Chateau Miraval ★ 4.5
Cotes de Provence AOCGrenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Rolle30 haFounded 1500Brad Pitt (Mondo Bongo), Stoli Group (Tenute del Mondo) and Famille Perrin joint ventureWinemaker Marc PerrinORGANIC CERTIFIEDCotes de Provence
Sprawling 500-hectare estate at Correns north of Brignoles, with a 30-hectare working vineyard farmed organically. The wines are produced in a joint venture between Famille Perrin of Chateau de Beaucastel, Brad Pitt (Mondo Bongo) and the Stoli Group, which acquired Angelina Jolie's former 50 percent stake in 2021.
Tasting: The estate does not generally receive visitors at the property; wines widely available at Cotes de Provence retailers
Signature wines: miraval-rose, miraval-coeur-de-grain, miraval-muse-de-miraval
Tip: Muse de Miraval, the top-of-range rose released in tiny allocation each year, is the estate's prestige cuvee.
Cotes de Provence AOCGrenache, Cinsault, Rolle, Syrah, Tibouren45 haFounded 1201Moet Hennessy (LVMH) and Sacha LichineCotes de Provence
Sacha Lichine acquired Chateau d'Esclans at La Motte in 2006 and launched the Whispering Angel programme; LVMH's Moet Hennessy took majority control in 2019. The estate runs 45 hectares of vineyards within a 270-hectare property and has been a major commercial driver of the premium Provence rose category.
Tasting: Visits and tastings by appointment Monday to Saturday; multiple flight options
Signature wines: whispering-angel, esclans-les-clans, esclans-garrus, esclans-rock-angel
Tip: Garrus, the top-of-range rose vinified in 600-litre oak demi-muids, is the estate's prestige cuvee.
Cotes de Provence AOC (Cru Classe 1955)Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre, Rolle, Semillon168 haFounded 1929Fayard familyORGANIC CERTIFIEDCotes de Provence La Londe
Family-run Cru Classe estate at La Londe-les-Maures since 1929, working 168 hectares of certified organic vineyard on schist soils on the slopes of the Massif des Maures. Holder of the 1955 Cru Classe title plus the Cotes de Provence La Londe sub-denomination.
Tasting: Cellar visits and tastings by appointment
Signature wines: sainte-marguerite-symphonie, sainte-marguerite-fantastique, sainte-marguerite-rose
Tip: Symphonie is the estate's barrel-fermented prestige rose, the top-of-range bottling.
Cotes de Provence AOC, Cotes de Provence La Londe AOCGrenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre, Rolle68 haFounded 1997Bamford familyWinemaker Romain OttORGANIC CERTIFIEDCotes de Provence La Londe
Coastal estate at Bormes-les-Mimosas with four kilometres of Mediterranean shoreline, 68 hectares of organic-certified vineyard plus 23 hectares of olive grove. Romain Ott (of the Domaines Ott family) is the winemaker.
Tasting: Cellar visits, tastings and the on-site beach restaurant Cafe Leoube open seasonally
Signature wines: leoube-rose-de-leoube, leoube-secret-de-leoube, leoube-leoube-blanc
Tip: Secret de Leoube, the top-of-range rose from old-vine Grenache and Mourvedre, is the cellar candidate.
Cotes de Provence AOC (Cru Classe 1955)Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre, Rolle, Tibouren69 haFounded 1850Moet Hennessy (LVMH)Winemaker Mathieu Meyer (estate director)ORGANIC CERTIFIEDCotes de Provence La Londe
Coastal Cru Classe estate at La Londe-les-Maures acquired by Moet Hennessy in 2019, the group's first Provence rose property. The estate runs 69 hectares of vineyard inside 77 hectares of protected woodland on the schist soils of the Massif des Maures.
Tasting: Cellar visits and tastings by appointment
Signature wines: galoupet-cru-classe-rose, galoupet-nomade-rose
Tip: The estate has reoriented after the LVMH acquisition toward a sustainability-led Cru Classe rose programme using flat amber-glass bottles to reduce shipping weight.
Cotes de Provence AOC, Cotes de Provence Pierrefeu AOCGrenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre, Rolle80 haFounded 1958Sumeire familyWinemaker Pierre Francois de BernardiORGANIC CERTIFIEDCotes de Provence Pierrefeu
Sumeire family estate at Pierrefeu-du-Var acquired in 1958, now 80 hectares of organic and biodynamic-leaning vineyards on schist soils inside the cooler inland Cotes de Provence Pierrefeu sub-denomination. Regine Sumeire was a pioneer of pale direct-press rose in the 1980s.
Tasting: Cellar visits and tastings by appointment
Signature wines: tour-eveque-rose, tour-eveque-petale-de-rose, tour-eveque-noir-et-or
Tip: Petale de Rose, launched as one of the first pale Provence roses in the late 1980s, is the estate's commercial flagship.
