Didier Dagueneau - RIP

Posted by: rodwsmith on 18 September 2008

Not in the same league, fame-wise, as Richard Wright, but yesterday the charismatic Cousin-It-alike Didier Dagueneau, one of the enfants terribles of wine, was tragically killed in a microlight crash.

He was some age in his fifties. As with much of his life his precise date of birth was lost in the mists of time. And hair.

I had the pleasure of meeting and tasting with Didier and he certainly exuded passion and life for the subject, and did, by common consent, revitalise the wines of Pouilly-Fumé not just with his own efforts (as anyone who has tasted the staggering "Pur Sang" will attest) but also by promoting the wines of the region and successfully encouraging his friends and neighbours to try harder. He made Sauvignon Blanc taste profound. No mean achievement.

I really hope (and am quite sure) that his son Benjamin will take over and carry on in his father's spirit.

I think I will for always now associate the Great Gig in the Sky with the flavour of intensely chalky Pouilly Fumé and a sense of sadness.

DD - RIP
Posted on: 18 September 2008 by Chillkram
I've never heard of him, but if he was a good winemaker he gets my vote.

Mark
Posted on: 19 September 2008 by rodwsmith
He was a truly great winemaker, someone who not only made good wines, but made others make better wines.
He actually made other Frenchmen less arrogant - just because you can put a famous name on the label, does not mean you can get away with putting rubbish in the bottle - was his ethic, he considered such behaviour a travesty of the hard work of generations past who had made the name famous in the first place. Outspoken and yet respected by his peers, his
wines fetch very high prices (probably going up), but they are worth it.
Obituary (from the New York Times) here

Obviously I'm in wine, so perhaps care a lot more, but this year has seen the untimely death of several of the great wine innovators, Alois Kracher and Henri Jayer amongst them, as well as Robert Mondavi (who did at least live well into his nineties).

I shall raise a glass of Didier's Pouilly Fumé tonight from a bottle I had been saving, but I can think of no greater reason for opening it.