A certified-organic Combard-family estate at La Londe-les-Maures in the coastal eastern Cotes de Provence sub-appellation. Theatre programmes and visitor experiences alongside cellar tastings.
Tip: La Londe is the sub-AOC built closest to the sea; ask the estate to compare the La Londe Rose against the wider Cotes de Provence to feel the salinity that sea spray adds.
Address: Quartier Saint Honore, 83250 La Londe-les-Maures, France, Provence
An Alpilles estate planted by Eloi Durrbach in 1973 on Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Bottled as IGP Alpilles because the Les Baux AOC excludes the blend; a long-standing reference for southern French red.
Tip: Trevallon is the textbook case of a great wine outside its AOC; the IGP Alpilles tag costs the estate nothing in critic-score terms and the cellar list is fanatically loyal.
A 250-hectare Les Baux estate with 58 hectares of biodynamic vines at the foot of a Templar ruin near Saint-Remy. Acquired by Dr Carolyn Sheetz in March 2024.
Tip: The cathedral cellar is carved into the limestone hillside; reserve the cellar tour and pair it with the estate's red Grand Vin from the Alpilles north slope.
A small Alpilles biodynamic estate run by Dominique Hauvette since 1988, working native-yeast ferments and long aging in foudre. Imported to the US by Kermit Lynch.
Tip: Hauvette's red Cornaline and the Roucas white from Rolle and Marsanne are the entry into the range; allocations move through specialist merchants rather than wide retail.
A Cartier-family Les Baux estate at Mouries, organic since the mid-1970s and one of the appellation's quietest reference producers. Wines distributed in the US by Kermit Lynch.
Tip: Importer Kermit Lynch carries the wines in the US; Mouries is also the olive-oil capital of Provence and the estate sells its own pressing alongside the bottles.
A 1990 Burgundian-led estate in the Provence Verte, the collaboration of Aubert de Villaine (Romanee-Conti) and Jacques Seysses (Dujac). 46 hectares of IGP Mediterranee at 380 m altitude.
Tip: Triennes is a strong non-rose Provence pour to taste alongside the rest of the region. The reds and the white bottle well above their IGP price level.
An upper-slope Bandol estate at 300 m altitude on La Cadiere d'Azur. Saint Victor family-owned since 1977, making a Mourvedre-led red with a strong appellation reputation.
Tip: Pibarnon's terraces reach 300 metres altitude in Bandol; arrive in the morning when the cellars are coolest and the view over the Bay of La Ciotat is sharpest.
