Famille Lieubeau, 2025 Update
Next up in this series of reports on the latest from Muscadet is the latest from Famille Lieubeau.
The Lieubeau family can trace their presence in the region back to the early 19th century, but it was with Pierre and Chantal Lieubeau that the modern-day domaine really began to take shape. Today it is the next generation, siblings François, Vincent and Marie, who are in charge.
When I first realised that much of what was written about Muscadet (from some very eminent writers) did not reflect my own impressions of the wines, maybe 15 or 20 (or more!) years ago, there were four vignerons I would visit and taste with on a regular basis. These were Jo Landron (recently retired, his daughter increasingly taking the lead here), Pierre Luneau-Papin (equally retired, for a good few years now), Marc Ollivier (also retired, as discussed in yesterday’s Domaine de la Pépière tasting report) and the late Guy Bossard.
In subsequent years I came to know other domaines and some proved to be just as interesting as the ‘big four’. Famille Lieubeau were one of these later discoveries and today they are a domaine I eagerly follow. As is the case with many of their peers, alongside an array of classically styled Muscadets, all iodine and sea breezes, they have a growing range of interesting cru communal wines. Château-Thébaud is undoubtedly their speciality, but they have also proven themselves in Clisson, and a Goulaine cuvée is the latest to join the line-up.
In this latest review of their wines I was able to check in on the 2023 vintage as well as an array of older vintages of their crus communaux, from bottle and from magnum.
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