Mourvedre is the king of Bandol, where AOC rules require a minimum of 50 percent (most serious reds run 80 to 95 percent) and where the variety, late-ripening and demanding, finds the heat, sea breeze and limestone restanques it needs to ripen fully. Wines are dense, savoury and tannic young, evolving over 10 to 25 years into the leather, garrigue, dried fig and warm-spice register that defines Bandol red. The grape also gives Bandol rose its savoury, age-worthy character (3 to 8 years is normal for the rose) and contributes structure to the rose blends of Cotes de Provence and Coteaux d'Aix. The variety is the same as Spain's Monastrell and California / Australia's Mataro. Outside Bandol, Mourvedre is also a key component of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and is grown across the southern Rhone.
Grenache is the structural backbone of Provence rose and the most-planted red grape across the regional AOCs. The variety gives the rose blends their soft red-fruit core (strawberry, raspberry, white pepper) and the body that lets Provence roses pair with food rather than serve as aperitif-only wines. In Bandol it is a permitted supporting variety (up to 50 percent in reds, more in rose); in Les Baux-de-Provence and Coteaux d'Aix it is one of the dominant red grapes alongside Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Grenache here is the same variety as Spain's Garnacha and the bedrock of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
Cinsault is the lift in Provence rose: a thin-skinned variety that gives the blend its pale colour, delicate aromatic profile (rose petal, peach skin, watermelon) and its accessible, food-friendly drinking style. It is rarely vinified as a varietal red in Provence; instead it shows up at 20 to 40 percent of most rose blends, balancing Grenache's red-fruit weight and Syrah's structure. Old-vine Cinsault on schist (in the Massif des Maures area of Cotes de Provence) is increasingly used by quality-focused producers for low-yield, concentrated rose. In Bandol rose Cinsault is the second variety after Mourvedre.
Syrah arrived in Provence from the northern Rhone in the late 20th century and is now used across the regional AOCs for its colour, structure and ageing potential. In Les Baux-de-Provence and Coteaux d'Aix it is one of the dominant red grapes alongside Grenache; in Cotes de Provence and Coteaux Varois it is typically a 20 to 30 percent blend partner that gives reds their tannic spine. The variety is excluded or rare in AOC Bandol, where Mourvedre dominates. Provence Syrah tends to be more savoury and herbal than its Rhone counterpart because of the maritime influence and the garrigue ecosystem.
Tibouren is the heritage grape of Provence: a near-extinct red variety that is now grown almost exclusively in the Cotes de Provence around the Massif des Maures. The variety is genetically related to Italy's Rossese (Liguria) and almost certainly arrived with Ligurian sailors centuries ago. Tibouren is the flagship grape at Clos Cibonne, a Cru Classe in Le Pradet that bottles a Tibouren-led rose aged under flor in old foudres and remains a distinctive Tibouren-led rose. Wines are aromatic (rose, jasmine, white pepper) with savoury structure and ageing potential of 5 to 10 years - longer than nearly any other Provence rose.
Rolle is the Provencal name for Vermentino, the same grape that anchors the whites of Sardinia (Vermentino di Gallura DOCG) and Liguria. It is by far the dominant white-wine grape across the Provence regional AOCs and gives the white wines their citrus-and-fennel profile, mid-weight body and pleasing bitter almond finish. In Bellet, Rolle is one of the three local grapes (alongside the red Braquet and Folle Noire); on the coast in Cotes de Provence La Londe it is often blended with Semillon and Ugni Blanc for richer styles. The variety is also a small but meaningful component of many top Provence rose blends, co-fermented with reds for additional aromatic lift.
Clairette is the foundational white grape of Cassis, where the appellation's chalky-marl soils and the cooling effect of the Cap Canaille cliffs deliver a textbook chalk-and-fennel profile with citrus-peel lift and saline finish. The variety has been grown on the Mediterranean coast since at least the medieval era and is also a key supporting blender in Bandol whites (with Bourboulenc and Ugni Blanc), Palette and Les Baux. Clairette is naturally low in acidity, so it is typically picked early; many Cassis producers age it briefly on lees in old oak or stainless to add mid-palate weight without aromatic interference.
Ugni Blanc (the same variety as Italy's Trebbiano Toscano) is one of the most-planted white grapes in France and a workhorse in Provence whites and roses. The variety is naturally high in acidity and low in alcohol, which makes it valuable in the Mediterranean climate: blenders use it to lift Clairette and Rolle-led whites and to add a citrus-acid spine to Bandol and Cassis whites. Ugni Blanc is rarely vinified as a varietal in Provence; its highest-profile role globally is as the base of Cognac and Armagnac distillates further west in France.
Braquet is one of the three heritage Bellet grapes (alongside Folle Noire and Rolle) and is now grown almost exclusively in the Nice city AOC of Bellet. The variety is genetically identical to Italy's Brachetto, the grape behind sweet sparkling Brachetto d'Acqui in Piedmont, and clearly arrived in Bellet across the Italian border. In Bellet it is used in light reds and aromatic roses with a distinctive perfume of rose petal, wild herb and red berry. Plantings are tiny (Bellet's total area is barely 50 hectares).
Folle Noire (locally Fuella Nera) is the principal red grape of Bellet, the urban AOC inside Nice. The variety is genetically distinct from the Folle Noire of south-west France (an Armagnac base grape) and is found almost nowhere else in the world; plantings are confined to a handful of producers across Bellet's 50 hectares. Wines are mid-weight and aromatic with notes of garrigue, sour cherry and white pepper, often blended with Braquet and small amounts of Grenache. Folle Noire is the Riviera identity grape: without it the Bellet AOC would be a generic southern French red.