Frédéric Mabileau, 2023 Update
It is with a sense of sadness that I publish this report, my first on the wines of this domaine since the premature passing of Frédéric Mabileau, in 2020.
Although born into a family of vignerons, Frédéric started out independent of his father Jean-Paul Mabileau, choosing to establish his own domaine. The first move was to plant vines in Les Rouillères, a parcel of land that belonged to his wife Nathalie; he broke ground in 1988, and he vinified the first commercial crop in a corner of the family’s cellars in 1991. Frédéric maintained his independence, right up to the point Jean-Paul retired, at which point Frédéric acquired the remaining family vines and took full control of the cellars. The portfolio thus expanded, not just within Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil but beyond, Frédéric going on to add two white cuvées in the Anjou and Saumur appellations.
I enjoyed a memorable visit to the domaine during the 2013 harvest, ten years ago now, in the company of Jim Budd, when I took these photographs, which I don’t believe I have published before. Frédéric is on the right, bringing the bunches out onto the table de tri.
The bunches were then hand-sorted by a small but dedicated team, before they went to the destemmer.
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