2020 Didier Dagueneau Vin de France Silex

Place: Loire Valley, France

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Farming: Organic

If anyone wonders why this domaine is so famous, this wine holds all the answers. Silex is the ultimate Dagueneau wine in many ways: super-mineral, pure, crystalline and typically long-lived. Silex means flint, and this wine is produced only from the flint-rich soils on the north-facing slopes of the hill of Saint-Andelain. The vines mostly range between 35 and 65 years old, and yields are kept lower than in most other vineyards. Silex ferments and ages in the famed Dagueneau cigar-shaped barrels and other casks, and a portion now matures in 220-litre Wineglobe—glass vessels that are neutral, avoid reduction and allow for lower SO2 levels. Because of the soil type and the concentration of the mature vines, this wine is always intense and often austere when young, typically requiring several years (between five and 10) to truly express itself.

‘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.’ -  Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous