The Stunning Pouilly-Fumé Wines of Domaine Dagueneau

Didier Dagueneau,  maverick of the Loire Valley, produced some of the greatest Sauvignon Blancs the world has ever known. Unfortunately, his life and his career as a vigneron were finished far too soon, in a manner which, though devastating, wouldn't have been much a surprise to those who knew him. A perennial thrill-seeker and risk-taker, Didier, who also enjoyed professional motorcycle-racing and later, dog-sled racing, met his untimely end at the age of 52 when the ultralight plane he was piloting crashed shortly after landing in September of 2008. During his tenure at the helm of Domaine Dagueneau, Didier adopted a similarly unorthodox attitude in both the vineyard and the cellar.

The wines of the Pouilly-Fumé AOC are prized for their minerality and perfume, with a smoky aroma (hence the name 'Fumé', French for 'smoked') often making an appearance in the best examples, Dagueneau's not withstanding. This is largely owing to the presence of flint (which, combined with clay, is known locally as 'silex') in the region's famed limestone soils. These top-tier wines can age longer than your average Sauvignon Blanc--five to ten years for many, and even up to twenty for Dagueneau's finest bottlings. 

Didier was not afraid to break the rules, and those who consume the wines of his domaine will be handsomely rewarded by his experiments. Low-yields were an established constant, but the boundaries of viticulture and viniculture were constantly pushed, from organic viticulture to natural fermentations to experimental barrels. Unlike most Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Dagueneau's wines have always been raised in oak barrels, though the size, shapes, and proportions of new to neutral barrels has varied with both vintage and vineyard. 

Didier may no longer be with us, but his children, Charlotte and Benjamin, have taken over the domaine and continue to produce stunning wines with clarity, precision, and freshness that wine critics agree would make their father proud. The most recent releases are no exception.

The 2010 Blanc Fumé de Pouilly, Dagueneau's "entry level" cuvée, is intended to be a very direct, pure, and typical example of Sauvignon Blanc from a typical Pouilly-Fumé vineyard. It truly is a spectacular example of what wines from this AOC should aspire to be--brimming with chalky minerality and racy citrus. 
The 2011 Pur Sang, perhaps the Domaine's most popular cuvée, is bursting with aromas of citrus, quince, and fine minerals, with mouth-puckering acidity punctuating the intense and ethereal palate. The grapes come from chalky limestone soils that are almost entirely lacking in silex.

The 2011 Buisson Renard, grown on silex soil and formerly the most mineral of the Dagueneau cuvées, is tamed by oak ageing to form a rich, opulent wine held together by a firm, flinty backbone.

Finally, the 2011 Silex is the "Grand Cru" of Dagueneau's wines. Highly sought-after year after year, this wine can be slightly more austere than its contemporaries, due to lower clay content in the soil. This may not be the right wine to pop open tonight, but those who are patient enough to wait for this stunning wine to reach its peak will reap significant benefits. 

Happy Father's Day, Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc grapes

Did you remember to call your father this past Father's Day? Maybe you sent him a card, bought him a tie, or took him out to lunch. Perhaps you even enjoyed a great bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon together. If so, chances are there is one very important father you forgot to acknowledge: Cabernet Franc. 

You see, when a mommy grape and a daddy grape love each other very much, they spontaneously cross-pollenate and a new grape variety is born. In this case, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc had a little too much to drink one 17th century night in southwestern France, and we now have them to thank for the existence of cabernet sauvignon. Sauvignon Blanc has since gone on to lead a rich and fulfilling life, achieving worldwide fame for tart and aromatic white wines in New Zealand, France and beyond. But poor Cabernet Franc has received little recognition, unjustly overshadowed by a son who grew up to be bigger and stronger than his father. 

When the movie Sideways became popular, strange things happened to the wine industry. No one could have ever predicted that the musings of one fictional, disgruntled wine snob could have effectively destroyed the entire merlot industry while simultaneously making pinot noir the most sought-after grape on the planet, but they did. That's old news, though. One scene, however, is often glossed over in discussions of the movie--that in which the aforementioned wine snob embarks on a derisive rant against cabernet franc, dismissing it as being "hollow, flabby, and overripe." This criticism had little effect on the cabernet franc industry because, well, no one has seemed to give much of a damn about Cabernet Franc before or since.

Miles and Jack are NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!

But they should! Softer, subtler, more perfumed and less tannic than the cabernet of the sauvignon variety, Cab Franc can produce truly beautiful wines in the cool soils of St.-Emilion and Pomerol in Bordeaux, and in the even cooler soils of the Loire Valley. These wines tend to have pronounced aromas and flavors of juicy raspberry, cassis, wet stone, tobacco, green bell pepper, and violets. Most notably, this under-appreciated grape gets top billing in the revered Premier Grand Cru Saint-Émilion Château Cheval Blanc, the Cab Franc/Merlot Bordeaux blend whose virtues the main character in Sideways spends much of the movie extolling. Elsewhere in Bordeaux, cabernet franc is generally treated as an "insurance policy" in case the cabernet sauvignon grapes fail to properly ripen, relegated to the lowly status of a blending grape--adding a touch of seasoning to tame the aggression and power of its bolder offspring. 

Château Cheval Blanc

Luckily for fans of this underdog grape, winemakers in parts of Canada, New York State, and Washington seem to be waking up to the potential of the wines it is capable of producing. Cabernet Franc is also gaining momentum as a varietal wine in Australia, Italy, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, and California. A particularly pleasant surprise, though, is the 2009 Batič cabernet franc from Slovenia. Like the Cabernet Franc grape itself, Slovenia doesn't get a lot of credit in the wine world. But this country, home to the oldest living grapevine in the world (400 years and counting!), is producing wines that are certainly worthy of worldwide attention. Father-and-son duo Ivan and Miha Batič make a rich, juicy cab franc with a gorgeous perfume of flowers and herbs, a silky texture, and flavors of dark chocolate, spice, and ripe fruit. If there was ever a wine that could make the world appreciate cabernet franc for more than just siring a famous and beloved son, this is it. Do yourself a favor and give this grape some belated Fathers' Day love soon!  

 Ivan and Miha Batič