Maybe it’s because there is such a vast ocean of more tropical, simple, gooseberry-heavy Sauvignon Blanc out there that we forget that Pouilly-Fumé is the grape’s motherland, where its assertive aromas and fruity, herbaceous nature is balanced by profound minerality. The unique allure of Pouilly-Fumé emanates from the silex (flint) soil, which imparts a delicate smoky (fumé) character to the wines. In the hands of a benchmark domaine like that of Serge Dagueneau, Sauvignon Blanc achieves levels of nobility that are simply not seen anywhere else in the world, save for a handful of properties across the river in Sancerre. This is not just great Sauvignon, it’s world class white wine, and given such the pricing remains downright extraordinary.

Just a few miles down the Loire river from Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé has very similar terroir, though the prevailing silex is the subtle difference. The Serge Dagueneau estate totals 23 hectares, with vineyards dedicated almost entirely to Sauvignon Blanc. Their story is inspiring: Léontine Dagueneau, born more than 130 years ago, was a widowed and hard-working woman who had two hectares of vines on a vegetable/livestock farm where she also produced a cheese of local renown. Her grandson, Serge Dagueneau, took the helm in 1971. By the late 1980s, Serge expanded the estate holdings to 11 hectares, all in Les Berthiers, a small hamlet on the road to the nearby village of Saint-Andélain. Today, Valérie Dagueneau, Serge’s daughter (and cousin to the late, great Didier Dagueneau), is the fourth generation to run the domaine, marking a return to its feminine roots. Sh