D Dagueneau Les Jardins Babylone Jurancon 2012

Category:
 
Sweet Wines
Sub-Category:  
 
White Wines
Producer:
 
D Dagueneau
Label Name:
 
Les Jardins Babylone Jurancon
Vintage:
 
2012
Country:
 
France
Region:
 
Jurançon (Aubertin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Southwest France)
Volume:
 
500ml
ABV:
 
11%
Grape(s):
 
Petit Manseng
Acidity:
 
5
Sweetness:
 
5
Body:
 
4
Length:
 
5
Aroma Intensity:
 
5
Best Temperature:
 
10-12°C

Awards/Ratings
Consistently highly-rated: Jancis Robinson has scored older Jardins de Babylone vintages (~17/20); La Revue du Vin de France and The Wine Advocate have awarded mid-90s scores to recent cuvées (e. g. , ~94–95 points for comparable vintages)

Tasting Note
Lush honeyed tropical and stone fruits—apricot, pineapple and candied citrus—bright grapefruit acidity, spiced honey and a hint of truffle/mineral, with a long, saline, and elegantly persistent finish.

Food Pairing
Foie gras, tarte tatin or pear tart, Roquefort/blue cheese, seared scallops with citrus butter; Asian: sweet-spicy Thai curry, Peking duck, char siu pork, and rich sushi (uni or seared toro).

Production Method
Hand-harvested in successive passes with late picking/passérillage (sometimes botrytised); native-yeast fermentation and ageing in a combination of new cigar-shaped barrels and large foudres for several months.

Vineyard Info
Micro-estate (~3.0–3.5 ha) on terraces at Aubertin. Originally developed by Didier Dagueneau; continued and refined by his son Louis‑Benjamin, focused on low yields and precise, artisanal winemaking.