The menu as I recall is three-course, and the wines a good representation of the area.

Restaurant in St Maximin

Couvent Royal
3 star hotel
Place Jean Salusse - 83470 St Maximin
Phone : +33 (0)4 94 86 55 66 - Fax : +33 (0)4 94 59 82 82

This is a fabulous restaurant, especially when the weather is great and one can sit outdoors. Arrived just when it opened and thought the menu quite good and creative. I will find the pictures and load them, here is a link to the web site.

Like most top restaurants in the region, this restaurant is in the middle of nowhere (the village is charming, yet it is a remote village and it is quite a drive). The village is charming, and tiny and in contrast to its ancient crumbling walls of historical structures are the vibrant teenagers who flirt with one another and skateboard near the abbye. 

It made me curious to as to whether teenagers were engaging in the same behavior under the same tree near the same wall three hundred years ago.

Now here it is described on the web site:  "In the shaded square of a quiet little village in the Haut-Var, this beautiful home adjacent to a 12th century abbey invites you to sample all the pleasures of a true gourmet experience. From the vegetable garden of the Hostellerie to the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, chef Benoît Witz passionately draws into the regions bounties. Sunny and original, the menu evolves with the seasons, displaying the depth and richness of his talent: Courgette flower and crispy bacon risotto, pressed duck and foie gras... "

I agree with all this, despite the flowery language. The settign is magical and I have to admit that now, six months later, I can't quite recall the food yet remember is was quite good, up to yet not exceeding expectations as all the cuisine in the region is so spectacular.

Hôtelier: Alain Ducasse
Manager: Sebastion Pilat
10, Place du Général de Gaulle
Celle en Provence, La, 83170 France

Tel. +33 (0)4 98 05 14 14
Fax. +33 (0)4 98 05 14 15
contact@abbaye-celle.com

Chef : Benoît Witz

Maitre D : Eric Adam

Sommelier : Cédric Vernice
 

Structurally, the framework of my visit began with François Millo, director of the CIVP/Provence Wine Council Leadership. Mr. Millo is a Provence native who has been with the CIVP since its formation in 2004. He welcomed me into his office and gave me an overview into the region, its extensive history, and why rosé from Provence is unique in the world. 

Francois Millo

The CIVP/Provence wine council promotes the Provence brand and the wines of the region’s top six AOCs through efforts in four areas:

- Economic and market research and analysis

- Technical research, including sponsorship of the Center for Rosé Research in the town of Vidauban, the only center of its kind in the world

- Quality control and testing/tasting

- Marketing, communications, and public relations in France and in its countries of export, including sponsorship of the biennial International Congress on Rosé Wine

The Rosé story

Phoenicians brought the grape vine to France in 600 BC and produced rosé wines, possibly because its light refreshing style suited the climate. Later, the Romans improved vinification methods to the point that by the Middle Ages, they became the favorite wine of French Kings. Yet it wasn’t until 1977 that the Institute National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO) awarded "Côtes de Provence" the Appellation d'Origine Controlée classification.
Whites and Reds.

Everyone knows the story of rosé wine, yet Provence is increasingly becoming famous for its whites and reds, with many of the reds full bodied and meant for long term aging. Perhaps the biggest surprise of my visit to the various wineries was the discovery of grape called Tiboren for rosé, and the popularity of Rolle (Vermentino) in white blends. Some producers had the word “Vermentino” on the label, perhaps thinking that the name would play better in the international marketplace.

After my visit with Mr. Millo, I was invited to La Maison des Vins “Cotes de Provence” – a formal tasting room where visitors can try a revolving selection of wines from different producers and different regions.

Provence is an enchanting region with warm, welcoming people. I had read the Peter Mayle book about his year in Provence, and had seen the film A Good Year, yet didn’t really believe the villages could be so quaint. Yet every village I visited was so much like the film in terms of the warm, friendly people.
We experienced too our share of Michelin rated restaurants, yet the simple cafes were excellent values and served delicious food – especially a seafood salad on a hot day served with chilled young red wine.

Below is a list, and links to stories about the producers we visited, virtually all of whom offer guest rooms, with some offering elaborate meeting rooms and others cooking and produce shopping classes that can be customized to suit your needs.

