Cellar Favorite:
2013 Domaine Didier Dagueneau – Louis Benjamin Pouilly-Fumé Silex

BY NEAL
MARTIN | JANUARY 26, 2026

I drink far too few Loire
whites these days. Just before a holiday celebration, I encountered a bottle of
2013 Pouilly-Fumé Silex from Dagueneau at a La-Paulée-style lunch at La Trompette.
It was a pertinent reminder of what I am missing out on. This 12-year-old white
was made by Louis-Benjamin Dagueneau, his renowned father having passed away in
September 2008. Truth be told, the 2013 was initially reserved, a Pouilly Fumé
that did not want to come out to play. It just needed time—in fact, I would
have actually given it an hour’s decanting. Even with air, the 2013 is a nuanced
Silex that unfolds in leisurely fashion, revealing scents of grapefruit mixed
with white linen and a light green asparagus note. It is never powerful, but it
does blossom in the glass. The palate is tensile from the start, matched by a
keen thread of acidity. Just a slight textural oiliness has developed, leading
to a very appealing asparagus-tinged finish with the sapidity to draw you back
for more. This Silex is drinking beautifully at the moment, but it could
certainly give you another decade of drinking enjoyment. 92/Drink
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