Frédéric Mabileau

On the eve of the 2020 harvest, Frédéric Mabileau tragically died in a light aircraft accident. The locals rallied around to help with picking that vintage and his sons – Rémy, who had been working by his side for several years, and Charly, who was running a restaurant in Bordeaux – along with Frédéric’s wife, Nathalie, took over the reins permanently. Based in the village of Saint-Nicolas-De-Bourgueil, the Mabileau vision of biodynamic and organic viticulture continues, along with the spirit of Frédéric’s inexhaustible enthusiasm for experimentation and progressiveness. For Frédéric, the choice to farm biodynamically was not as an end in itself: instead it allowed the wines to reflect the terroir more effectively. This means no yeasts are added in the cellar but a reliance on naturally occurring yeasts to start fermentation. In their view this enhances the “sense of place” of these wines. An ambitious new cellar project was completed in 2020, and in 2019 they acquired a parcel of Chenin Blanc in Montsoreau, on a 30% slope overlooking the Loire. For anyone visiting the Loire Valley, they have a tasting room and have also recently opened a restaurant, Chez Odette, in the village of Saint-Nicolas-De-Bourgueil.