Wineries for sale in the Provence - between the Mediterranean and the Alps

The different AOCs

Local wines: these wines represent a third of the region's wine production. Five indications are distributed in the department of Var, the local wines of Mont-Caume, Maures, Argens, Coteaux du Verdon and Sainte-Baume.

Regional AOCs: this appellation groups together the three largest AOCs in the region, firstly, the AOC Côtes de Provence with 20,300 ha, which is spread over three departments (Var, Bouches-du-Rhône and an enclave in the Alpes-Maritimes) and produces 87% rosé wine. And the AOC Côteaux Varois-en-Provence with 2,200 ha also in the Var department.

Sub-regional AOCs: an appellation recognised in 2005 identifies a certain area of Côtes de Provence, the AOC Côtes de Provence-Fréjus with 235 ha around the villages of Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël and Callas. Again, in these appellations, rosé production is by far dominant.

Communal AOCs: these AOCs form the elite of the regional production. We can name two, the AOC Bandol is 1.380 ha and is recognized as the best vineyard of Provence, in particular for its powerful reds with structure, elegant, spaced and peppery. These wines are mainly made from the Monastrell grape. AOC Bellet is a small appellation of 50 ha in the heights of Nice and named after the village Saint-Roman-de-Bellet. Red, white and rosé wines are produced, but in this appellation it is the whites as in Palette that reach a higher dimension.

In the heart of luminous Provence, vines, olive trees and lavender are its main symbols. A land of painters and poets and many artists passing through, enchanted by the light of this land and all that goes with it. The rosé of Provence, a faithful holiday companion, offers a wide range of colours with reflections from salmon to raspberry depending on the vinification method used. The very aromatic rosés offer a varied palette of red fruits such as strawberry or raspberry, accompanied by floral notes of fennel or the classic "English bonbon" scent. Its success, which has amplified in recent years (rosé now accounts for 85% of the total production of wine from Provence), leaves a little to one side those small-production white wines, crystalline with golden, straw-coloured reflections, as it has some Sémillon in the blend. The whites have less nerves than their counterparts from northern climates, but reveal a good aromatic structure in the mouth where we can find aromas of fennel, aniseed, undergrowth, honey and white fruits, the best wines are distinguished by their aromatic persistence. The reds can have faint ruby tones like the Baux-de-Provence, or intense and layered like those of Bandol, undoubtedly the best wines of the region. The reds, more complex than the rosés, develop a large aromatic palette composed mainly of black fruits such as Cassis, cured fruit such as plum, but also leather, game, cocoa and liquorice, also mixed with thyme, rosemary and laurel.

Between the blues of the sky and the sea, the wines of Provence see life in pink, with rosés with salmon reflections, sometimes with a raspberry tone. The white wines reflect a straw colour and the reds are intense. On the banks of the Mediterranean, the wines of Provence release the aromas of their land of origin, fennel, undergrowth, strawberry, raspberry, spices... and on the palate they are opulent, flavoursome, full-bodied, tannic, powerful, showing their seductive side.

The nose of a wine is the factor that best reveals the terroir. You only need a few seconds in a glass to smell the aromas to be transported to any southern landscape that comes to mind, such as the rugged slopes of Bandol or Cassis, olfactory landscapes mainly shaped by notes of undergrowth, spices, aromatic plants such as fennel, an inescapable signature of the wines of the South of France.