Provence, France

La Blaque

Situated high in the Alps of Haute Provence, the tiny appellation called Pierrevert is among the highest altitude appellations in France. Funded nearly thirty years ago, La Blaque has 60 hectares of vines planted on clay and limestone soils at between 1300 and 1500 feet.  Under the direction of the husband and wife team of Gilles and Laurence Delsuc, Domaine La Blaque is producing some of the most striking wines in Provence. Sunny Mediterranean days and cool nights permit the fruit of the vines to achieve ripeness and maintain acidity. The reds vines are syrah, grenache, cinsault and carignan.  A little vermentino is also planted to give lift to the rosé.

Pierrevert Rose

Pierrevert Rouge

Domaine de la Fouquette

Nestled into a forested plain amid the Massif des Maures mountains, the 35-acre Domaine de la Fouquette sits in the heart of the Côtes de Provence appellation. For Isabelle and Jean-Pierre Daziano, rosé is the foremost priority, not an afterthought.  They have instituted a labor- intensive, organic regimen that includes green harvesting in early summer to limit yields and picking the grapes at night during harvest. The domaine completed the Ecocert certification process in the 2013 vintage. In the cellar, the philosophy is minimal intervention. The Cuvée Rosée d’Aurore is named for the Daziano’s daughter.

Domaine d’Eole

D’Eole is a magical spot near St-Rémy-de-Provence at the base of the Alpilles surrounded by an ocean of olive trees and garrigue. This unique terroir has a rocky, rapid-draining mixture of limestone and sand that forces vine roots to extend deep into the subsoil to find nutrients. Abundant sunshine and a low fan setting on the Mistral provide ideal conditions for talented vigneron Matthias Wimmer to farm this 42-acre property organically (certified by Ecocert).

Château Saint Honoré

The 19th century Château Saint Honoré is located in the seaside Côte de Provence sub-appellation of La Londe, east of Hyères.  The estate estate’s 160 acres of vines thrive on forested slopes amid oak, pine, and mimosa overlooking the Mediterranean’s Îles d’Or.  Soils of schist, sand and quartz make this unique terroir ideal for high-toned, elegant rosés. 

Côtes de Provence Rosé 

Saint Roch

Les Maîtres Vignerons de Saint Tropez is an association of Provence estates headed by the Pascaud family of Château de Pampelonne. It was established to promote the wines of eight distinctive, limited production Saint Tropez Peninsula properties and later collaborated on this joint venture focused on a unique Provence terroir triangulating the ancient villages of Cuers, Puget-Ville and Pierrefeu northeast of Toulon. Saint Roch’s freshness makes it the quintessential summer delight.

Côtes de Provence Rosé

Château Salettes

The 17th century Château Salettes is situated on the Mediterranean coast between Toulon and Marseille just outside the hilltop village of La Cadière d’Azur. Its 67 acres of Bandol vines are planted amid olive and pine trees on a gentle slope overlooking the azure waters of the Golfe de Saint-Cyr-les-Lecques.  The estate has been in the Ricard-Boyer family for 17 generations, and with the assistance of talented, young University of Montpellier enologist, Alexandre Le Corguillé, longtime steward Jean-Pierre Boyer continues to make the upgrades necessary in both vineyard and cellar to ensure that Château Salettes will still be a leading Bandol estate when the 18th generation (his young grandson Alex), is ready to take over.  Almost half of Salette’s production is devoted to rosé, typically a blend of 35% Mourvèdre, 35% Cinsault, and 30% Grenache. 

Bandol Rosé

Bandol Rouge