Our wine estate produces AOP Côtes de Provence red, rosé and white wines . The property, which occupies 175 hectares, is protected by 690 hectares of forest. It is located on the Triassic plateau composed of limestone soil from the Middle and Lower Jurassic which gives the wine of each vintage a unique signature.
Find out more about white Provence wine:
What does the Côtes de Provence white appellation mean?
Côtes de Provence is a wine with controlled designation of origin produced and elaborated on a large part of the vineyards of Provence , and more particularly in the Var.
Full of finesse and subtlety, the white Côtes de Provence wine offers a very beautiful pale yellow color with greenish reflections, limpid and brilliant. The olfactory is a summary of Provence, refreshing and invigorating, composed of primary notes of citrus, grapefruit and lemon, pine bark and thyme mingling with small spicy touches. On the palate, it offers a relatively supple attack giving way to a generous and well-structured substance. The ideal serving and tasting temperature is 10°C.
Is white Côtes de Provence a good wine to give as a gift?
Faced with the multitude of choices when it comes to white wine, it is not always easy to choose, and it is not easier to offer. Tastes and colors vary from person to person, especially when it comes to white wine. To be sure to please the recipient, here are some interesting characteristics about white wine:
● The different kinds of white wine:
There are several varieties of white grape varieties such as Chardonnay, used among others in the production of Champagne, Sauvignon Blanc , cultivated throughout the world and which has aromas of green fruits, herbs, mint and apple or even Rolle, Sémillon and Ugni-blanc, very often used in the production of Côtes de Provence blanc, to name just a few.
Aside from the varieties of grape varieties, we can also distinguish several types of white wines: sweet or sweet wines, sweet whites, fruity dry wines like Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Powerful dry white wines, with a more intense taste and often aged in oak barrels. Finally, the light or semi-dry dry whites, more delicate with a fine citrus aroma.
● The notes of white wine:
Unlike red wine, the juice of white wine does not macerate with the skins and seeds of the grape, which explains why white wines are not tannic, less “rough” and more lively on the palate. White wines called “for aging” develop aromas with scents of candied fruit, tobacco, straw or vanilla. The drier ones sometimes bring very beautiful mineral notes, a hint of acidity as well as a fruity and floral aromatic bouquet.
How to taste white wine?
Tasting a white wine in 4 stages: sight, nose, mouth and synthesis.
Sight: observing the color of the white wine through four criteria: its color, its clarity, its brilliance and its fluidity. The color nuances of white wines vary from straw yellow, green gold, pale, yellow, golden or old gold, light or dark amber. Clarity and shine are easier to define.
The nose of a white wine is divided into three main aroma types: fruity or floral for the first, buttery and/or brioche for the second and third which potentially reflect the aging of a white wine: honey or even fruit. dry…
The palate: the attack, the mid-palate and the finish give you indications on the liveliness, namely a frank or supple attack, as well as its character, opulent and full or not in the mouth and the presence of residual sugars in the White wine.
Summary: the balance of white wines is mainly analyzed in terms of acidity/alcohol/sweetness.
What is the difference between organic and non-organic white wine?
Conventional white wine
● Cultivation and winemaking do not respect the principles of organic or biodynamic farming. Synthetic chemicals and oenological inputs are authorized.
● Products authorized for conventional wine: all chemicals such as insecticides, herbicides or other plant growth regulators, etc.
● Quantity of sulphites authorized for conventional white wine: up to 200 mg/l SO2 total.
Organic white wine
● An organic wine comes from agriculture and winemaking without synthetic chemicals. The main AB and Bio Europe labels guarantee this approach.
● Products authorized for growing organic wine vines: chemicals of natural origin, but certain synthetic products are exceptions: slaked lime, paraffin oil and copper compounds such as copper hydroxide. copper, copper oxychloride, cuprous oxide, Bordeaux mixture and tribasic copper sulfate.
● An organic white wine can contain up to 150 mg/l SO2 total sulphites.
