Vineyards

Let’s be honest, for oenophiles the Luberon and Les Alpilles is a bit of a black hole. The recent Ridley Scott adaptation of the Peter Mayle book A Good Year, added a much needed dose of glamour to the region, but even so the vast majority of the wine produced is pretty average. Machine harvested grapes are dumped by the trailer load at Cave Co-operatives and it’s only thanks to the seasonal deluge of tourists lusting after endless glasses of rosé that the area isn’t submerged by the leftovers. Hangovers from chemically charged wine are commonplace.

However the region is also blessed by a smaller number of passionate independent vignerons creating wines of distinction.

Here’s my selection of where to visit. It’s Luberon centric, I’m afraid, but that’s where I live.

Southern Luberon:

Chateau La Dorgonne, La Tour D’Aigue. www.ladorgonne.com Tel: 04 90 07 50 18

This stunningly located vineyard has been producing great quality organic wine for several years now. Late harvesting allows plenty of flavour to be packed into the wines. There is even a marked wine trail with an explanatory leaflet guiding visitors around the grounds of the domaine.

Chateau Saint Esteve de Neri, Ansouis. www.stestevedeneri.com tel: 04 90 09 90 16.

This vineyard turned wholly organic two years ago and is now producing medal winning reds. Deep, heavy and typical of the Luberon.

Chateau Constantine Chevalier, Lourmarin. www.constantin-chevalier.fr Tel: 04 90 68 38 99

The vigneron, Allen Chevalier, makes one of the region’s best whites and this year has stunned locals by producing a couple of thousand bottles of a delicate pale rosé, which he sells alongside his more traditional full-coloured pink.

Chateau La Verriere, Lauris. Tel: 04 90 72 20 88. 

A benchmark for quality wines in the region, although the 07 rosé was a little steely for my liking.

Northern Luberon

Chateau La Canorgue, Bonnieux. Tel: 04 90 75 81 01

Much of the filming for the Peter Mayle/Ridely Scott film A Good Year was done on location here. Has long made excellent award winning wines and this year it added a welcome lighter summer red to the collection.

Domaine de La Citadelle. Menerbes. www.domaine-citadelle.com Tel: 04 90 72 41  58

As well as the excellent red, white and rosé there’s an interesting corkscrew museum, which is worth a tour on a rainy day.

Les Alpilles

Domaine de Terre Blanches, Saint Remy de Provence. Tel: 04 90 95 91 66

Set in the shadows of the jagged Alpilles, this organic vineyard also offers marked wines trails between the vines. The peppery red is my favourite of the wines on offer.

Chateau Romanin, Saint Remy, www.romanin.com. Tel: 04 90 92 45 87

Neighbour to Terre Blanche and worth a visit if you can survive the bumpy three kilometre ride into the hills.

Domaine de Trevallon, Saint Etienne Les Gres, www.domainedetrevallon.com tel: 04 90 49 06  00

The peak of Alpille wines. Grapes were first planted in 1972 on this land and yet only a decade later Robert Parker rated the 1982 red 92/100. It’s on lots of the local wine lists, make sure you try some if your wallet is deep enough.

Aix-en-Provence

Domaine de la Brillane, www.labrillane.com tel: 06 80 93 55 63

Rupert Birch is a dynamic English wine maker who produces only red wine. Star of the show is the Margaux - a sweet wine specially commissioned by Le Petit Nice restaurant (Provence’s only three star Michelin restaurant.)

Chateau Simone, Palette, www.chateau-simone.fr tel: 04 90 49 06 00

Delicious white. My father in law once gave me a case for my birthday and then in a fit of amnesia never handed over the wine. It remains in his cellar and is pulled out on special occasions. Out of politeness I never remind him who it really belongs too.