Wine in Les Baux-de-Provence, Provence

Domaine de Trevallon ★ 4.9

Eloi Durrbach planted Trevallon in the Alpilles foothills in 1973 and bottled the first vintage in 1976. The wine declassified to vin de pays in 1994 after the AOC required a maximum 20 percent Cabernet (the Trevallon blend is 50-50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah). Now bottled as IGP Alpilles and considered an IGP Alpilles cult red.

Tasting: No regular public visits; wines sold on allocation through importers

Signature wines: Domaine de Trevallon Rouge, Domaine de Trevallon Blanc

Tip: The Blanc, a Marsanne-Roussanne blend in small quantity, is even harder to source than the rouge.

Mas de la Dame ★ 4.6

The founder's great-granddaughters Caroline Missoffe and Anne Poniatowski run the 300-hectare estate at the foot of Les Baux-de-Provence, with 58 hectares of certified organic vineyard plus 28 hectares of olive groves.

Tasting: Tastings at the on-site shop; cellar visits by appointment

Signature wines: Mas de la Dame Coin Cache, Mas de la Dame La Stele Rouge, Mas de la Dame La Gourmande Rose

Tip: The Coin Cache red is the estate's cellar candidate; the Gourmande rose is the everyday Provence picnic wine.

Domaine Hauvette ★ 4.7

Dominique Hauvette planted her first two hectares at Saint-Remy-de-Provence in 1988 and now works 15 hectares biodynamically. Vinifications use no added sulfur and the wines age in concrete eggs.

Tasting: Cellar visits and tastings strictly by appointment

Signature wines: Domaine Hauvette Cornaline, Domaine Hauvette Amethyste Rose, Domaine Hauvette Roucas Blanc

Tip: Cornaline (Cabernet-Grenache-Syrah blend) is the cellar candidate; the Amethyste rose ages remarkably well.

Mas de Gourgonnier ★ 4.5

Cartier family estate at Le Destet (Mouries), one of the founding organic producers of the Alpilles (now over 50 years of certified organic farming). 40 hectares of vineyard plus 20 hectares of olive groves at the heart of the Les Baux AOC.

Tasting: Cellar visits and tastings at the on-site shop; check website for hours

Signature wines: Mas de Gourgonnier Tradition Rouge, Mas de Gourgonnier Reserve du Mas

Tip: Reserve du Mas, the long-aged red cuvee, is the cellar choice; the table-friendly Tradition pairs with Mediterranean lamb.

Chateau Romanin ★ 4.6

Estate at Saint-Remy-de-Provence below the ruins of a 13th-century Templar castle. 56 hectares of vineyard, certified organic, Demeter biodynamic and a member of Biodyvin.

Tasting: Cellar visits and tastings; on-site park and ruins of the 13th-century Templar castle open to visitors

Signature wines: Chateau Romanin Grand Vin, Chateau Romanin Coeur de Romanin, Chateau Romanin Blanc

Tip: The Coeur de Romanin red is the estate's small-lot prestige cuvee.

Domaine de Lauzieres ★ 4.5

31 hectares of certified Demeter biodynamic vineyard plus 25 hectares of olive groves at Mouries in the Alpilles foothills. The estate has been working organically since planting and certified Demeter biodynamic since 2015.

Tasting: Cellar visits and tastings; contact the estate to arrange

Signature wines: Domaine de Lauzieres Equinoxe, Domaine de Lauzieres Cailloutis Blanc, Domaine de Lauzieres Eole Rose

Tip: The Equinoxe red, low-sulfite and old-vine, is the estate's most expressive cuvee.

Les Baux-de-Provence Biodynamic Tour ★ 4.6

Half-day tour focused on the AOC Les Baux-de-Provence biodynamic mandate, visiting two Demeter-certified estates among the Alpilles with a fortress stop.

Domaine de Manville ★ 4.7

30-room Relais et Chateaux estate spread across the Alpilles foothills of Les Baux, with an 18-hole golf course, working olive groves and a Michelin-starred kitchen.

The list: Cellar of 450 references with Les Baux biodynamic axis; weekly tasting dinners with neighbouring estates; vineyard cycle itinerary across Mas de la Dame and Mas Sainte-Berthe

Domaine de Trevallon ★ 4.8

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.

Chateau Romanin ★ 4.5

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.

Domaine Hauvette ★ 4.7

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.

Mas de Gourgonnier ★ 4.4

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.

Chateau Romanin ★ 4.5

Chateau Romanin works 58 hectares of biodynamic vines on the north slope of the Alpilles, within the Les Baux-de-Provence AOC that has required 100 percent organic farming since 2023. Dr Carolyn Sheetz acquired the estate in March 2024.

Tip: The cathedral cellar is carved into the limestone hillside; book a guided tour to see it.

Domaine Hauvette ★ 4.7

Dominique Hauvette has farmed her small Alpilles estate biodynamically since 1988, working native yeasts, long aging in foudre and concrete; minimal cellar intervention.

Tip: Allocations move through specialist importers (Kermit Lynch in the US); cellar visits are limited and best arranged through the wine merchant network.

Mas de Gourgonnier ★ 4.4

The Cartier family certified Mas de Gourgonnier organic in the mid-1970s, decades before the modern wave, and continues to farm without chemicals at Mouries on the south slope of the Alpilles.

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.

Domaine Hauvette ★ 4.6

Dominique Hauvette works native-yeast ferments, no added enzymes, no fining and minimal sulphur across her Cornaline red and Roucas white, the Alpilles reference for natural-leaning farming and cellar work.

Tip: The Cornaline red is the canonical Hauvette wine; the small-production whites move quickly through specialist merchants.

Domaine de Trevallon ★ 4.7

Domaine de Trevallon works low-intervention winemaking across the IGP Alpilles red and white, with the Durbach family practising biodynamics on the limestone north of the Alpilles since the early 1980s.

Tip: Trevallon is the cult Alpilles wine; allocations are tight and the cellar list is loyal, so visits and bottles move through specialist merchants.