Here is a list of the various (mostly in the local Mont Ste. Victoire sub-appellation) wineries that we've tried. The distance is from our house in Puyloubier (as calculated by Googlemaps). Many of the local wineries have on-site sales, but it can be a challenge to find them open. Of course, many of them operate on "Provençal time", and everyone including vintners take month-long summer vacations, so your best bet is to drive around until you find something that is open. (Also, some will post a telephone number on the door and a message that says something like "I'll come down right away".)20. Sainte Lucie & Les Diables (1.7 km)
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| Ste. Lucie corks |
19. Château de la Galinière (11 km)
On the D7N just past Chateauneuf-la-Rouge if you are coming from Aix, north (left) side of the road. There are a couple of enormous signs, so it's hard to miss! They have a couple whites, a couple reds, and a couple rosés. We tried three. The basic 2012 Château de la Galinière Rouge is a full-bodied mix of syrah and grenache while the more expensive 2012 Cuvée Jean-Baptiste Badetty mixes in some cabernet as well to result in a much smoother and lighter taste. The 2013 Château de la Galinière Blanc has the typical fruity-flowery attack common to the whites of this area, but in this case it has a lighter finish than some of the Cassis wines we've tried.
18. Les Vignerons de Baou (14 km)
Located in the village of Pourcieux, if coming from Aix/Puyloubier on the DN7, you take the exit one past the D6 (where the Air de Sud is). You turn left onto D423 and just as you enter the village the winery is on your right. We tried the 2014 Sainte Victoire Rosé, which has a distinct grapefruit taste - very nice! In addition, we had the 2012 Sainte Victoire Rouge, which has a spicy/smokey attack and a fruitier/velvety finish. Finally, the 2012 Chateau des Tilleuls is a smooth, well-blended wine with a smokey flavour.
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| winter fields |
17. Château Ferry Lacombe (9.9 km)
This is the other winery at the Air de Sud shop. The winery itself is on the D6 between the Air and Trets. (It's actually a nice little spot, with a long driveway that goes under the rail line and a pleasant setting.) The wines vary from €7-20, we tried a few of the mid-range ones. We served the 2013 Naos Rosé to our landlords (who are, obviously, rosé connoisseurs) and they thought it was good; it was light and not too fruity, good with meals rather than an apéritif. The 2011 Naos Rouge is a grenache-syrah-cabernet blend that stands up well to salty food; Yolanda thought it was a little spicey. The 2011 Cascaï Rouge was the most expensive, a blend of the same grapes but with syrah as the predominant varietal; it tasted quite syrah-y, smooth and well-blended.
16. Château des Ferrages (12 km)
This cave is just before the "leaving the MSV" appelation sign, on the DN7 a little bit before Saint-Maximine-la-Sainte-Baume. They have a limited selection (one of each red, white, and rosé), we tried the rosé and the red, each of which was €7. They were both described as "fruity" by the proprietress, which is true. The 2013 Cuvée Roumery red goes well with mild cheese and dessert because the light fruitiness matches well. Craig wasn't crazy about it with more savory fare, such as tomato sauce. The 2013 rosé is also called Cuvée Roumery, and is quite light while maintaining a nice fruitiness. It has a gold medal from one of the big Paris trade shows.
15. Clos la Neuve (9.9 km)
At the junction of the DN7 and the D6, just east of the Var/Bouches-du-Rhône border. The shop is called "Air de Sud"; there is also a small blue Vignerons du Mont Sainte Victoire sign with the domaine name on it. We tried 4 of the wines, all within the €7-10 range, three of them are the Mont Ste-Victoire appelation, the other was a Côtes du Rhône. The 2012 Blanc tentation is made with the Rolle (Vermentino) was mild; we didn't really like it paired with the salty-savoury dinner we tried it with, but it was much nicer with the cheeses and dessert. The 2013 Rosé seduction is a syrah/grenache that tasted quite white-like; Yolanda liked it better than me, and described it as having a distinct pear taste. The 2010 Rouge désir is a grenache/syrah/cabernet that was Craig's favourite from this winery; it was a fruity/fresh flavour but still with a mild and dry finish. Finally, the 2009 Rouge suave is a grenache/syrah, which was less fruity than the other red. Both the reds were described by the salesperson as being "tannic", which explains the dry finish even in the fruity red.