What grape varieties are used for Côtes de Provence white wine?
Rolle: white grape variety of Turkish origin found in particular in the Var, in Corsica under the name Vermentinu, and in Italy. Its clusters and berries, of medium size, change from white to pink when it reaches maturity. It likes warm climates with dry, poor soils. Rolle produces fat, well-balanced white wines, which may lack acidity, but which remain very aromatic.
Sémillon: grape variety of Bordeaux origin, in Provence, it allows the production of great dry whites with low acidity and with lots of roundness and very beautiful aromas of white flowers.
Ugni-blanc: originally from Italy, in Tuscany, where it takes the name trebbiano bianco, it appeared in France from the Middle Ages under the name Ugni-blanc. High-yielding variety, its maturity is late. It is interesting for its acidity used in blends to bring freshness.
How are the grapes for a white Côtes de Provence grown?
Destemming and crushing: by carrying out these steps, you can then directly press the grapes to release the must and separate it from the skin. Sometimes, cold skin maceration can be carried out to extract as much of the primary aromas contained in the skins as possible in vats.
Pressing: most of the time, the harvest is immediately placed in a press where the grape berries are crushed, in order to release the juice.
Débourbage: subsequently, the juice is placed in vats, but still contains a lot of solid matter which must be removed. The settling helps to clarify the juice and prevents the appearance of bad taste during fermentation.
Alcoholic fermentation: this is the moment when the sugars in the must are transformed into alcohol by the action of yeasts. It lasts around 10 days at a temperature of around 20°C.
Aging: its aim is to clarify and stabilize the wine, to eliminate its defects and to make it flourish. It can be done in stainless steel vats or in barrels depending on the type of wine sought.
Decuvage: it allows the wine to be separated from its coarse lees. The final step is bottling the wine.
What sulphites are used?
Most commonly sulfur sulphites, otherwise known as sulfur dioxide (SO2), sodium sulphite, sodium bisulphite or sulphating agents.
What food and white wine pairings do you recommend?
With our AOP Côtes de Provence white wines such as our Grande Cuvée white 2016 , a foie gras terrine, a turbot or a Bresse chicken with chanterelles.
With a Berne Inspiration white 2020 , grilled sea bass with fennel virgin sauce, seafood or even a Nîmes brandade. With a Terre de Berne white 2019 , a scallop cappuccino, sea bream in a salt crust, cod in virgin sauce. At Château Saint-Roux, the Pigeonnier blanc 2019 is an ideal wine as an aperitif, but also to accompany grilled fish. An UP Ultimate Provence white 2021 also as an aperitif, but also with sea urchins or even oysters…
When to drink a white Côtes de Provence?
The white Côté de Provence goes perfectly with aperitifs, starters, main dishes, cheeses or even desserts. An example of a menu: as an aperitif with sea urchinade, as a starter with langoustine ravioli, as a main course with grilled sea bass, with cheeses such as Rocamadour, as a dessert with a walnut cake.
Are your white wines environmentally friendly?
Our organic wine estate is certified in organic farming. This approach is part of our commitment to protecting generous nature, just like the people who cultivate it. It is a way for us to access a better and more faithful expression of our terroirs, and, beyond that, it is a commitment to our environment and the people who value it on a daily basis. .
How long can Provence white wine be kept?
Each wine evolves differently and, initially, everything depends on the care taken by the winemaker in the vines, in the cellar, but above all on the terroir, the vintage, the region, the appellation and then, the storage conditions of the bottle. of wine. Their aging potential ranges from two to ten years, sometimes more. After opening, on average, a white wine from Provence can be kept in a cool place for three days; beyond that, it risks oxidizing in contact with air.
What are the best vintages of white Côté de Provence?
What you need to know first is that in oenology, a vintage designates the year of the grape harvest and the production of a wine. It is an essential benchmark for assessing the quality of a wine. In the last few years, the best vintages in Côte de Provence white are 2015, 2017 and 2020. 2019 is also worth remembering.
