Château La Mascaronne

Château La Mascaronne is located in rolling hills just outside the Medieval village of Le Luc. It lies halfway between the Provençal towns of Brignoles and Fréjus, with St Tropez to the southeast and Château Miraval close by. We mention Miraval because it used to be owned by Tom Bove, who subsequently bought Mascaronne in 1999, devoting a great deal of time and expat rigour to the cultivation of its wild charms, somewhat in the manner of a Russell Crowe film or a Peter Mayle book.

Tom sold Miraval in 2012, allowing current owners Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to build a global brand based on his brilliant efforts in the vineyards. Mr Bove is not, however, averse to marketing opportunities himself; in the late 1970s, he released a wine called Pink Floyd, a rosé, naturally enough, to celebrate the fact that the eponymous rock group had recorded part of their album ‘The Wall’ there. Terraces rather than walls adorn the pretty vineyards now.

Mascaronne has, if anything, even better terroir, which is rugged, rocky, and dramatically challenging to cultivate. The winemaker Nathalie Longefay is particularly keen on indigenous varietals for the white and rosés (with Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle to the fore) but broadens the perspective a little for the reds, which Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache here dominate. The local geological profile is dominated by rock (and Rolle), much of which has been painstakingly excavated to plant the vines; the average altitude is around 300 metres. All of the fruit is domaine-sourced and estate-bottled. The wines are organic, limited in production and uniformly excellent.