14. Cellier Lou Bassaquet (9.7 km)
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| grape harvester |
13. Domaine Terre de Mistral (8.6 km)
Outside Rousset (south) on the D56C between the D7N and the D6. A very large cave with an attached café. One of the highlights of touring the facility is that you get the chance to make your own blend from a selection of wines they have on tap. The domaine has on the order of 10 different grape varietals and they make reds, whites, and rosés. All the wines are named after someone in the family and includes the personal touch of posting bios of the person beside the wine on the shelf. They have five wines with the Mont Ste.-Victoire appellation, and we tried them all (there are another dozen or so of various other types in addition to the five we tried). The prices ranged from €7.50-20. (i) Cuvée Rosalie 2013 (syrah-cinsault-grenache-rolle): a fresh rosé with a strong attack and sweetish finish, we thought it went well with mild cheeses. (ii) Cuvée Nadia Rosé 2013 (grenache-syrah): a fruitier attack with a short finish, with a distinct grapefruit flavour (incidentally, in this area they use the Spanish word pomelo instead of pamplemousse). (iii) Cuvée Nadia Blanc 2013 (rolle): this is one of the few single-grape wines we've seen here, and as we've never had this grape type before, we were intrigued. Rolle is the French name for the Italian grape vermentino, which has only recently been planted in this area. This light wine had a very interesting mild candy taste (Craig thought caramel, Yolanda thought honey). (iv) Cuvée Nadia Rouge 2013 (syrah-carignan): a fresh or young-tasting red, with a fruity attack and a short/dry finish; this is the first time we've seen carignan in this area. (v) Cuvée Zaéllo 2012 (syrah-grenache): this is about as typical as you can get in a red in the Pays d'Aix - a syrah-grenache blend with nothing else; this wine was much mellower and well-blended than the Nadia, a very pleasant wine to drink.
12. La Grande Bauquière (5.2 km)
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| Entrance to the Domaine la Grande Bauquière |
11. Mas de Cadenet (6.4 km)
On the D57, just south of the D7N. Founded in 1813 (so they can now say "over 200 years old"!), in the same family for many generations. They have a wide variety of wines, whites, reds, and rosés, in three different families - a Cote de Provence, a Mont. Ste. Victoire, and "the good stuff". The three rosés are very different. The Arbaude is the Cote de Provence, containing grenache and cinsault; it has a fruity attack but a light finish. The Mas de Cadenet is Ste. Victoire appelation so it has syrah along with the grenache and cinsault; it is lighter on the attack but with a longer, stronger finish. Both are very nice and easy to drink! The Mas Negrel Cadenet is the house specialty rosé, distinguished from the others because it is aged in oak for 8 months, which is very unusual for a rosé, and makes the taste quite a bit less fruity. Craig wasn't crazy about it by itself, but it will be better with food. Finally, we also got one of the reds (the Ste. Victoire), made from syrah, grenache, and cabernet sauvignon. It was dry but very nice. Nana and Craig also tried their signature red, but the vintner suggests aging it for up to 20 years (they sell the 2010 vintage), which is a little longer than our timeline for staying in France! Prices ranged from €10-22.
10. Domaine Jacourette (7.3 km)
On the D23, between the DN7 and Pourrières village. Coming from Aix, it is the exit to Pourrières that has the roundabout (although it's faster to take the back roads if coming from Puyloubier). A much more economical option than the last few, prices are under €10 for all the wines I tried, which was the three rosés and one of the reds. The rosés were all light summer wines - very pleasant, although without being able to taste them side-by-side I wouldn't be able to remember details. The wines are different, coming from different grapes: l'Ange et Luce is a mix of syrah and cinsault, Les ailes d'un Ange is merlot, and Sainte Victoire is syrah and grenache. The red we tried - a mix of syrah and cabernet sauvignon called Cuvée Tradition - was interesting. It didn't have a great taste if drunk alone (Craig thought it was a little vinegary), but paired with a salty roast chicken from the Trets market it was excellent. It was Craig's first experience in conducting a tasting entirely in French - either because his French is improving enough that they didn't automatically switch to English (unlikely) or because the proprietress didn't speak English.
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| grapes mid-October (just before harvest) |
9. Domaine de Mauvan (5.0 km)
On the D7N between the D57 (Peynier road) and the D12 (Trets road). Another place with no real tasting area, just a bar/counter in the wine-making facility. The owner was very accommodating, considering it is now harvest time (he'd been up since 3am because he says rosés have to be made at night when it's coolest). He also brought out samples of all the stages in the rosé process - some of the freshly-pressed juice (very sweet), some freshly-fermented "wine" (a little tasteless and very cloudy), then finally we tasted some of the final products. They have one white (sold out), two rosés, and three reds. Although all the grapes are grown at the same domaine, only two are specifically classified as Ste. Victoire (the others are simply Côtes de Provence). We bought both rosés (Craig liked the non-Ste. Victoire better). The reds were defined by their dominant grape - mainly grenache, mainly syrrah, and we can't remember the third (cabernet sauvignon?). Craig liked the 2011 grenache best - called Cuvée Vielles Vignes. It was light and quite dry. Prices ranged from €7.50 to 13.50.
