My Six Desert Island Provence Wines

Tempier’s single vineyard Bandols (La Migoa, La Tourtine and Le Cabbassou) are among the finest and most ageworthy red wines of Provence. In fact, they could very easily take up three of my six slots.

 But this is a very personal list of favorite Provençal wines, and there’s something about the sight of their rosé that makes my heart skip a beat. The first time you spy a bottle in spring, it’s like spotting the first daffodil–you know the sun is on its way.

Tempier’s history is long, but it’s the love story and lust for life of Lucien and Lulu Peyraud that captures the imagination. They married in 1940 and started bottling in 1943; not with red wines, but with rosé. Lulu died in 2000, aged 102; today the wines are made by Daniel Ravier.

Their rosé is a blend of 50% Mourvèdre, the rest made up of Grenache and Cinsault, grown on clay limestone soils. It’s a firm, muscular and bold rosé that raises questions about structure in wine; where does it derive its build without tannin or oak? There are few more charismatic rosés than this, and it’s one I could never tire of.

I’m going to need at least one red Bandol on my desert island, but which one to choose? Domaine de Terrebrune, Château Pradeaux, Domaine Gros'Noré, Domaine de la Bégude, La Tour du Bon, La Bastide Blanche; the list of contenders is long.

If I’m not allowed a mixed case, I’d opt for Pibarnon. At 300 m/655 ft elevation, it’s situated at the highest point of the appellation, looking down over the glittering Mediterranean below, its Mourvèdre vines grown organically in a natural amphitheater. For this cuvée they add 10% Grenache.

It all started when Catherine and Henri de Saint-Victor were visiting Bandol in 1977 and they tasted a bottle of 1975 Pibarnon. They were so impressed they promptly drove to the estate to find out more. Despite the ramshackle estate having no running water, they made the owners an offer–and bought the estate. Today, it’s owned by their son Eric de Saint-Victor.

Their Bandols marry power with freshness and elegance that makes them delicious young; but if a case of their 1990 washed up on the island, I’d be even happier.

 With all this delicious seafood on the doorstep, some white wine would be welcome; perhaps a Cassis. Unusually for Provence, this appellation produces more white wine than rosé (red is permitted too, but very little is made). Granted in 1936, Cassis was one of the first five wine AOCs of France.

 Clos Sainte Magdeleine would be a good choice. Their property, located just outside the town of Cassis, is one of the most picturesque estates of Provence, with terraced vineyards under the Cap Canaille cliff and other parcels jutting out into the Mediterranean itself. They could not be closer to the sea.

 Though their white cuvée classique is deliciously dependable, their old vine cuvée Bel Arme is even more compelling. It’s made from a blend of 55% Marsanne, 20% Ugni Blanc, 20% Clairette and 5% Bourboulenc.

 They weren’t tempted to age the wine in oak; instead, it’s fermented and matured on the fine lees in concrete eggs, which accentuates its freshness and purity. Featuring floral pear notes on the nose, it’s rounded but not overly fat, with noble bitters on the finish. It’s the perfect match for white fish baked with Provençal herbs.

Clos Cibonne’s ‘Cuvée des Vignettes’ would make a good contrast with Tempier’s Bandol rosé. This estate is 10 km/6 mi east of Toulon and just 2 km/1 mi from the sea. It dates back to the late 1700s, taking its name from Jean-Baptiste de Cibon, a captain in Louis XVI's navy.

 Their specialty is the Tibouren grape; 80% of their 24 ha/59 ac estate is planted with this rare variety. Like Mourvèdre, it thrives in hot, coastal areas, but it’s even more difficult to cultivate as it has very thin skins and is highly susceptible to millerandage (poor fruit set).

 Their Cuvée des Vignettes is made with Tibouren that dates back to the 1950s, grown as bush vines on schist. The blend is 90% Tibouren, picked a little riper than their other cuvées, and 10% Grenache. They use stainless steel tanks for fermentation, then age the wine in 100-year-old wooden foudres for 12 months.

 The result is a hugely characterful style of rosé that’s more orange than pink. It has a distinctly savory style, with garrigue herbs, walnuts and earthy notes. It’s a structured rosé that ages well (over 10 years in good vintages) and can match powerfully-flavored dishes such as bouillabaisse. 

There are few estates, in Provence or elsewhere, whose red, rosé and white wines are of equal quality; but Château Simone in AOC Palette is one of them. Located 4 km/2 mi east of Aix-en-Provence, this elegant property has been in the Rougier family since 1830, before which it was cultivated for hundreds of years by monks.

 The entire appellation covers just 46 ha/114 ac, and is home to three private estates (the other two are Château Henri Bonnaud and Château Crémade). Despite its miniscule size, there are 25 permitted grape varieties!

 The vines for their white have an average of 50 years of age and are grown on north-facing limestone slopes. The main variety is Clairette (80%), complemented by 10% Grenache Blanc, 5% Bourboulenc, 3% Ugni Blanc and 2% Muscat. The blend is aged in barriques for 18 months before bottling.

 When young, it has aromas of orange flower water, pine needles and Provençal herbs. It repays long ageing too, adding complex layers of almond, honey and quince as it does. If I were to pull any lobsters out of the water, this is what I would open.

As much as I love Mourvèdre and Grenache, I’d need another red to complete my selection. Domaine de Trévallon, a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, offers a contrasting blend from a very different terroir.

Les Baux de Provence is a relatively new appellation (established 1995), situated in the middle of the Alpilles mountains, 35 km/22 mi south of Châteauneuf-du-Pape; there’s no sea influence here. The range is 24 km/15 mi long from east to west and it rises to nearly 500 m/1,640 ft elevation.

Domaine de Trévallon is located within the growing area of AOC Les Baux de Provence, but since they grow more Cabernet Sauvignon than is permitted by the INAO (French appellation authorities), they bottle their red under IGP Alpilles.

The estate was established in 1973 by Eloi Dürrbach, who planted vines in three valleys (hence the name) on an old estate that belonged to his family. He was visited soon after by Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, who introduced him to the American importer Kermit Lynch; his wines quickly gained cult status. The estate is now owned and managed by his son Antoine and daughter Ostiane.

Whole bunches, organically grown and fermented with natural yeasts make for a red wine with freshness, tension, chiseled tannins and enough wildness; but not too much!