Domaine Serge Dagueneau is today mostly run by Serges daughters Florence and Valerie. They have 17 hektars of grapes in Pouilly-sur-Loire. 2 hektars is used for the Cotes de La Charite IGP reds and one hektar is old vines of Chasselas used for Pouilly-sur-Loire AOC. The rest is Pouilly-fume AOC made from 100% sauvignon blanc. There are four cuvees of Pouilly-fume, each highly individual in the making. The basic cuvee Tradition is a typical tank-style of Pouilly-fume. The Clos des Chaudoux is made from a 1,5 Ha. single plot - Pentes de Chaudoux. What separates it from the other wines in the making is the 10 hours of maceration it sees. The La Leontine comes from selected grapes in the Le Gendarme-vineyard. In the making it is aged in old barrels. Giving a more old-fashioned oxidative style to the aromatic profile. The last cuvee Les filles is made from very ripe grapes, harvested 10-12 days later than normal.
Norway is the largest export-market for Domaine Serge Dagueneau. 20% of the production is sold here. Importer for the wines is Flaaten. Pouilly-fume Tradition (#314101, Nok.144,50) and Pouilly-fume Clos des Chaudoux (#3487701, Nok.194,90) is available at Vinmonopolet.
Tasting notes
Pouilly-sur-Loire La Centenaire 2010
Made from the Chasselas-grape. From 100 years old vines in a 1 hektar-plot of vines. Light colour. Pretty nose. Quite balsamic with good mineral intensity and hints og nuts. Light fruity pear-notes. Quite light wine in the mouth. Good refreshing qualities. Fine acidity, which is typical to the vintage. Fruit perhaps more neutral than the nose. There is some fine minerality, but this is rather simple on the palate. A bit short. Fine, but quite easy-going wine.
Pouilly-fume Tradition 2010
Light colour. Typical aromatic sauvignon blanc-nose. Nettles, some minerality. This comes mostly from kimmeridgian marl. In the mouth this is a young and tight Pouilly-fume. The fruit shows more moderate than on the nose. The minerality is there. Not the most concentrated sauvignon blanc. But refreshing acidity and a classic style. Fine length. Crisp finish. Light CO2. Good, but quite simple Pouilly-fume.
Pouilly-fume Clos des Chaudoux 2009
From 1,5 Ha. of 45 years old vines. Macerated 10-12 hours on the skins. The wine is aged on the lees until May. Straw colour. Deeper than the previous wines. The nose here is very fine and shows the most depth of all these wines. Mineral, some sur-lie-character. Fatter style in the mouth. More fruit here, which probably has more to do with the vintage. But the fruit has a lot more depth. The minerality is fine and the slightly sur-lie-character gives the wine more depth. Medium acidity and good length. Also here some CO2 that gives the wine a light crispy finish. This seems open and ready now. Very good wine. My favorite of the tasting.
Pouilly-fume La Leontine 2008
This cuvee is dedicated to the great-grandmother of Valerie and Florence - Leontine - that was a great winemaker of her time, making the wines of the then 2 hektar estate. According to the old practise, this is aged in old barrels and aged on the lees. The grapes comes from selected grapes grown on kimmeridgian marl in the Le Gendarme-vineyard. The wine has a deeper colour. In the nose it is distinctly different from the other wines with its more opulent old-style-fruit. Hints of the oxidative barrel-style. In the mouth the wine continous in this old style of making and shows good concentration. The style gives an open and drinkable wine at this age. Good acidity, probably from the vintage. Good length. Fine wine, that shows what Pouilly-fume was like in the earlier times.
Pouilly-fume Les Filles 2009
Made from later harvested grapes. 80% aged in stainless steel-tanks, 20% in barrel. Some stirring of thes lees during maturation. Straw colour. Riper fruit-notes on the nose. There is a gentle touch of botrytis. In the mouth this shows a fatter, creamier style. The botrits is there, but aromatically only gently in the background. Riper fruits and some minerality on the palate. There is a touch of the wood on the finish. Acidity is lower, leaving a slightly hollow mid-palate. Decent wine. I admit not my style.
Overall the Domaine Serge Dagueneau shows a general good standard in their wines. That said most of the wines are good drinking-wine, but easy-going and lacking in mineral intensity to make it something special. The exception is the Clos des Chaudoux, which is the wine I will remember from this estate. It turned out to be one of my preferred Pouilly-fumes on this trip.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting note: Sep-11
The doors to the cellars of Domaine Serge Dagueneau et filles.
And as we soon learned to find out, cellars in Central Loire were very well equipped. Lots of steel and at least 2-3 pneumatic presses (From left: Kristian Gahre (Norske VinKlubbers Forbund), Benoit Roumet (BIVC), Valerie Dagueneau).
Valerie Dagueneau.
The vineyards just behind the domaine in Saint Andelain.