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What a week of racing we've had since the last edition of /WORLD TOUR WINE/ !! Today we finish off the Pyrenean campaign with a most unusual (and unexpected!) wine.
Today's stage began in Pau, high in the foothills of South West France bordering the high Pyrenees. The vineyards just southwest of Pau (known as Jurançon) are known for sweet and dry white wines made from Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng grapes. The landscape here is hilly, but lush with high rainfall. Today's wine is a Petit Manseng, which are left on the vine until late November or even later, shriveling in the sun and dried by the winds sweeping down from the Pyrenees to the south. This creates sweet wines of acidity and freshness.
Didier Dagueneau Les Jardins de Babylone Moelleux 2018 ($160)
I should make a comment about the producer here, Didier Dagueneau. He was an absolute legend in the Loire Valley. Although from a family with deep history of winemaking, he spent his youth as a motorcycle and sled dog racer, returning to his ancestral farms in Pouilly-Fume in 1982. He was a complete bastard, criticizing his neighbors for their shit wines. His exacting, autistic methods in the vineyards elevated Sauvignon Blanc to new heights, and he basically single-handedly created the reputation of Pouilly-Fume and the modern Loire Valley for Sauvignon Blanc. He died in an ultralight plane crash in 2008. Today's wine was made by his son, Benjamin Louis.
Pours a soft gold with high viscosity. The nose has wonderful tension of sweet tropical fruit (pineapple, apricot, peach nectar) and an intriguing mentholated/minty note. The palate has an attack of honey, ripe pear, and apricot and then a little thrill of acidity to cut through the mouth-coating body.
This is very fine. To be honest, I had no idea this was a sweet wine. The nose is so aromatic, but I wish the body and palate had a bit more verve to it. I would compare this to a solid Sauternes. Price is inflated by the Dagueneau name. I'll be drinking this over the next couple of weeks.