Didier Dagueneau, Jurancon Les Jardins de Babylone 2012

The small berries of the petit manseng grape are a formidable concentration of sugar and acidity that gives this Jurancon its superb aromatic complexity and freshness. the vines have been grown on clay and silica terraces. after the harvest, the wines are carefully sorted before being aged for a year in wood. The Jardins de Babylone estate is a small vineyard of three hectares located on the slopes of the village of Aubertin.

Often described as the enfant terrible of the Loire, Didier Dagueneau came from a winemaking family but his first career as a motorcycle sidecar racer couldn’t have been more different. A series of accidents forced him to re-evaluate his career choice and led him to found his own estate in the heart of Pouilly-Fumé.in 1982.

With that same fearlessness that he had as a racer, Didier became one of the boldest mavericks of the Loire, never failing to push the boundaries and experiment with new techniques. He was one of the first growers to experiment with single vineyard wines and also tried biodynamic practices, natural yeast fermentation and using ungrafted vines. In short – endless trial and error to make the best wines that meet his exacting standards. He even designed and customized cigar-shaped casks that maximizes lees contact.

Didier tragically died in a plane accident in 2008 and was succeeded by his children Louis-Benjamin and Charlotte, who, true to Didier’s non-conformist spirit, decided to withdraw from the Pouilly-Fumé appellation since the 2017 vintage following accusations that the domaine’s wines do not fit the standards of the appellation.