Today Wine-Searcher’s wine director, David Allen MW, tastes a rather special and rare wine from the Dageneau family. Best known for the stelar Pouilly Fumes created by the late Didier Dagueneau, their involvement in this tiny estate in Jurancon, in South West France, is less well known. The wines are produced in tiny quantities and are highly sought after. The wine David is tasting is the Les Jardins de Babylone Moelleux Jurancon 2011.
Les Jardins de Babylone is a special, long-standing, collaborative project originally undertaken by Didier Dagueneau and Guy Pautrat, farming a 3.1 hectare (7.4 acre) vineyard at the foot of the Pyrenees in Jurançon. Dageneau, a wine producer from the Central Vineyards of the Loire had become enchanted with teh Jurancon region.
This particular vineyard is terraced and forms the shape of natural amphitheater near the small village of Aubertin, a terroir historically renowned for producing Jurançon wines of singular freshness and vivacity. The amphitheater and panoramic view of the surrounding mountains reminded Dagueneau of the mythical Hanging Gardens of Babylon, hence the name Les Jardins de Babylone.
Didier Dagueneau was a fourth generation winemaker in the village of St Andelain in Pouilly-Fumé. As someone who always liked to push the limits, Didier left his home town at a young age to race motorcycle side cars. He later added dog-sled racing to his list of passions, competing internationally during the winter months. Dagueneau returned to St Andelain in 1982 and established his own estate in Pouilly-Fumé rather than join the family business. Sadly, in September 2008, Didier died when the microlite aircraft he was piloting.
Didier was survived by his son and daughter, Louis Benjamin and Charlotte. Both grew up at the winery, and Benjamin had worked alongside his father in the vineyards and cellar prior to his father’s death. He had absorbed all the perfectionist attitudes and practices of his father. Nonetheless, it was a huge challenge to faithfully follow in his father’s footsteps.
The same rigour and precision are applied to this micro-domain as to Domaine Didier Dagueneau in Pouilly. The vineyard and winery practices are both organic and biodynamic, though there is no certification. All the grapes are hand-picked and sorted carefully to keep only the best of the fabulous Petit Manseng grapes to produce these exceptional wines. Fermentation takes place in new oak, using carefully selected demi muids (450 – 600 liter barrels) and cigars (barrels designed by Didier, that are of 350 liters and are particularly elongated).
To find out more about this wine, to see prices and to discover where it is available follow this link to the Wine-Searcher website:
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