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Wine Tasting



Vineyards & Wineries of the Luberon

 

Château Constantin-Chevalier, along with Val Joanis, in Pertuis, a favorite of celebrated wine critic Robert Parker, and Chateau de la Verrerie, located in nearby Puget, are considered among the very best of the Côtes du Luberon wines. Many wine guides and the best local restaurants also consider these to be the best ‘up-and-coming’ Rhone Valley wine and particularly ‘good value’ buys.









In the Luberon wine scene, the big change came in the late 1980’s when many of the traditional vineyards of the Luberon were inherited or bought up by a younger more ambitious generation who quickly made major efforts and major investments to up-grade the quality of their wines. Many of these upgraded wines, like Château de La Canorgue and Château de L’Isolette and Domaine de Fontenille (another of Parker’s local favorites) in the neighboring villages of Bonnieux and Lauris also remind us and many other wine aficionados of the California estates of the Napa valley of the 1980’s.






Of course the wines of the appellation ‘Côtes-du-Luberon’ do net as yet rival the world class wines of nearby Chateauneuf du Pape, but neither do their prices. To makes things clear : Robert Parker’s ratings for the best Chateauneuf wines are 100/100 ! These bottles all sell for well over $100. Of course, we are talking about the best wines in the world ! Parkers ratings of the best Luberon wines are around 93 /94 . Obviously not second rate ! The price ? $ 15 to $18 a bottle. Obviously, not very expensive for their quality Hence, their reputation as some of the best value in Syrah-based reds.




In the village center you can visit the ‘Cave de Lourmarin-Cadenet’ wine shop, which has a good selection of local wine cooperative wines. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and take real pride in introducing some of the excellent and under-priced wines that they offer They also sell a range of other local food specialities – some of these are delicious. The local "Methode Champenoise', a dry, fizzy white wine makes a very good summer aperitif when mixed Kir-fashion with one of the fruit syrups that the Cooperative sell. We particularly like almond and cherry syrup, made from two of the emblematic fruits of Provence.



For more information :
Val Joanis: www.val-joanis.com
Chateau la Canorgue : www.luberon-news.com/chateau-la-canorgue2.html
Cave coopérative of Bonnieux : www.cave-bonnieux.com


Chateauneuf du Pape - A great day trip!

Like Bordeau and the Loire Valley, Provence is a large wine-growing area with several different appellations each with somewhat different “terroir” and different geographical characteristics.

 

We have noticed over the years that nearly all of our guests love to go wine tasting, whether to the Luberon wineries right near here, or further afield to experience some of the truly great wines produced in Châteauneuf-du-Pape less than an hour’s drive from Les Olivettes.

A day trip to Châteauneuf is always a great success. Of the well-known producers, Château de la Nerthe and Vieux Télégraphe seem to have had great success with our guests over the years. And many swear by Raymond Usseglio (very highly rated by Robert Parker) and Château Beaucastel . Usually our guests visit one of the prestigious Châteaux in the morning, have lunch in one of the fine restaurants in the center of the village of Chateauneuf and then vist one of two more before leisurely heading back to Les Olivettes.

For more information :
www.chateauneuf.com - www.beaucastel.com
Chateau La Nerthe : www.chateau-la-nerthe.com
Domaine Usseglio : www.domaine-usseglio.fr/uk/index.php

 

 

Côtes du Rhône Wines and Bandol Wines

Real wine aficionados often want to also visit one or more of Provence’s other well-known Rhone valley wine appellations like Gigondas and Les Baux de Provence. Another great day trip is to go to the vineyards along the Mediterranean seacoast. All of these are less than an hour from our door, and well worth the visit.

For more information :
Gigondas (Rhone) : www.chapoutier.com/gb/index.cfm
Tavel & Lirac : www.tavel.tm.fr
www.domaine-pelaquie.com/eng/index.html

Also close to here are the famous wine producing areas of the Baux de Provence region, and the rather small area around the ancient city of Aix-en-Provence known as the Côteaux d'Aix region.

A little further away, along the mediterranean Coast just east of Marseille are the well known Bandol and Cassis wine growing areas. Bandol is famous for its very fine red and rosé wines and Cassis is best known for its dry and delicious white wines.

For more information :
www.provenceweb.fr/e/mag/terroir/vin/vignobles/cassis.htm
www.coteauxaixenprovence.com
www.maisondesvinscassis.com