Domaine des Tilleuls, 2018 Update
The story of Domaine des Tilleuls goes back at least five generations, to the very early years of the 20th century, when an agriculteur by the name of Auguste Godefroy bought a few rows of vines at Les Corbetières, near the village of La Regrippière, to the east of Le Landreau, Vallet and Mouzillon. This is Muscadet country of course, and if we fast forward over one hundred years Auguste’s descendants, the Houssin family, now run an impressive 35-hectare domaine. And they still have those vines in Les Corbetières.
Today this is a very modern, forward thinking domaine. The range of wines is quite traditional, on one side a small selection of cuvées in the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation, on the other some varietal cuvées based on Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The vinifications tend to be traditional, in subterranean vats, with élevage on the lees, although one or two cuvées do see a little malolactic or oak, always in a restrained manner, and always applied to only a fraction of the final blend. Perhaps most indicative of their commitment to quality, and to the consumer experience, all the wines featured here utilise DIAM technological closures, rated either 1 or 3 (guaranteed for one or three years, respectively). For a domaine in this corner of the Loire Valley, where margins are tight, this is a commitment to the consumer for which the Houssin family deserve real credit.
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