One of our favourite vineyards - classy wines, passionate wine maker, glorious position and a welcoming and informative visitor experience!
We first visited many many years ago just as tourists, but have been back many times. Set in the foothills of the Alpilles mountains in a glorious Provencal landscape with grape and olive vines, the place would attract visitors without the lure of the wine.
But Christian Nief, despite being a Burgundian, really does make some wonderfully classy wines - I have never had a bottle from him which was not superb - and I suspect I can say that of a very few other winemakers that I know. The wines are a mix of Rhône and Provence styles - in this case complicated by the fact that the winemaker, Christian Nief, originally hails from Burgundy! It is the sheer quality of each of the wines which we find so tremendous - all well-made, with lots of concentration of flavour Mas Sainte Berthe bottles
The vineyard itself is well worth a visit - apart from the opportunity to taste their wonderful wines and to purchase olives and olive oil from the estate, the setting is sublime. Just a few minutes from Les Baux and only about 15 minutes from St Remy de Provence, Mas Sainte Berthe also offers a vineyard trail - well-marked and with information boards at points describing the varietals and vineyard work.The domaine (mas) uses environmentally and ecologically friendly techniques in the vineyard to ensure both high quality and sustainability.
See map location for Mas Sainte Berthe at Les Baux de Provence
The Mas (Provencal for farmstead) produces red,white and rosé wines:-
Mas Sainte Berthe - Baux de Provence AC Cuvée
Tradition red - this red is both full-bodied and
smooth, benefitting from the richness of the Grenache, the
body and spicy smoothness of Syrah & the fruitiness of
Cabernet Sauvignon. It blends well together to produce a
serious yet very drinkable wine "....boasting a purple robe and a nose heightened
with the fragrances of the surrounding scrubland, combines
Grenache, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Round and balanced
in the mouth. For drinking after 18 months of ageing with
white or grilled meat."
Mas
Sainte Berthe - Baux de Provence AC Cuvée
Louis David (oaked red) - Bearing the name of the founder of the vineyard, this is a special selection
of older vines, aged in oak for 9 months. A third in new oak, a third on 1 year
old oak, and the remaining third in oake used for 2 years. New oak can produce
harsh tannins and overwhelm the wine - so using a mix of oak barrels ensures
that the oak works well and is integrated with the fruitiness of the wine, rather
than dominant. This creates a deep rich red wine, with complex ripe fruit flavours
- spicy and warm in the mouth - great with lamb! This wine will keep for 5-10
years, but is drinking fine now. "....This Cuvée is a selection from vines grown on the older
plots, partly matured in oak casks for 9 months. Very dark in colour, this wine
presents aromas of crushed and even jammy ripe fruit. Matured in oak, it is wonderfully
complex, mellow and well-balanced in the mouth. A wine of great finesse which
can be aged for 8 years in a good cellar. Serve with lamb from the Alpilles,
game or fine red meat."
Coteaux
d'Aix-en-Provence AC Mas Sainte Berthe - Civée Blanc de Blancs Although
the vines for this super white are in Les Baux, white wines
from here are classified as Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AC, such
are the obscure ways of French bureaucracy!
This is delightfully fresh and fruity but with real fruit
depth (citrus, pineapple, mango?) - a big white without
being flabby (or oaked). An expressive nose brimming with
fruit. Fine complexity in the mouth with good balance between
volume and freshness. "...boasts a bright, pale green robe and an expressive
nose brimming with fruit. Fine complexity in the mouth
with good balance between volume and freshness. For drinking
within 18 months after the harvest as an aperitif, or with
grilled fish. Goes beautifully with goat's cheese."
Les
Baux de Provence AC Mas Sainte Berthe - Cuvée Passe-Rosé
(dry rosé) Now this is a Provence Rosé to
get excited about! Good rosé is often underrated,
but here we have a wine with full-body and depth of flavour,
but which can still be deliciously refreshing. Far from being
a compromise between red and white, it is a wine style in
its own right.
Careful vinification lightens the tannins and emphasises
fruit character. Serve lightly chilled - not frozen! "A nose of small fruit brimming with raspberries
and a generous mouth with spicy notes, ideal with white meat
or Provençal dishes like Mediterranean mullet or bouillabaisse."
Contact: Mas Sainte
Berthe; 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence
