils and expands giving a doorway to a new dimension of time and space. It is good to see Dagueneau’s wines again and see they live up to the legend, and I’m equally happy to report that Benjamin’s wines do as well, and I can’t wait to try his wines after 10 years.
($125+ Est.) 95 Points, grapelive
