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Louis Métaireau

The story of Louis Métaireau and Le Grand Mouton is an unusual one, one which begins with Louis himself and his smallholding of just 2 hectares of vines near Nantes, in the region that gives rise to Muscadet. Energetic and vociferous, Louis Métaireau became a much needed focus for a number of his peers when he formed a cohesive group of vignerons who strove together for quality under the title Les Vignerons d'Art. In 1972 this group acquired the Domaine du Grand Mouton, a massive vineyard which at 27 hectares dwarfed Métaireau's own, and over the ensuing years the group released a number of different cuvées from these vines. Today the story has almost come full circle, as much of this vineyard is now in the sole ownership of the Métaireau family, but first I think a word or two on Grand Mouton might be appropriate.

The Domaine du Grand Mouton has a lengthy history, but it is a history that does not involve sheep, although any confusion on this matter would be understandable especially considering the ram's head that graces many of the Métaireau labels. In fact 'mouton' is derived from motte, an old word derivations of which are commonly seen in Bordeaux (as in La Mothe, the forerunner to Margaux, and of course Mouton-Rothschild) which refers to the hilly prominence on which the vines lie. Documents confirm the estate's existence as far back as the 14th century, when the property was owned by André, the son of Jean le Blant and Marguerite de Gras Mouton. By 1674 the land here was the property of Samuel Pantin Chevallier, a nobleman, and events during the Revolution at the end of the 18th century suggest it remained in the hands of nobility to that time, as the buildings were burnt to the ground in a surge of violence, and the vineyards parcelled up and sold off. It was not until the 1920s, more than a century later, that a merchant named Grégoire began to reconstitute the vineyard.

From Grégoire the property came to Métaireau and his artisanal colleagues, and after a few years of ownership the new owners began a program of replanting many of the vines, whilst preserving some of the older ones. In 1982 Métaireau was joined by his daughter Marie-Luce, and in 1988 also by Jean-François Guilbaud, who she wed. Jean-François is himself a descendant of a Nantais winemaking family, owners of Chateau la Bretonnerie on the other bank of the Sèvre.

Time moves on, and the domaine is now run full-time by Marie-Luce and Jean-François, whilst Métaireau senior seems to have retired to Corsica. Since 1988 the duo have, piece by piece, been bringing the Domaine du Grand Mouton under their control rather than under Métaireau's original consortium. They now have 23 hectares of the Grand Mouton vineyard, situated in a single block on slopes alongside the Maine, in Saint Fiacre. The terroir here is predominantly gneiss, with mica, garnet and amphibolite, and the vines themselves date back in some cases to the 1930s. From here originates the Petit & Grand Mouton, as well as the 10º5, One and Premier Jour cuvées. They also have small holdings of vines in La Haye-Fouassière, the source of Cuvée MLM, and in Maisdon-sur-Sèvre, the source of the Carte Noire. All the fruit is hand-harvested, and after fermentation it is left on the lees in concrete vats over the winter period, chilled to just 5ºC. In spring the vats are assessed by tasting, in order to determine which wines will be blended into which cuvées.

As I have already alluded, there are a number of different cuvées bottled. Beginning with the two Moutons, Grand Mouton is the Métaireau flagship wine, made from the fruit of 50-year-old vines, whereas the vines for Petit Mouton are younger, typically less than 30 years. Carte Noire is a cuvée of which I have no worthwhile experience, apparently a classically style cuvée made using fruit from the latter part of the harvest. Meanwhile the cuvée 10º5 is less typical, an unchaptalised wine with lower alcohol, typically (unsurprisingly) 10.5%. Then come the special cuvées, starting with Cuvée MLM (from Marie-Luce Métaireau), which replaces Louis Métaireau's LM blend, and is made from old vines, planted by Marie-Luce's maternal grandfather in 1933. And for most vintages the top dog is Cuvée Number One, from vines planted in 1937. On occasion, however, in the best vintages there may an even more extraordinary cuvée, Le Premier Jour. Made only from the fruit picked on the very first day of harvest, this wine has only been released in 1976, 1989 and 1995.

