Mourvedre, Grenache, Cinsault, Rolle and Tibouren across the Mediterranean garrigue from the Rhone delta to the Italian border
France's coastal rose stronghold, where Mourvedre rules Bandol's terraced amphitheatres, Chenin-cousin Clairette anchors the white wines of Cassis, and Cinsault-Grenache-Rolle blends shape the pale, food-friendly Provence rose style.
Every vineyard, tasting room, wine bar and cellar we cover in Provence, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
The iconic bottles that define Provence.
Producer: domaine-tempier
Single-vineyard Mourvedre-led cuvee from Domaine Tempier, first bottled in 1968. Garrigue, iron and dark fruit on a firm-tannin frame that rewards a decade or more in the cellar.
Price: EUR 70 to 110 at retail
Producer: domaine-tempier
Tempier's flagship almost-pure Mourvedre cuvee from a wind-sheltered parcel within La Tourtine. Dense, graphite-driven Bandol that demands decades.
Price: EUR 120 to 180 at retail
Producer: chateau-de-pibarnon
High-altitude Mourvedre-led Bandol from Chateau de Pibarnon, first bottled under Saint Victor ownership in 1978. Blueberry, violet and graphite over firm-tannin Mourvedre that ages two decades.
Price: EUR 55 to 85 at retail
Producer: chateau-pradeaux
Near-pure Mourvedre from Chateau Pradeaux with three years in old foudre. The most uncompromising Bandol: tar, iron and tobacco over a tannin frame that demands a decade and a half.
Price: EUR 55 to 90 at retail
Producer: chateau-d-esclans
Esclans' flagship from 80-year-old Grenache. An ultra-premium Provencal rose with praline, vanilla and saline depth, built to age a decade.
Price: EUR 100 to 160 at retail
Producer: chateau-miraval
Joint-venture Provencal rose from the Perrin family, Brad Pitt and the Stoli Group at Chateau Miraval. Cinsault-led with stone fruit, citrus and saline depth.
Price: EUR 22 to 32 at retail
A handful of the estates we send friends to when they are in Provence.
Reference Bandol estate at Le Plan du Castellet, run by the Peyraud family since 1834, with the single-vineyard reds La Tourtine, La Migoua and Cabassaou setting the bar for age-worthy Mourvedre-led Bandol.
Signature: tempier-bandol-rouge, tempier-la-tourtine, tempier-la-migoua, tempier-cabassaou
Established in 1977 by Henri de Saint Victor on south-facing terraces above 300 metres at La Cadiere-d'Azur, Pibarnon sits at 300 metres above sea level, an upper-slope Bandol estate with Mourvedre at the heart of its long-ageing reds.
Signature: pibarnon-bandol-rouge, pibarnon-bandol-blanc, pibarnon-bandol-rose
The Portalis family have farmed Pradeaux on the Bandol coast at Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer since 1752, working a Mourvedre-dominant red programme (around 95 percent of the encepagement) with traditional long-foudre ageing.
Signature: pradeaux-bandol-rouge, pradeaux-le-lys, pradeaux-bandol-rose
Reynald Delille farms 30 hectares of certified organic Mourvedre, Grenache and Cinsault on dolomitic limestone at Ollioules, a few kilometres back from the Bandol coast, producing precision Bandol reds and a notable Bandol Blanc on dolomitic limestone.
Signature: terrebrune-bandol-rouge, terrebrune-bandol-blanc, terrebrune-bandol-rose
Family estate on the north-western fringe of the Bandol AOC near the village of Le Castellet, organic-certified since 2014, run by Agnes Henry-Hocquard. The Saint Ferreol cuvee, pure Mourvedre, is the flagship.
Signature: tour-du-bon-bandol-rouge, tour-du-bon-saint-ferreol, tour-du-bon-bandol-blanc
Long-established Bandol estate in the eastern part of the appellation at Sainte Anne d'Evenos, working its terraced limestone-and-clay slopes organically and biodynamically since the 1960s under three generations of the Dutheil de la Rochere family.
Signature: sainte-anne-bandol-rouge, sainte-anne-bandol-collection, sainte-anne-bandol-rose
Terraced amphitheatres of Mourvedre vines stepping down to the Mediterranean between Sanary and Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, with the limestone cliffs of Sainte-Baume in the back distance.
A natural coastal amphitheatre under the Cap Canaille cliffs where the salt-spray-scented white wines of Marsanne and Clairette face the Mediterranean and the boats heading out to the Calanques.
An urban vineyard on rolled-pebble terraces in the hills above Nice, with Folle Noire and Braquet keeping a Riviera identity alive against the encroaching city.
A miniature appellation under the Sainte-Victoire massif where Chateau Simone has been the dominant maker since 1830, working a polyculture of more than 20 grape varieties on calcaire scree.
Biodynamic ground zero in southern France: limestone foothills below the Alpilles where most domaines are Demeter or Biodyvin certified and the village of Les Baux watches over the vines.
Lavender, olive and vine country radiating north and west from Aix toward the Alpilles and the Luberon, with a roll-call of biodynamic and organic estates.
Peak wine-travel season in Provence is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
If you only open one bottle, open Domaine Tempier La Tourtine by domaine-tempier. It is the wine most associated with Provence.