Vinous (94)

Serious complexity in this Chenin Blanc. Fresh golden apple at first, then pear, apricot jam and white pepper that carries throughout nicely. Gorgeous herbal notes on the midpalate, gliding to a long, salty, crushed stone finish.

Vinous (94)

The phrase 'ripe yet precise' encapsulates the 2017 Brézé, Clos Rougeard's single and singular, dry white wine. It has two different fruit spectrums - there's citrus fruit from the north-facing vines and a later picked, riper, almost tropical, cooked pineapple character. Fermented in barrel, there are oak-derived vanilla flavors that join the fruit while a whiff of match stick indicates a lightly reductive character that needs air. It is round yet retains a bright, racy freshness that you often see in Brézé whites. Focused and fine, this has the substance and line to evolve gracefully.

Vinous (92)

Just 400 bottles of Pouilly Fumé Asteroide were made in 2019 from the same vineyard as Pur Sang, but the winemaking is different: half of the wine goes in a glass wine globe (a bit like a bonbonne), the other half in a barrel. This is a more varietal expression of the grape and the vineyard with nettle tea, dill and boxwood. Winemaker Jean-Philippe Agisson suggests this varietal character might be down to the influence of the wine globe. There's a firm, tangy finish and a touch of savory, nuttiness on the length. The Pur Sang is a more complete wine than the Asteroide despite the latter having the rarity X factor due to being ungrafted. Certainly doesn't represent good value!

Vinous (93)

Returning in 2018 after 2017 was wiped out by frosts, this is an intense, wild 2018 Buisson Renard, like an untamed head of curls. In clear evidence at this early stage, it has floral and boxwood characters and a nutty oak-derived influence. There's even an intriguing note of peppermint on the sinewy, lengthy finish. In a mid-weight, linear style with a firm, phenolic finish that almost requires knife and fork. This needs more time in bottle to shed its austere frame, but if you're not in a hurry...

Vinous (93)

Returning in 2018 after 2017 was wiped out by frosts, this is an intense, wild 2018 Buisson Renard, like an untamed head of curls. In clear evidence at this early stage, it has floral and boxwood characters and a nutty oak-derived influence. There's even an intriguing note of peppermint on the sinewy, lengthy finish. In a mid-weight, linear style with a firm, phenolic finish that almost requires knife and fork. This needs more time in bottle to shed its austere frame, but if you're not in a hurry...

Vinous (92)

The Buisson Renard tends to be a more supple, more aromatically restrained cuvée in the Dagueneau stable, and the 2019 is no different. It's probably the richer clay soils on this section of the domaine. There's a delicate savory, herbal and oak-derived nutty character. It is fine and fresh with a supple texture that holds the mouth like a gentle embrace.

Vinous (92)

The Buisson Renard tends to be a more supple, more aromatically restrained cuvée in the Dagueneau stable, and the 2019 is no different. It's probably the richer clay soils on this section of the domaine. There's a delicate savory, herbal and oak-derived nutty character. It is fine and fresh with a supple texture that holds the mouth like a gentle embrace.

Vinous (92)

The Buisson Renard tends to be a more supple, more aromatically restrained cuvée in the Dagueneau stable, and the 2019 is no different. It's probably the richer clay soils on this section of the domaine. There's a delicate savory, herbal and oak-derived nutty character. It is fine and fresh with a supple texture that holds the mouth like a gentle embrace.

Introducing the Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Intouchables 2019, a formidable vintage from one of the most venerated producers in the Loire Valley. Precision, intensity and finesse are the hallmarks of Didier Dagueneau's commitment to expressing the true essence of his terroir. Famed for its flinty soil, the vineyards yield an extraordinary Sauvignon Blanc, infused with complex mineral character.

This 2019 vintage is the product of meticulous winemaking and an exceptional growing season. Hand-harvested grapes, low-yield vines, and a temperature-controlled fermentation process contribute to the wine's unique complexity and richness. The resulting wine encapsulates impeccable balance, with vibrant acidity complementing ripe fruit notes and a luxurious mouthfeel.

With limited bottles available, the Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Intouchables 2019 represents an excellent opportunity to savour a sensation from an iconic winemaker known for his relentless pursuit of purity and perfection. A truly unrepeatable experience for the discerning palate.

Vinous (94)

Sourced from a south-facing single vineyard on flint and clay over chalk, the 2018 Pur Sang is all white flowers and spiced apple pastry. Seemingly effortless and silken, its Sauvignon edges rounded out in barrels. It offers excellent concentration on the mid-palate, a line of acidity acting like a thread and holding the core together like a ball. Delectably textured, with a hint of tannic sensation holding the mouth gently on a lengthy conclusion that's drawn-out and precise. A complex, multifaceted wine.

Vinous (94)

Sourced from a south-facing single vineyard on flint and clay over chalk, the 2018 Pur Sang is all white flowers and spiced apple pastry. Seemingly effortless and silken, its Sauvignon edges rounded out in barrels. It offers excellent concentration on the mid-palate, a line of acidity acting like a thread and holding the core together like a ball. Delectably textured, with a hint of tannic sensation holding the mouth gently on a lengthy conclusion that's drawn-out and precise. A complex, multifaceted wine.

