Guilbaud Frères: Vineyards
The Guilbaud family own or tend approximately 75 hectares of vineyard in various parts of the Muscadet appellation, so this is a big domaine. This includes plots in Mouzillon, where I first met Pascal, Vallet (which is less than 2 kilometres north), Le Pallet (a few kilometres to the west) and Gorges (about 6 kilometres south), four very significant communes of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation. Of these 75 hectares, approximately 30 hectares relate to three family domaines, Domaine de la Moutonnière, Clos du Pont and Château de la Pingossière. Pascal also has some vineyards dedicated to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Gamay, all of which are channelled into vin de pays, but for the purposes of this profile I concentrate solely on the Muscadet domaines. About 60% of his Muscadet production comes from his own vineyards, the rest being bought in on a négoce basis. He tends to buy fermented wine for blending and élevage, rather than starting with the fermentation himself.
The range of cuvées reflects the domaines that the Guilbaud family have accrued over the years. First is Domaine de la Moutonnière, an 8-hectare domaine in Mouzillon. Planted on an east-facing slope, the soils are generally siliceous, with sand and quartz dominating. The vines are young, the plot in question having been replanted in 2000. This is in contrast to the rest of the domaine, where the vines tend to have between 30 and 35 years under their belt, hence the not infrequent appearance of vieilles vignes on the label. Next comes Clos de Beauregard which I have included here although I do not think the Guilbaud family own it. A large vineyard in Mouzillon, 20 hectares in size, the soils are clay and sand over gabbro and gneiss. It is a site which Pascal clearly holds in high regard.
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