Domaine Didier Dagueneau, Jurancon AOC, Les Jardins de Babylone

About Domaine Didier Dagueneau

Located on the right bank of the Loire, opposite Sancerre, Pouilly is the kingdom of Sauvignon Blanc, of the white 'smoked' (fum , in French). The strong expression of the different components of the terroir, associated with the marked character of the variety, distinguishes the Pouilly-Fum from any other white made with Sauvignon Blanc. Didier Dagueneau established himself as the great master of this type of wine, with a great mastery of work in the vineyard, vinification, and aging. He had no formal training in viticulture or oenology, and was totally self-taught, but paying more attention to what the great domaines of Burgundy did that his neighbours managed to set with their wines the standard against which the rest of Pouilly-Fum s would compare, although no one in the area came close to its height. He tried biodynamics, but his philosophy was enormously eclectic, with long aging on lees, he used selected yeasts because he considered that they were the only ones that could guarantee that his wines finished dry, he did very severe pruning, and he controlled the yields regardless of what happened to the expenses, and especially he was enormously critical of his neighbours and their viticulture and oenology practices. The winery has 11 hectares, most of which are located in Pouilly Fum , and also has a small plot in the prestigious section of Chavignol Les Monts Damn s, as well as a small vineyard in the Juran on. Since his death in 2008, his son Louis Benjamin Dagueneau is the head of the winery and making one of the best white wines from the Loire.