The man who gave this domaine his name, Louis Métaireau, was an innovative maker of, and a proselytiser for, the wines of Muscadet in the middle of the last century, who gathered about him a group of fellow winemakers – his band of vignerons d’art as he liked to call them – who were like-minded in their determination to restore the good name of the region. It was Louis, for example, who pioneered the leaving of wines on their fine lees over winter, the ‘sur-lie’ seen on the labels of the best Muscadets ever since, to add complexity to the wines. Louis’ daughter Marie-Luce and her husband Jean-François Guilbaud took up the reins and worked hard for many years to maintain and improve upon his legacy.
Over time they acquired as much of the land formerly worked by the ‘band of vignerons d’art’ as they could to comprise one of the very best sites in the region, the 23 hectare Grand Mouton vineyard in the heart of the Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine appellation, on a slope overlooking the commune of Saint-Fiacre and its ancient church. Lying between the two rivers that give the appellation its name, the vineyard contains some of the oldest vines of the domaine, indeed in the region, which are nurtured organically, though not certified as such. They are also hand-harvested to ensure quality, a very unusual thing where machine harvesting is the norm these days. From these vines come the fruit that makes the best cuvées, including Petit Mouton and Grand Mouton, the latter harvested a...
The man who gave this domaine his name, Louis Métaireau, was an innovative maker of, and a proselytiser for, the wines of Muscadet in the middle of the last century, who gathered about him a group of fellow winemakers – his band of vignerons d’art as he liked to call them – who were like-minded in their determination to restore the good name of the region. It was Louis, for example, who pioneered the leaving of wines on their fine lees over winter, the ‘sur-lie’ seen on the labels of the best Muscadets ever since, to add complexity to the wines. Louis’ daughter Marie-Luce and her husband Jean-François Guilbaud took up the reins and worked hard for many years to maintain and improve upon his legacy.
Over time they acquired as much of the land formerly worked by the ‘band of vignerons d’art’ as they could to comprise one of the very best sites in the region, the 23 hectare Grand Mouton vineyard in the heart of the Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine appellation, on a slope overlooking the commune of Saint-Fiacre and its ancient church. Lying between the two rivers that give the appellation its name, the vineyard contains some of the oldest vines of the domaine, indeed in the region, which are nurtured organically, though not certified as such. They are also hand-harvested to ensure quality, a very unusual thing where machine harvesting is the norm these days. From these vines come the fruit that makes the best cuvées, including Petit Mouton and Grand Mouton, the latter harvested a little later for more richness. They also own vineyards in the communes of La Haye-Fouassière and Maisdon-sur-Sèvre, from which they make cuvée MLM (named for Marie-Luce) and cuvée Carte Noire respectively. The youngest vines in any of the vineyards are more than 30 years old.
The wines spend the winter on their lees and are then tasted parcel by parcel to decide on which cuvée they will go into. Bottling is carried out in the spring, gently and without filtration. The care and attention paid to every aspect of the viticulture and the winemaking shows clearly in the quality in the bottle.
In 2019 the domaine opened a new chapter, following the acquisition of the property by Julien and Laure Rossignol, who took over in November 2019, having worked the harvest with the Métaireaus who remain on hand to support the transition to the next phase for this lovely property. Originally from Grenoble and Toulouse respectively, after twenty years working in Paris they decided to move to a new life and passion.