8. Domaine Richeaume (3.0 km)
On the D57B just west of Puyloubier village. Coming from Aix it's easy to find with a large sign, but the sign is totally obscured by a tree when coming from the east. This winery is very businesslike, with no real tasting area. There is a sign on the door to the cave with a phone number to call when you arrive. Having said that, the man who came down in response to the call was very friendly and helpful, and spoke some English (about as well as I speak French, so between the two of us we were fine). The wines are quite expensive, the "cheapest" being the blended red and white at €20 a bottle. The prices for the single-varietal reds are €30-40 a bottle. Oddly for the Côtes de Provence, they produce one white and several reds - but no rosés. We tried the 2012 white, which was nice. The equivalent (blended) 2011 red was very robust (but good!), probably the most robust red we've had here. It would be an excellent pairing with a strong cheese; unfortunately we didn't have any strong cheese, but it was still good with the Comté and Rouy that we had on hand.
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| grapes early August (Mt Ste Victoire behind) |
7. Château Gassier (4.9 km)
On the D7N, between two of the roads up to Puyloubier (D57 and D56C). This winery actually has two vineyards, both in the Côtes de Provence appellation, but one is in the La Londe sub-appellation, while the other is in Montagne Sainte-Victoire. We tried two rosés, one from each sub-appellation, which were very different. The Cuvée Loubiero (the La Londe rosé) was sweeter but ultimately lighter, more of an apéritif; it has many grape varietals (6 or 7 - it was a long list!). Le Pas du Moine (the MSV rosé) was more like a white; it contained mainly grenache and syrrah, which the wine stewardess explained was required by the AOC in order for it to be labelled as an MSV sub-appellation. It had a stronger finish. We also bought the brand-new red, which they just started selling last week. It is a 2011 from their MSV vineyard, called Esprit Gassier. It is a good dinner wine, not too heavy. The prices per bottle ranged €8-12.
6. Domaine de l'Anticaille (6.7 km)
Located in Trets, on the D57. Again, this is a wine we happened to find in the grocery store (this time at the Carrefours in Trets). It's good to see national chain grocery stores supporting their local businesses - something we see very little of in Thunder Bay. The wine we found was a 2013 Rosé, simply labelled with the domaine name. It was very white-tasting (i.e. tasted more like a white wine than a rosé to us). UPDATE: At the Trets food fair, Craig decided to sample the local whites. This winery's Cuvée Mazurka was the clear winner - a light-tasting and mild wine. Yolanda wasn't as enamored with it, but it was by far Craig's favourite.
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| St. Ser bottles |
Located on the D17 just outside Puyloubier. They grow three grapes (Granache, Syrah, and Cabernet-Sauvignon) and mix-and-match to make their wines. They have one white, three rosés, and three reds - we tried the reds. One is unoaked, the other two are oaked and vary by the primary grape (one is mostly Syrah, the other is mostly Cabernet). All were very good, although the unoaked wine is not as smooth as the others. At the domaine they sell 2008 vintage for the oaked and 2010 for the unoaked, and they are not cheap. My favourite was the Cabernet-dominant wine, which was €20. However, you get what you pay for, and these wines are very good.
4. Cellier de Marius Caius (6.2 km)
Surely the best-named winery in the area! The cave is right in Pourrières, right in front of you if you come into town on the D23. When we drove past it was closed, but we found some in the Hyper U in St.-Maximin. It was called "Grand Reserve" (2013) and was fairly typical of the local rosés - a little fruity but not overwhelmingly so. I suspect we can get better and more interesting wines at the cave if we can find it open.
3. Château Grand Boise (6.0 km to store, 12 km to vineyard)
This winery has a boutique on the D7N (which is the same road as the DN7, its name changes from Bouches-de-Rhone to Var), between the Trets and Rousset exits. The vineyard itself is just south of Trets. They make pricier wines (something like 8-10 different wines), and the boutique has a selection of fine wines from other regions of France. We tried the Jadis 2012 Rosé, which was €14. It is a mixture of Grenache and Syrrah, the latter aged in barrels before blending. It had an interesting taste - a bit smokier and drier than a typical rosé.
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| the red dirt of Puyloubier |
2. Domaine Sacaron (10 km)
On the DN7 at Pourrières (Var), there is a boutique for the winery and also a fruit stand out front in the parking lot (not sure if they are related). They have 5 wines, 2 red, 2 rosés, and 1 white. We tried the pinker rosé (called Atout Coeur), which Yolanda thought was a little fruitier than some of the others we've tried. I thought it was fairly mild, but it still stood up with the fajitas we had for dinner (probably on account of the fruitiness).
1. Les Vignerons du Mont Sainte Victoire (250 m)
This is a local winery co-op, that has several producers contributing. Several of its rosés have won awards at national wine shows. We are in the process of trying several of them, and to our inexperienced palettes, they are fine. We have been told by the locals that rosés are to be served ice cold. They also have "table wines" (one each of red, white, and rosé) that can be bought by the 5 or 10L box, or you can bring your own container and fill from the cask. We have not tried these yet - the price for bringing your own container is ~€2/L.
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