Definition: Sainte-Victoire AOC (Côtes-de-Provence)

A brand new appellation in the Côtes-de-Provence region, the Côtes-de-Provence-Sainte-Victoire vineyard lies at the foot of the majestic mountain so divinely immortalised by Paul Cézanne. It covers 3,000 hectares stretching from the Aurélien and Olympe mountain ranges to the hills of Pourrières. This unique terroir, made up of limestone marl and clayey sandstone, produces wines that are exemplary in every way. The upper Arc valley, dominated by Sainte-Victoire, has 28 estates and cooperatives, grouped together in seven villages. To the east are Pourrières and Pourcieux, two communes in the Var department; to the south are Trets and Peynier; in the centre are Châteauneuf-le-Rouge and Rousset; and to the north is Puyloubier, the closest to Sainte-Victoire, a long ridge of white limestone stretching for around fifteen kilometres and rising to over 1,000 metres. The winegrowers praise this privileged site and, above all, the climate linked to the presence of the mountain, which provides ideal protection from the capricious mistral wind. The sunshine (3,000 hours per year), low rainfall and significant temperature differences between day and night give the Sainte-Victoire wines their incomparable character and typicity. These rather atypical Côtes-de-Provence wines account for around 15% of the appellation's total volume (150,000 hl, of which 70% is vinified as rosé, 25% as red and the rest as white).