Provence is renowned for its table wines and rosés, and over the last few years has improved its quality so that many more of its other wines are becoming sought after. This region produces both spicy, warm-hearted and intense, blackcurranty reds, as well as a great many good rosés. In fact, 80% of the wine made in Provence is rosé.
Even outside of the generic Côtes de Provence appellation, rosé wines are also excellent, especially in areas such as Coteaux d'Aix or Coteaux Varois. The dominant grape often determines the style: Cinsaut makes the palest rosé; Syrah the tastiest rosé and red.
Wine lovers can also discover the typical terroirs of Bandol, Bellet and Cassis to taste full bodied red wines and aromatic white wines.
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Location
Covering Côte d'Azur, from Aix en Provence and the Rhône
valley to Nice and the Alps.
Grapes
- Red: Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvèdre,
Syrah, Tibouren, Fuella and Braquet
- White: Rolle, Chardonnay,
Pignerol, Muscadet, Mayorquin, Bourboulenc
Look Out For
Rosé is the great speciality of this region. White wine
is rather dry, sometimes sparkling.
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Bandol
Bandol is on the Mediterranean coast between La Ciotat and Toulon, and the rocky limestone vineyards stretch along the sunny southern hillsides. It is one of the oldest vineyards in France, the first vine being planted over 2,500 years ago by the Romans.
Uniquely, Bandol's rosé is aged a minimum of 8 months in wood, giving the wine an orange coloring.
The red Bandol is made from Mourvèdre grape and is aged a minimum of 18 months in oaken foudres, producing a full, round, rich wine with cinnamon, black fruit and vanilla aromas.
A small quantity of white Bandol is made from Bourboulenc, Clairette and Ugni Blanc.
Bellet
This is one of the smallest appellations in France, hidden in the hills behind the city of Nice. Bellet is produced by only two vineyards; the wine makers using grapes such as Pignerol and Mayorquin for the white, and Fuella and Braquet for the red and rosé. Red wines are powerful, whites are aromatic and rosés are fresh. However, due to its small size and limited production, Bellet wines are very hard to find outside of Nice.
Cassis
Situated on the rocky coast of the Mediterranean east of Marseilles, Cassis is renowned in the South of France for its white wine. These full, dry, herby whites are made principally from Clairette and Marsanne. With a golden straw colour and a slightly nutty flavour, they go well with the regional seafood. A small amount of red and rose wine is also produced.
Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence
The area covers the Mediterranean coast from Marseille all the way to Nice and stretches north to Aix-en-Provence and Draguignan. The Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence received its AOC rating in 1985, and has subsequently built a strong reputation through the planting of better varieties of grapes and careful vinification and ageing. Co-operatives are important here, making blends from Grenache, Cinsaut, Mourvèdre and the local Counoise.
Coteaux de Baux-de-Provence
At the base of the Alpilles mountains, between Arles and Cavaillon, the chalky-white limestone soil is rich in bauxite. The vineyards tend to be organic, using no artificial or inorganic fertilizers. Red wines are produced from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes. A small amount of rose wine is also produced; here Cinsault is substituted for the Mourvèdre.
Coteaux Varois
This is a new AOC, receiving their classification in 1993. The rosé and red wines of Coteaux Varois are produced in the centre of the department of the Var, around the town of Brignoles. Many different grape varieties are used in the blends, including the ancient Provencal variety of Tibouren.
Côtes de Provence
The principle appellation of the region, Côtes de Provence stretches from Marseilles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône and across central and southern Var to the Alpes-Maritimes.
Almost 80% of production is of a pale pink dry rose which is, in the main, consumed locally. Rosé de Provence wines are dry and fruity, with pink grapefruit aromas, and perfect as a summer wine.
Palette
Palette is a very small appellation of some 50 acres of vines in the hills east of Aix-en-Provence. A single property, Chauteau Simone, is responsible for most of the output of the area. Dense and long-lived red wines are produced, along with full-bodied rosés and white wines.
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