St Remy de Provence and Les Baux de Provence
If it is summer, then it is advisable to make an early start - for although the distances to be travelled are not huge, the afternoon sun and heat can inhibit your tasting faculties - and besides the freshness and clearness of the morning air on a good day can really bring out the best in the short journey over the Alpilles towards Les Baux de Provence.
Heading south out of St Remy-de-Provence on the D5 (signposted Maussane-les-Alpilles) the road climbs quite steeply and dramatically to cross the Alpilles mountains - but the road is wide and well-surfaced. En route up the climb you will pass the roman remains of Glanum which may be worth a separate visit .
As you come down the other side of the Alpilles, (and before the right turn onto the D27 towards Les Baux) you will pass the entrance on the right to Mas de la Dame one of the best Baux de Provence vineyards - we worked with them for several years, but they hit an inconsistent patch in the mid 90s. - we always enjoyed their Cuvée Gourmande red in the distinctive-shaped bottle. Well worth a visit, but if you only do one Baux de Provence vineyard visit we'd suggest you carry on a few hundred more metres and take the right onto the D27 signposted to Les Baux de Provence.
Less than a kilometre along the D27 (and before you reach the hill climb up to the village) take a left signposted to Mas Sainte Berthe our favourite vineyard in the region. The wines are superb across the range, and they have their own olive oil, tapenade etc on sale. The winemaker, Christian Nief, originally from Burgundy, is both affable and professional, and the tasting room is well laid-out.
A 30-minute signed walk, accessible to all, starts from the cellar, leading you through vines, scrubland and olive groves... for a tour of the stunning landscape. As you follow the trail, information boards tell you all about the various grape varieties and describe the annual tasks carried out in the vineyard.
The landscape and views are superb so this makes for a very good stop.
Les Baux de Provence is a medieval village perched high on the hillside - well worth a visit, but in the summer visit early, before the place gets swamped with visitors.
From Les Baux I would head on south to Mausanne-les-Alpilles - a sleepy litle Provencal village, but a good place to stop for refreshment or lunch - can recommend L'oustaloun in the Place de l'Eglise - good and very provencal menu - lots of olives, Camargue lamb and I have vague memories of a dish which combined chocolate and tapenade!??
The other reason for going to Maussane is that there are several olive mills in the village, and although the harvest is not until late Autumn, you can see something of the process and taste and buy some oil and olive products - There is Coopérative Oléicole de la Vallée des Baux at Moulin Jean-Cornille on the outskirts of the village.
From Maussane head west beyond Paradou on the D17, taking the D33 on the right (before Fontvielle) signposted Tarascon. At Saint Gabriel fork right onto the D32 towards St Etienne du Grès Just beyond the village take a right onto Avenue Notre Dame du Chateau which becomes the "Vieux Chemin d'Arles", About 1km along this round you will find the Domaine de Travallon which offers a variation on the local wine styles. Your journey will have taken you across and around the Alpilles mountains, and this domain is on the north side with north facing vineyards. Hence the climate is a little less extreme. But this does mean that some of the tradtional grape varieties such as Mourvedre and Grenache have some difficulty in reaching full maturity. Hence the owner, Eloi Durrbach, planted easier ripening vines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, much to the "horreur" of the locals. As a result he was forced to label his wines as "Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône", but have no doubt that despite the lower status, these are great wines - and very interesting combining Bordeaux's Cabernet Sauvignon and the Rhône's Syrah!
From here just continue along the road into St Remy to complete your day - a gentle and enjouable day with varied landscapes and wines (only about 25 miles travel 40 minutes driving) - and back in St Remy in time to enjoy a stroll or an aperitif!
CONTACT DETAILS
Mas de la Dame route départementale 5. 13520 les Baux de Provence
T: 04 90 54 32 24 F: 04 90 54 40 67
Mas Sainte Berthe; 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence T: 04 90 54 39 01; F: 04 90 54 46 17 E:info@mas-sainte-berthe.com
Coopérative Oléicole de la Vallée des Baux Moulin Jean-Cornille, Rue Charloun-Rieu, 13520 Maussane-les-Alpilles ; T : 04 90 54 32 37 F: 04 90 54 30 28
Domaine de Trevallon, SCEA Domaine Trevallon. chemin Romain Arles a St Rémy 13103 Saint Etienne du Gres T: 04 90 49 06 00 F: 04 90 49 02 17
Links:-
A southern Rhone wine tour - Introduction
A southern Rhone wine tour - Tour 2 Vaqueyras, Gigondas, Beaumes de Venise and Cairanne
A southern Rhone wine tour - Tour 3 Lirac, Tavel, Chateauneuf-du-Pape
