Jonathan Pabiot, 2022 Update
About ten years have passed since I first met and tasted with Jonathan Pabiot. I remember on that first occasion being completely blown away by the quality of his wines.
Other writers were also impressed, and one or two saw fit to anoint Jonathan (pictured below) as a potential successor to the Dagueneau crown. I found I could not sign up to that, for two reasons. First, I am not really sure this is a responsible way to write about a young vigneron, piling on the pressure to perform when he has not long picked his first bunches. At the time Jonathan was still in his twenties, and just making his mark on the world of wine, whereas many who drank Pouilly-Fumé viewed Didier Dagueneau as nothing short of a deity.
Secondly, while I saw the quality in Jonathan’s wines, which were clearly set to match the very best within the appellation, the style here is distinctly Pabiot, and as such completely different to the style chez Dagueneau. And if anyone was set to inherit the Dagueneau crown then it was surely the next generation, Didier’s son Louis-Benjamin Dagueneau, who would later prove he can make wines which are a match for those made by his father, both in terms of quality and style.
With this in mind I thought before I present my tasting notes on Jonathan’s latest vintages I should just explore the style chez Pabiot, paying particular attention to how it differs from that made by Louis-Benjamin.
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