The Wines of Provence web site is a terrific source of information when it comes time to plan your visit. Happy Travels.

Domaine du Clos d’Alari

Domaine de la Sanglière

Domaine de Sulauze

]]> http://awinestory.com/2010/07/my-week-in-provence.html/feed 0 http://awinestory.com/2010/07/terroirs-and-passion-at-domaine-de-la-sangliere.html http://awinestory.com/2010/07/terroirs-and-passion-at-domaine-de-la-sangliere.html#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:26:47 +0000 Marisa D'Vari http://awinestory.com/2010/07/terroirs-and-passion-at-domaine-de-la-sangliere.html “Welcome!” exclaims vivacious Remy Devictor (wearing stripes), who with his brother Oliver owns Domaine La Sangliere, just a stone’s throw from the beaches of St. Tropez. With much pride, he shows me around his winery, asking that I not take pictures of the empty spaces were the fermentation tanks once stood (“we’re getting brand new ones, the picture would look better then!” – he exclaims) and leads me out to the receiving area, where brother Oliver is manning some sort of tractor.

Passion certainly is a key at Domaine de La Sangliere, since this is very much a hands-on operation where the brother-owners literally do all the heavy lifting. It all began in the 1980s when their father Francois Devictor, agronomist, decided to settle down in Provence to achieve his lifelong dream as a wine producer.

The domaine is located on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, in the classified site of the Fort de Bregancon and covers 42 hectares. The estate is currently under the protection of the Conservatoire du Littoral (Coastal Protection Agency) ensuring the definitive protecting of outstanding area on the coast.

“The soil is ancient, composed of clay and schist,” Remy tells me. The microclimate offers a soft daily sea breeze which keeps strong winters and high risk freezing away, and moderates heavy summer heat waves.

The domaine produces six varieties of wine under two categories, Cuvee Speciale and Cuvee Prestige, both producing white, red, and rose. As usual in Provence, rose wine represents a major part of the production, but white and red have received numerous medals and distinctions during wine tasting contests.

The tasting room was quite busy, with a never-ending assortment of fashionably dressed people stopping by the tasting room to taste and buy wine. I was impressed, for the domaine is pretty out of the way.

Remy went as far as to invite us to a private beach (one has to be a member to park there) which he claimed was one of his favorites. I unstrapped my high heels and slipped on flip flops as we walked toward the sand, and then visited a beachside cafe (broiled lobsters, anyone?) where they sell his wine.

When you are in the area, make a pre-appointment for a tasting and say I said hello!

Remy Devictor   
Domaine de La Sangliere
Route de Léoube   
83230 Bormes Les Mimosas (next to the beach)
Tel:  04.94.00.48.58.   
http://www.domaine-sangliere.com
remy@domaine-sangliere.com

You can discover more about rose wines from Provence at the Wines of Provence web site

After speaking with Guillaume a good hour, one can almost call him the poster child for the ‘new wave’ of Provence-based young winemakers who are obsessed with getting the most from the land and really letting their terroir show through. Yet before I speak more about Karina, Guillaume, and their excellent wines, I must describe this incredible property.

In short, it’s magical.

Very exotic and mysterious, and the couple are incredibly lucky to own it.

The private road that leads to the winery is very long and regal, and the ancient stone buildings of the winery have seen more than five or six centuries of winegrowers over the years. Guillaume did not inherit the property, but was able to buy it with a generous loan through a government program created to assist passionate young winemakers and farmers.

The property has many other income streams in addition to wine as the couple can also profit from their very romantic gites (the different apartments accommodate different-sized family groups) and the chateau’s popularity for a destination wedding, with the banquet held in the top floor of the winery.
Domaine de Sulauze produces white, rose, and red wine from the AOC approved grapes. A tasting revealed very balanced wines, and with Guillaume at the helm, no one would dare expect anything less. He is very much his own man – he has extremely specific ideas about what grapes to grow, how to grow them, and seems to enjoy doing all the “grunt work” himself in the vineyard. Curiously, though, he has a very romantic side in that he named one of his rose wines after the work of a highly literary French author from a town near where he grew up. One can’t help but respect him and think that in the fullness of time (he seems somewhere around thirty) he will really make his mark in Provence.

