Didier Dagueneau, A Great Loss

According to the Louis/Dressner website, Didier Dagueneau died this morning in a plane crash in the Cognac region. Dagueneau was the wildly-bearded wizard of the Loire wine world, as well as a brilliant winemaker; his Cuvée Silex Pouilly-Fumé was, in my experience, the extraordinary example of the potential of this region, with his Pur Sang bottling not far behind. Words used about him were usually along the lines of "iconoclastic," "perfectionist," "eccentric," and so on—along with words like "genius" and "brilliant." Much to my regret, I never met him, but the few times I had his wines they always dazzled me. It's very sad news that he's gone.