History: In the mid-1950s, an Italian mason from Piedmont, Modesto Ramognino, invested in the Pibarnon hill to cultivate 3.5 hectares of Mourvèdre on the hillsides. The place is superb but isolated, arid, without water or electricity. Driven by an imperious force compensating for a lack of technique, he nevertheless produces a wine there that is reminiscent of the great Italian Barolos in their straightforwardness and elegance.

In 1977, after much research in several vineyards in France, Catherine and Henri de Saint Victor stopped in Bandol with the secret hope of acquiring a wine estate there. While having lunch in a small restaurant on the Port, they discovered the 1975 Red from Château de Pibarnon. It was love at first sight for this great wine. After making inquiries and without wasting a moment, Henri and Catherine de Saint Victor set off to visit the property.

It was Modesto Ramognino's successor who welcomed them. Luckily, he made them understand that he found life very hard in Pibarnon, perhaps even too hard... The cellar and the house still operated with wells, without running water, the land was very rocky, the environment very harsh. But the beauty of the site, at an altitude of 300 metres, overlooking the scrubland and the Mediterranean, added to the wine they tasted, convinced Catherine and Henri de Saint Victor to pronounce the sentence that would make them switch to another life: "We are interested in buying..." 
They thus acquired Pibarnon in December 1977, 16 hectares in one piece, hanging between sky and earth, including 3.5 hectares of planted vines.

“Run by Eric de Saint Victor, who is aided by assistant winemaker Marie Laroze, Chateau de Pibarnon fashions some of the top wines from this incredible appellation. Any reader wanting to taste the best expression of Bandol should get on this estate’s bandwagon, as the price has yet to catch up to the quality.” — The Wine Advocate

Since purchasing the estate in 1975, Eric de Saint-Victor has been producing some of the most seductively aromatic and nobly structured wines in all of Southern France. Perched atop the highest and northernmost part of the appellation, the Château commands sweeping vistas of the amphitheater of vines and the Mediterranean Sea.

The restanques, or terraces were carved into the hill to minimize erosion and maximize water absorption, which is of the utmost importance in a hot, dry terroir such as this one. The soil at Château de Pibarnon is unique, differing from that of its neighbors further down the slope. As a result of a geological anomaly purported to have taken place at the end of the Mesozoic Era, Pibarnon’s soils contain large quantities of blue marl and limestone, as well as fossil material which is 150 million years older than that found in other parts of the appellation. The dearth of nutrition provided by these stony, fossil-studded soils ensures that the vines achieve maximum vigor through their daily struggle to survive.

While Pibarnon’s flagship cuvée is a classic vin de garde which can take as many as ten years to begin to show all its glory, ‘Les Restanques’, made with 70% Mourvèdre and 30% Grenache, is styled for a lush texture and more immediate approachability. Not to be missed are the Bandol Rosé and rare Blanc which are also considered benchmarks for quality.

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GRAPE VARIETIES
• 65% Mourvèdre
• 35% Cinsault

FARMING PRACTICES
• Certified Organic by Ecocert SAS
• No herbicides or pesticides used
• 100% Hand-harvested

65% Mourvèdre, 35% Cinsault
The terraced vineyard faces the sea on the top of a hill that reaches 300m, forming a great natural south-east-facing bowl
Fermented at low temperatures slowly for 20 days
Indigenous yeast
Aged in stainless steel for 6 months

TERROIR // VINE AGE // SOIL TYPE
• Highest elevation domaine in Bandol
• 300m+ altitude
• Terraced vineyards that face the sea
• South-east facing amphitheater
• Cooler micro-climate compared to rest of Bandol
• 40+ year old vines
• Clay and limestone soil, very chalky
• More chalk than the lower lying sites of Bandol

WINEMAKING
• Mourvèdre is 50% saignée, 50% direct press
• Cinsault is direct press
• Indigenous yeast
• Fermented and aged in stainless steel

TASTING NOTES // PRESS
• Always one of the great rosés of France, this age-able and complex beauty shows mineral accented flavors of raspberry, blood orange, red currant and nectarine. Balanced, textured and seamless - a showstopper rosé.
• 2020 - V:93
• 2019 - V:93