Karina is also an incredibly intense personality who shares Guillaume’s passion for winemaking, yet seems to control the other businesses including the destination weddings, corporate conferences, gites rentals, and very busy gift shop. They had met during an extreme sporting event, and their competitive nature shows in the way they are able to control their business. Together they have two small delightful children.

I enjoyed everything during my visit, yet perhaps the best part was when Karina showed me the ancient cellar known as “the crypt” which is naturally cool as it is so far underground. Just stone walls and a dirt floor that has seen several centuries of un-remembered winemakers bringing wine up and down the ancient stairs harvest after harvest. No one can even date the year it was first created … it could easily be a thousand years or more.

One wonders what these centuries of previous winemakers would think, looking at Guillaume’s and Karina’s ultra-modern cellar? What would they think of all the happy couples marrying in the expansive room above the winery, and the visitors staying in the gites they may have once used for other purposes?
As you can see, the winery provokes many intellectual questions. It is a gorgeous property and I’m sure you will enjoy their wine and facilities.

Domaine de Sulauze
Karina LEFEVRERN
569, Chemin du vieux Sulauze
13140 MIRAMAS
http://www.domainedesulauze.com/
Tel: 04.90.58.02.02            

You can read more about the region at the Wines of Provence web site

Philippe is an incredibly likeable fellow, and after he shows us to our super-clean, upscale gite in a gated courtyard called Mas de la Marotte, he invites us as special guests to share dinner with him and his charming wife Micha, who happens to be an excellent cook.

Philippe and Mischa live in the “big red house’ which is a three minute drive where Mas de la Marotte. As we dine and drink Philippe’s excellent white, rose, and red wines, we learn a bit about the history of the property. Philippe’s father had another winery, and jumped when he had the chance to buy these vineyards, the Mas de la Marotte gites (it had been a factory a hundred years earlier – the Burel family had modernized it and added new kitchens, baths, and decorative objects) and the forest.

Early the next morning Philippe takes us on a tour of the vineyards and the 1200 hectare hillside forest. The day is gorgeous and hot and sunny, yet we take his four-wheel drive vehicle because of some residual mud. As we drive through the vineyards, Philippe mentions that a while back a visitor decided to drive through the web forest without a four-wheel drive and got stuck. Horses and donkeys run wild through the forest during the winter so as to naturally “brush-cut” it to protect the environment.

Domaine de l’Abbaye de St Hilaire strives to respect the environment in all that they do through the application of the Terra Vitis and Agriculture Raisonnée (integrated farming) charters. Wood-chip furnaces are used to heat the Domaine de l’Abbaye St Hilaire buildings with chips taken directly from the forest. Each year, hundreds of sheep graze in the vineyard as a natural means of weeding their vines: integrated farming is applied to the entire vineyard operation in the Rhône Méditerranée basin through compliance with strict regulations, such as land farming (spreading and incorporating effluents from the wine cellar into the soil to initiate biological treatment), and complete traceability from the crop to the cellar, on a daily basis. These efforts have been rewarded by the complete absence of crop protection residues in their wines.

After the tour of the forest we see the winery, very modern and high tech, and have a tasting of all the wines. Like many of the wineries I’ve visited in Provence, the whites, roses, and reds come in three styles or quality levels. “Tentation” is designed to be the entry-level wine for whites and roses with a bit more residual sugar than the other lines.

The second line is the Domeni traditional cuvee (white, rose, and red), which is the perfect way to discover the typicity of Abbaye St. Hilaire wines and is a cuvee characterized by its crisp, fruit aromas and wild garrigue flavors. Parcels are selected based on their exposure, and are highly representative of the St. Hilaire terroir. Harvest begins at 5 a.m, the grapes are protected from oxidation at 8 degrees celsius for 24 hours, and then fermentation takes place for three weeks in temperature controlled vats at 18 degrees Celsius so that the flavor of the terroir prevails over technology.