My early experiences with the Métaireau wines were a little variable, although more recently the wines have given more pleasure, and the 2005 Grand Mouton was very good indeed. The Cuvée One and Premier Jour bottlings are also well worth trying, especially with some bottle age where possible, and I have a few in the cellar with this exact purpose in mind. (12/11/03, updated 29/1/09)

Contact details:
Address: Domaine du Grand Mouton, 44690 Saint-Fiacre-sur-Maine
Telephone: +33 (0) 2 40 54 81 92
Fax: +33 (0) 2 40 54 87 83
www.muscadet-grandmouton.com

Louis Métaireau - Tasting Notes

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Louis Métaireau Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie 'Grand Mouton' 2005: A pale, pale, straw coloured wine with a little hint of green. The nose is delightfully fresh and yet also expressive, almost rich in aroma, with notes of salted herbs and a rocky, minerally character, with fresh citrus nuances. Wonderful. So very nicely defined on the palate, with straight, well defined, crisp and precise acidity carrying a nicely rounded texture and buoyant, mineral and lemon flavour. On the midpalate, notes of herbs and minerals, spiced up by an appealing spritz. Really very good indeed. From my 2008 Loire wine tasting notes. 17/20 (July 2008)

Louis Métaireau Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie 'Petit Mouton' 2001: The young vines cuvée. Very pale. Lovely nose, of thyme and lemongrass dusted with rock-salt. Lightweight, fresh, slightly bitter acidity on the palate. Would be a good match for fresh, salty oysters - but you knew that anyway. 15.5/20 (August 2003)

Louis Métaireau Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie 'Grand Mouton' 2001: Bottle number 7622. Very pale. Initially it has minerals and salty iodine on the nose, later lime and other citrus fruits. Good body on the palate, with sharp acidity and a slightly bitter, quinine-edged citrus fruit flavour. Full finish. 16/20 (August 2003)

Louis Métaireau Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie 'Grand Mouton' 1996: From a half bottle purchased in Calais. Pale, shimmering, transparent gold. A beautiful nose, very floral, with a touch of musk, and minerals. After the two younger wines it took me aback somewhat. Good texture and weight, but fresh, although with much gentler acidity than the previous wines. It's impressive to see how well this has kept - it is really enjoyable. 16/20 (August 2003)

Louis Métaireau Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie Premier Jour 1989: In the glass this has an amazingly pale hue, looking fresh as a daisy; having experienced a number of mature Muscadet cuvées before, including some older than this, I have to admit I was expecting something deeper in colour, richer and more evolved. This looks as though it might have been bottled just yesterday. The nose has some honeyed elements that suggest a certain evolution, with a complex white pepper and dry quince edge. The palate starts off honeyed, but then quickly reveals its dry character in the early midpalate, albeit nuanced with elements of toasted seeds, lightly candied orange peel, vanilla and toasted bread. There is a pervading, really quite sour acidity which has a marked presence from the midpalate onwards, and it is this that really spoils this wine for me today. The texture is lightly honeyed, with mineral-steel-lemon components at the edge of it all, but this is overshadowed by a powerfully acidic finish. Nevertheless, this is certainly a remarkable wine, still so fresh despite having twenty years under its belt. But does it give real pleasure? Not really, not with that painfully disjointed acidity. And does it have the potential to continue, with the eventual promise of complexity and richness, like that offered by Luneau-Papin's 1982 L d'Or tasted earlier this year? I suspect not, my concern being that power-house of acid that sits at the core of the wine. It might be argued that this offers protection to the wine, but I am concerned that it will just become more and more prominent with time, as the wine ages. If that is so, then this will never be anything more than a fascinating, albeit sour, curiosity. From a 1989 vintage twenty years on tasting. For label images and more see my Wine of the Week write-up. 14+?/20 (November 2009)