2022 Domaine Dagueneau "Silex" Vin de France (Pouilly-Fumé)

The 2022 Silex is not a lot of fun upon release; dry and tense, it really needs time to mellow. There's flesh from the clay element of its clay-flint soils, which is felt on entry but tightens up as it moves through the mouth. This remains a wine of drive, firmness and upright structure; it speaks of the place it comes from rather than its variety. Aromatics are almost a forgotten element; this is a wine about structure and texture. There is a lemony, wild goat cheese-like note and a distinct flinty whiff. SIlex, after all, means flint in French. (RG)