The third line (rose and red only) is Prieur, which represents top of the line quality and particular care in the vineyard and winery. The Prieur Rose 2009 is a gorgeous color with a complex nose of mango and tropical fruit, and a rich supple palate with sophisticated fruit and a tannic finish. The red (a blend of syrah, cinsault, grenache, cabernet sauvignon, and others) has a rich toast nose with hints of vanilla and dark chocolate, and on the palate full bodied with a finish of black licorice.

In addition to the gites, the forest, and the delicious wine, Philippe’s estate also includes an ancient church, that was also used for worshipping gods before Christianity. The church (a statue above) is about to be reconstructed into an Inn. I was able to see the Monks quarters – very interesting! I should mention that in addition to the church, the estate offers a gorgeous air-conditioned meeting room with chandeliers and artwork that match the 1930s period it was built.

I enjoyed the wines of Abbaye St. Hilaire (now available in the United States, check out the wine-searcher tool to find them) and meeting Philippe and his wife. I really enjoyed my time at Mas de la Marotte – it has a lovely swimming pool and the rooms are very comfortable. Of course, I must admit that I love French films, and feel that this delightful courtyard gite would be the ideal setting for a coming of age story where teenagers, both visiting with their families, fall in love amidst the vines …

Abbaye Saint Hilaire
Philippe BUREL 
Route de Rians RD3- 83470 Ollières
http://www.abbayesainthilaire.com/fr/index.php
Tel: 04 98 05 40 10
contact@abbayesainthilaire.com

You can also find more information on Provence at the wines of provence web site

“You must have some fresh Truffles on toast!” says attractive blond Valérie Rousselle-Riboud, looking very glamorous and jet-set in a chic white dress. We are sitting at a little table overlooking her enormous estate, sipping her top level Rosé wine (called Inspire) and eating the most incredible truffles I’ve ever had in my life. There is something magical about the truffles (thank you, Fatima, but we will get to that later) and also something very magical about the scene.

Now you must have seen gorgeously made films on the big screen featuring the aristocracy enjoying their estates, yes? Or at least that party scene in The Great Gatsby. Well, this is that scene. The night air is gorgeous – warm yet with a slight breeze, and the Inspire Rosé wine goes down well as Valerie tells us the story of her life with her lilting French accent (a former executive in the hospitality trade, she speaks many languages).

Valerie’s life is a fascinating one, having grown up in St. Tropez and studying the hotel business at The Swiss Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, later working for the Groupe Barriere Company. In 1994, she found Chateau Roubine, an expansive collection of vineyards and an enormous Chateau and bought it.

Though she studied winemaking and oenology at the French Wine University in Suze La Rousse, she is assisted by Olivier Nasles (oenologist consultant), Jean Louis Francone in the vineyard, and Pierre Gerin in the cellar.

Valerie is passionate about her winery (which produces a half million bottles a year), because of the quality of the wine, both in terms of the terroir and the attention that goes into its production. The vineyard is spread between the Verdon River and the Mediterranean sea, and surrounded by pines and oak trees with an ideal east/west exposure, and chalky clay soil. It is actually one of the oldest wine estates of France and in 1953, the Ministry of Agriculture awarded the property with the “Cru Classé” title, a prestigious vintage wines award. During the excellent dinner, prepared by her talented chef Fatima, we enjoy tastes of her other wines.

One of my favorites was the red Cuvee Prestige 2006, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, which is paired with the lamb. During dinner, we also learned the source of the curious “figure” on the label of her Inspire (prestige class) wines. It is an actual rootstock, yet to Valerie its shape represents both the feminine and the masculine (depending on how you look at it). Listening to Valerie speak about how she discovered the name, the rootstock image, and the concept behind it is absolutely mesmerizing as her face lights up with excitement like a child on Christmas morning.

The next morning, we tour the bustling winery and see where the grapes are received in the middle of the night/early morning to preserve freshness. For red wine, the grapes are de-stemmed and crushed before undergoing a long maceration period of 1 month. The vinification takes a long time to ensure a well structured robust wine and to extract all the deep, rich, garnet red colours from the skins. After going through their malo-lactic fermenting period, the wines are aged in oak casts for 10 to 14 months, one third of which are renewed every year, they are then blended in cuvee before being bottled.

