Maison Darragon

Maison Darragon is based in the hamlet of Sanzelle, between the village of Vouvray and the outskirts of the commune of Vernous-sur-Brenne. The 40 hectare estate is run by Pierre Darragon and husband and wife team Christelle , his daughter, and David Charbonnier, and the vineyards lie on the region’s famous chalky, clay-limestone soils.

As is true of most other wine producers in Vouvray, Maison Darragon produces only white wines solely from the Chenin Blanc grape. The wines are made in a newly built winery and then mature in ancient cave cellars until ready for sale. The estate practices reasoned agriculture out of respect for the environment, its vines and its wines.

Due to a series of unfortunate events – sample bottles being broken in transit, visits to the state being aborted because of thick fog etc. – it took about two years for us to actually get to taste Maison Darragon’s wines, but they were certainly worth the wait. We tasted wines from many other Vouvray estates and all too often they were over-sulphured and less than charming on the palate. None of that here as Pierre's wines are always exemplary: clean, fresh and fruity, whatever their style, and their quality is head and shoulders above anything else we’ve tried from the appellation. No wonder we’ve been buying them for so many years now!

To bring this a little more up to date, the present range of wines is truly stunning, all showing great purity of fruit and perfect balance. There are few producers in our catalogue who can boast this level of quality, yet their wines remain unsung heros. We need to change that!!