Provence. Lavender, yes—the fields of lavender in bloom. And then Van Gogh and all the Impressionists.
Then there is the art, the unmistakable Provençal style you can feel in every little village.
Fine, everything on the list and everything duly “ticked off.” But now, how about some wine? And what about Provençal rosés? Are we really going to pretend they don’t exist?
Needless to say, Châteauneuf-du-Pape was already firmly in my mind, and the itinerary for these five days had been subtly arranged to make sure we stopped in areas with a strong winemaking tradition… But then I asked Professor Luca Radicchi for advice and, as usual, he planted an idea in my head: “Take a detour to Bandol—you might be in for a few surprises…”
So, with the same degree of subtlety, I reorganised the tour to include a little detour east.
My destination was Château de Pibarnon, and, as luck would have it, I found Eric de Saint Victor ready and willing to welcome us.
We are less than an hour from Marseille, in the hinterland of Bandol, in a magnificent setting. It is almost like an intricate mosaic between the hills and the sea. The feeling is that of standing on a terrace overlooking vineyards arranged in a semicircle, like the tiers of an ancient Greek theatre.
Eric shows us around and tells us about the estate. This is a rich, distinctive terroir, quite different from other parts of Bandol. The soils are highly calcareous and rich in microfossils, but this is also an area where we find Santonian blue marl. It is a geological feature shared by some of the world’s great terroirs, including Château d’Yquem in Sauternes and Château Pétrus in Pomerol.
ric’s wines benefit from a truly distinctive terroir, allowing them to be both elegant and powerful at the same time.
It was also my very first encounter with Mourvèdre, a grape variety that immediately wins you over with its ability to seduce and challenge you at the same time. So I hope Eric will forgive me if I focus mainly on his reds and rosés, wonderful expressions of Mourvèdre which, supported by the ever-present Grenache Noir, manages to show real character even in rosé wines.
Thank you, Eric, for your warm welcome.
Thank you for the long conversation we shared, partly in French and partly in English, but above all for making me realise that when a passion for wine takes over, we could probably have been speaking Hindi and still understood each other perfectly. And thanks to Stefania, my wife, for her patience.
I’ll end with one suggestion. Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne: absolutely. But don’t underestimate Provence!