The whites, rosés, and reds come in three different styles and price points: Classique, Prestige, & Inspire. Cuvée Classique combines modern wine making techniques with local tradition and is a typical light and fruity Provencal wine, perfectly suited to Mediterranean cooking. Prestige labels bear the “Amalfitaine” cross, mark of the Templars, once owners of the Château : discretion, temperance, justice and strong spirit. Both complex and original, the vintage “Terre de Croix” is made of racy and highly gastronomic wines. And Inspire reflects the highest aspiration of Chateau Roubine.

Now beyond the delicious and affordable wines, Chateau Roubine is also a ‘bed and breakfast’ of sorts where romantic couples, families, friends, and groups with a common interest in wine and food can come for a week to live in luxury in the midst of a fabulous vineyard.

Chateau Roubine’s guest house is among the most charming I have seen, a newly built guesthouse called Mas des Candeliers. I had a tour of the rooms and they are gorgeous beyond belief, with fabulous kitchens and bathrooms and living areas. A couple traveling with a baby or small child and nanny will have enough private space, and the guest house (it is actually more of a block of guest houses with individual doors and keys) is also great for family reunions when people want to get together for meals but otherwise have their own space. You will find a little “wading pool” that children will love, and adults will appreciate for a quick dip in the hot sun. What I also liked about Mas des Candeliers is that there is a nice patio where children can play games or adults could relax in the sunset with a glass of wine.

Though the rooms are gorgeous and Valerie herself can act as your concierge, helping you find other wineries to visit, you may want to arrange your trip to be a mini cooking school. Chateau Roubine has a state of the art teaching kitchen, very large, where students can learn to prepare dishes from Provence, and even shop for the ingredients from the market. Though Fatima is an excellent chef, Valerie explained that an English-speaking chef, accustomed to professional teaching, will be the instructor and will coordinate the dishes with the client.

You can learn more at http://www.chateauroubine.com or by calling 33(0)4 94 85 94 94 or emailing contact@chateauroubine.com

Also, be sure to visit the web site http://www.winesofprovence.com for more information about the region.

Nathalie showing excellent wine review in Vin magazine

“Welcome!” says Nathalie Vancoillie, a very tanned, toned, attractive woman with sun-streaked hair and an athletic build as she escorts us into her Chateau in Provence, a charming stone structure that dates from the 15th century. Most people think of Provence as St. Tropez, yet Nathalie lives outside the small but lively village of Saint Antonin. Her house is just minutes away from romantic cafes and the gorgeous produce you can find on market days, yet far enough away so that you really feel you are in the wilds of Provence.

Domaine du Clos d’Alari produces award winning white and rose wine in the most natural way possible, which includes Nathalie herself rising at dawn every morning to go out into the vineyards and tend the vines. She had grown up on the property, which her parents bought when she was a child. At first, they grew grapes and sold them to winemakers, then a trusted friend tasted the wine and told the Vancoillie family they would be better off producing the wine themselves. The family owns twenty hectares of vineyards made of clay and limestone. Grapes include Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvedre, Merlot, Cinsault, and Rolle.

Over breakfast the next morning, Nathalie told me a bit about her fascinating life, which is a foodie’s dream. Though the family produces award-winning wine, its real passion is food, and Nathalie and her elegant mother Anne-Marie are enormously popular with individuals, couples, and groups that come to their Domaine to discover how to not just shop but “hunt” (if that is the appropriate word) for truffles, using the talented snout of their cute little dog.

Beyond a winery and cooking school, Domaine du Clos d’Alari is also a ‘bed and breakfast,’ where guests can stay in Nathalie’s romantic stone house with its eclectic art collection, wake up to a delicious breakfast of cheeses, fresh ripe peaches with mint, and coffee, and look at mountains and vineyards beyond. Nathalie and her mother have hosted prestigious groups such as Oldways, teaching them to shop and cook.

The fact a highly respected group such as Oldways should have tipped me off that I would be in for a fantastic lunch. After all, Oldways has the kind of international name and clout that could see them take interested parties anywhere on earth. How did they find out about Nathalie and her mother?

Lunch, it turns out, was held at Anne Marie’s house next door, and the table was set up in a way we can see the vineyards and the mountain (which they also own). As soon as we sat down, prosciutto and melon were served, with the melon at the absolute peak of ripeness.