Vinous (96)

What I love most about the 2019 Pur Sang is its focus and precision; the compact, light bodied core carries masses of fragrance across the palate and beyond on the long finish. There's clarity and freshness, with a thread of acidity and minerality pulling the wine through like a needle and thread. It is starting to show the very first hints of time in bottle with a hint of almond alongside the ripe melon notes and nettle tea character. Impressive stuff from this three-hectare parcel in the village of Saint Laurent l'Abbaye, about 5km northeast of the Dagueneau domaine.

Vinous (96)

What I love most about the 2019 Pur Sang is its focus and precision; the compact, light bodied core carries masses of fragrance across the palate and beyond on the long finish. There's clarity and freshness, with a thread of acidity and minerality pulling the wine through like a needle and thread. It is starting to show the very first hints of time in bottle with a hint of almond alongside the ripe melon notes and nettle tea character. Impressive stuff from this three-hectare parcel in the village of Saint Laurent l'Abbaye, about 5km northeast of the Dagueneau domaine.

Vinous (94-95)

The 2020 Pur Sang is a compact and focused style with excellent concentration. It is as pure as glacial water. While tender and charming at first, it offers excellent precision, which is not a word you'd normally associate with the warm 2020 season. There is fine tension and structure with an integrated use of nutty oak combining with a fresh nectarine fragrance on the finish. Tasted as a tank sample, this is a 3-ha vineyard that's about 5km away from Dagueneau HQ, sitting on flint over a bedrock of chalk.

Wine Advocate (93-94+)

From an enclave just outside the cuverie in Saint Andelain, the Dagueneau 2009 Blanc Fume de Pouilly Silex delivers an almost inordinate diversity of floral, herbal, citrus (predominately grapefruit), and pit-fruit (predominately nectarine) elements, with the bitterness of fruit pits, smoky pungency of red currant and crushed stone, as well as notes of shrimp shell reduction and iodine inflecting a long, bittersweet, yet at the same time vibrant, buoyant finish. This silken textured seducer should gain with time in bottle and be worth following for ten or a dozen years.

Decanter (94)

From almost 4ha of flint-scattered clays around the mound of St Andelain, this is light gold in colour with a fine-meshed weave of green plant and soft spring leaf scents, full of copse coolness. In the mouth it’s a seamless pool of those green plant and leaf notes, fleshed out with quiet green orchard and citrus fruits. As ever, it's a remarkably unshowy, undemonstrative, stealthy wine, despite its fame and the reputed showiness of the variety. All is held in check by those clinging, cossetting cool clays. Give it time in decanter, glass or mouth, and you’ll see figures and allusions quietly stirring.

Jancis Robinson (17+)

Cool and without obvious richness. Really refreshing and with great substance and density. More approachable in youth than I remember some Silex bottlings. You could happily enjoy this layered wine now but it should age well too. It really does taste flinty!!

Vinous (93)

The 2019 Pouilly Fumé Silex shows an initial tenderness, sitting quietly and not shouting that it's made it into your glass. This is a wine that has its act together, feeling integrated and balanced with plentiful concentration and a savory long finish. A delicate dill note, which is a characteristic of oaked Sauvignon peeks out amid the hush.

Vinous (93)

The 2019 Pouilly Fumé Silex shows an initial tenderness, sitting quietly and not shouting that it's made it into your glass. This is a wine that has its act together, feeling integrated and balanced with plentiful concentration and a savory long finish. A delicate dill note, which is a characteristic of oaked Sauvignon peeks out amid the hush.

Vinous (93-94)

While this was a warm season leading to richness in many wines from the region, the Silex 2020 shows ripe fruit, but there's no sense of being overblown. The fine line that races through many wines relying on flint-based parcels is there, carrying the nectarine and oak-derived vanilla flavors, but its influence never tips into austerity nor firmness. There's a sense of tenderness that runs through its core while remaining light in body.

Among the pantheon of exquisite French wines, Domaine de Bellevue Muscadet Gabbro Clos des Bouquinardieres 2021 holds its prestigious pedigree. Expertly crafted in the renowned Loire Valley in Brittany, France, it is the brainchild of Domaine de Bellevue, a esteemed winemaking house with generations of viticulture heritage. The 2021 vintage exemplifies the unique terroir of the Gabbro soils, distinctively volcanic in nature, adding complexity and minerality to the wine.

Grown from Melon de Bourgogne vines, the 2021 edition offers a sophisticated bouquet of white flower notes, green apples, and crisp citrus, culminating in a fresh, yet lingering finish. The traditional Muscadet making method, 'sur lie' ageing, added depth to the palate, lending the wine a refined and creamy texture. Domaine de Bellevue Muscadet Gabbro Clos des Bouquinardieres 2021 is an elegant embodiment of nature's poetry captured in a bottle.