Dégustation dans les domaines de Provence

Wine tourism

Cannes has no vineyard, and that is exactly what makes the day interesting: you take the road west, and within an hour you find a hinterland nobody sees from the Croisette. The Côtes de Provence begin at the edge of the Var, and they hold the best-known rosés in the world, a phrase to be taken seriously, since some of these cuvées now sell for more than white Burgundy. We never put more than two estates in one day: by the third, you are no longer tasting, you are drinking. We book the visits (all are by appointment, none can be improvised) we settle a lunch in between, and we provide a driver. If you want to leave with cases, we arrange shipping from the estate.

The options

Château d'Esclans, La Motte

Sacha Lichine's estate, where Whispering Angel has been made since 2006, and, further up the range, Les Clans and Garrus. Visits are by appointment and come at two levels: the cellars followed by a tasting of five rosés, or the format that opens the prestige cuvées. It is the region's best-known estate internationally, and the one we are asked for most.

Château Sainte Roseline, Les Arcs-sur-Argens

A cru classé since 1955, one hundred and sixty hectares of which one hundred and ten are vines, with a chapter of art history thrown in. The eleventh-century chapel, a listed monument, holds a mosaic by Marc Chagall, windows by Jean Bazaine and Raoul Ubac, and a bas-relief by Alberto Giacometti. The guided visit ends with a commented tasting of three crus classés in the barrel cellar. Our first choice when the day also has to interest someone who does not drink.

Château de Berne, Flayosc

Five hundred and fifteen hectares of which one hundred and fifty are organic vines, a thirty-four-room Relais & Châteaux hotel, a cookery school, and a Michelin-starred table: Le Jardin de Berne. The format we suggest when the day should become a stay: a vineyard tour, a tasting in the cellar, lunch, and you sleep there rather than drive back.

Duration

A day for two estates, lunch included

When to go

All year. The harvest falls in September, which is when the estates are most interesting to visit, and hardest to secure

Pricing

We have not yet settled our rate for this day. What will determine it: how many estates, the level of tasting chosen (prestige cuvées are not poured on the discovery visit) whether a sommelier comes with you, lunch, and the driver. That last point is not negotiable at our end: nobody drives after a day of tasting, and transport is included in everything we put together.