Then gorgeous red tomatoes, glistening with ripeness, were set before us. Never had I experienced a tomato at such a point of ripeness, and I tried it with both their excellent rose and white wine, unable to decide which pairing worked best.

Next came an impossible to describe dish, very delicious,shredded chicken with ultra fresh vegetables in seasoned aspic. Finally, the Clos d’Alari red wine (aged in oak) with the cheese. This lunch proudly showed off our hosts’ culinary skills as well as their excellent wines. They are available in the United States, so use the Wine-Searcher tool to the right to find them in a store near you.

Natalies house

One would think to visit Provence only in summer, but the bed and breakfast is open all year round. In fall you can hunt for truffles, and every season brings something new to the table (so to speak). Nathalie and her mother speak many languages, and are very open to helping guests map out a plan of how to spend their days (the markets, other wineries, little villages to visit) so it is best to contact them directly with questions.

Bon Appetite!
Domaine du Clos d'Alari
Anne Marie VANCOILLIE
717, Route de Mappe
83510 SAINT ANTONIN DU VAR
Tel: 04.94.72.90.49
email: domaine.du.clos.alari@wannadoo.fr

 
You can also visit the Wines of Provence web site for more information on the area.

One of my favorite movies of all time is A Good Year with Russell Crowe, which tells the story of a hard-living London banker who inherits his uncle’s vineyard in Provence, meets not one but three women of his dreams, and by the end of his film learns to enjoy life a la Provencal. Watching the film, the viewer is immediately caught up in the gorgeous blend of bright yellow sun, wide blue sky, green trees, and the aroma of lavender.

For a few hours in New York recently, the sunny region of Provence touched rain-drenched Manhattan in order to introduce the many rosé wines of the area. The venue, the trendy and very sleek Fig & Olive restaurant, was turned into a mini-Provence with a large screen showcasing all the natural attractions of the region. Dozens of winemakers – many of whom had never had their wines imported in the United States – stood behind cloth-draped tables pouring tastes and explaining their wines.

Côtes de Provence is an AOC (delimited) region in France with a warm Mediterranean climate that seems tailor made for creating the dry, pale pink wine known as rosé that pairs so well with many summer foods. Thirteen grape varieties are allowed to be used by AOC rules, though the most popular are Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Carignan. Many people do not realize that red wines are produced in the area as well. Though rather rustic overall, many five-star restaurants in Manhattan carry red wines from Provence, and they can be delicious value.

A curious observer will notice two very key things upon entering a trade tasting of rosé wines from Provence. The first is that the wines appear to come in two distinctive colors, a baby pink and a light peach color. The reason for this is because a larger amount of Syrah in the blend produces a pinker wine, while Cinsault produces a more tangerine color. The second thing people may notice is that while many producers continue to market the wine in the traditional skittle-shaped (like an hourglass) bottle, many wines are now produced in the generic bottle shape.

After speaking to some producers, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. The traditional bottle is attractive to look at and sends a romantic marketing message to potential buyers. The problem with the traditional bottle is that it is hard to affix a label, and packing the irregular sized bottles for shipment can be challenging.

During the tasting I had a chance to chat with Julien Camus, President of the French Wine Society in Washignton DC. Mr. Camus’s objective is to train wine educators about the wines of France and the educational program appears very rich. We discussed the region a bit and the good news for Provence is that dry rosé sales are seeing double-digit growth in the United States. Why? The reasons are many, but in my estimation the key reason is that young wine drinkers see dry rosé as the sophisticated drink of summer.

Now that it is May, rosé sipping season is in full bloom. If you want to try dry rosé before you buy, find a wine store near you and ask if they will be holding any rosé wine tastings. Then just make a plan to attend and make notes of which wines you like. Typically rosé wines from Provence are well balanced in terms of medium acidity and slightly lower tannins. Each wine differs, yet the nose is often floral with hints of sweet fruit, and the palate is medium bodied with a crisp finish.

Rosé wine goes with a wide variety of picnic and brunch fair, especially composed salads. Even if you are stuck in the city for summer, when you pour yourself a glass of rosé you can feel as if you are on a St. Tropez beach.