In 1982, Didier Dagueneau returned to Saint-Andelain and refused to join the family domaine, setting out instead to make, as he put it, “the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world.” A former professional racer of both dog-sleds and motorcycle sidecars, he became the most divisive and most decorated figure in the Pouilly-Fumé appellation before his untimely 2008 death in an ultralight plane crash. His son Louis-Benjamin, then 26, took the reins alongside his sister Charlotte, and the wines have only sharpened. The domaine farms roughly 12 hectares in Pouilly across silex and clay, a parcel of Monts Damnés in Sancerre, and three hectares in Jurançon at the foot of the Pyrénées. Yields are kept at 75% of neighboring estates and vinified parcel-by-parcel; fermentations rely on indigenous yeasts; aging happens in cigar-shaped barrels and demi-muids designed for lees contact without aromatic distortion. Since 2017, in protest of an appellation rejection, the wines have been bottled as Vin de France.

Blanc Etc..., formerly bottled as Blanc Fumé de Pouilly, is the domaine's only multi-parcel blend, spanning four sites: young vines on the Saint-Andelain hill, older plantings on clay and flint, and a parcel on limestone marl at Les Coques. Fermented and aged in a mix of older barrels and steel tank, it's the cuvée whose evolution under Louis-Benjamin has been the most striking.

The 2022 is luminous, with vintage warmth folded into the estate's signature tension. Grapefruit zest, white peach, green almond, and crushed stone lead the way; the palate is silky and finely textured, with a leesy weight that fills the mid-palate before the acidity snaps it back. Drinking now beautifully and built to keep evolving for the better part of 15 years post-bottling.