The most Southern hotel of the Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France was located in the picturesque town of Les Baux de Provence. Before checking in there and having dinner, we visited Mas Saint Berthe, which produces wine and olive oil at the foot of the Baux rock formation.
Technical director Christian Nief, originally from Nuits St-Georges, Bourgogne, was our host. We looked at the vineyards, toured the winemaking facilities and had a tasting of wine and olive oil.
Mas Sainte Berthe
As early as the 17th centuries farms dotted the country side here. In 1950 the David family acquired the fruit farm Mas Saint Berthe. (“Mas” is the provençal word for “Domaine”). The Davids had a passion for wine and decided to gradually replace apricot tress with vines. In 1976 the construction of the cellars was terminated and they produced their first wine.
Today Mas Saint Berthe has 40 hectares of vineyards at the foot of the Baux rock formation which is part of the Alpilles mountain range in the heart of the Baux AOP.
The red grape varieties are: Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Carignan. There are five white grape varieties: Grenache blanc, Rolle, Sauvignon, Ugni blanc, Roussane. The portfolio comprises wines of the AOP Les Baux de Provence appellation and two I.G.P. Alpilles.
There also is an olive grove of 2 hectares with 4 local varieties: Grossane, Salonenque, Verdale for the production of Baux valley olive oil and Tapenade and Green Picholine olives.
In the Vineyards
We started the visit in the vineyards, with an impressive view of the Les Baux cliffs.
The south-facing vineyard lies on unique, rocky, white clay-limestone soil at the foot of Les Baux cliffs, which have a warming effect. The winery maintains a profound respect for its environment. For example, no nitrates are present in their organic fertilizers and natural insect predators are encouraged.
Cellar Tour
We continued with a tour of the modern cellar.
Wine and Olive Oil Tasting
We ended the tour with a wine and olive oil tasting.
The Wines we Tasted
4 tasted 4 wines.
2016 Mas Saint Berthe Les Baux de Provence Tradition AOP
2013 Mas Saint Berthe Les Baux de Provence Louis David AOP
2017 Mas Saint Berthe Les Baux de Provence Passe-Rose AOP
2013 Mas Saint Berthe Alpilles Roussanne AOP
wineswithconvistion.com (Texas): The Rose, called Cuvee Passe-Rose, is made by the saigne method in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. It is a blend of 65% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 4% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 3% Cinsault, and 4% Mourvedre. The grapes are hand-harvested, de-stemmed, and sorted at the winery. After a brief period of cold maceration on the skins (about 12 hours) to begin the extraction of color and flavors, the juice is bled off (about 10% of the total volume of each cepage) and fermented at very low temperature, as if it was a white wine. The young wines destined for theRose are assembled at the end of fermentation and then “aged” in tanks on their fine lees (for the development of flavor and complexity) until bottling in February after the harvest. The Rose is not acidified, nor does it go through malolactic fermentation so as to preserve freshness. It is remarkably dry and fruity, with pink-grapefruit, watermelon, strawberry, kiwi and spice notes. The Rose is a perfect match for poached salmon with watercress sauce, Thai and Chinese dishes, as well as all summer provencal-type foods such as brandade and pissaladiere. The Mas Sainte Berthe Rose has established itself as the leading dry Provencal Rose in the market.
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