This date marks the beginning of what is now recognised as the Vignoble Drouard. Despite the agricultural crisis caused by phylloxera several years earlier, the intrepid ancestors of the Drouard family acquire the first plots of Muscadet and cultivate them as they embark on the great adventure of winegrowing, which is as laborious as it is rewarding.

Lucien Drouard, at the time a cooper and grandson of the first Drouard winegrowers, becomes part of the adventure and authorises the extension of the Domaine to several hectares,
consequently increasing its prestige.

The year in which the Vignoble Drouard obtains the Appellation Muscadet d’Origine Contrôlée – of paramount importance in promoting the vineyard and what it has to offer.

Lucien Drouard hands over the business to his son Paul Drouard to enjoy a well-deserved rest. Paul, however, is certainly not one to take life easy; instead, he launches an expansion of the Domaine and a mechanisation programme, increasing the vineyard area to twenty hectares.

A new century and a new generation, the key year of 2000 marks the departure of Paul and the arrival of his four sons Jean-Paul, Laurent, Denis, and Pascal. Traditions have transcended the generations and the centuries, building a respect for the vine and a knowledge of the wine. Modern technology and techniques are the culmination of this legacy, and have greatly improved the understanding and control of wine. Today, it is this close relationship that enables us to produce the best wines.

The Domaine is modernised further, with the construction and organisation of a wine bottling and storage area. A barrel cellar is built and laid out, first with oak barrels and then in chestnut barrels. With this barrel cellar, the Domaine is now able to produce the Cuvée du Petit Trianon – matured in oak barrels –and the Fief de l’Ancruère, matured in chestnut barrels.

The Domaine expands its cellar area with a new building dedicated to shipping wines throughout France – and more importantly, to the world’s major importing countries. The now-refurbished tasting cellar is set aside to provide better reception facilities for visitors, alongside a section promoting the regional specialities of the Nantes region.

This year will mark a new stage for the Domaine with the arrival of the 6th generation of Drouards – Clément and Tom, who will strengthen the solid commercial and technical achievements of the Domaine with the implementation of a new environmentally friendly label, the Haute valeur environnementale certification.