September 2012
Château de Pibarnon 2010:
affirming the wines of the 2000s
The Château’s 2010 wines, now bottled, are distinguished for their balance, freshness,
crisp, lively fruit, powerful, silky tannins and remarkable length.
At the end of the 1990s, Eric de Saint Victor took over the
reins of the family estate perched on Old Telegraph Hill,
overlooking the ever-changing sea. He blew in on a wind of
change and embarked on the lengthy task of preserving the
estate’s fine, rich heritage while continuing to improve it.
That was the start of the immense labour of uncovering the
local soils, establishing the refinement and character of each
plot and finding the right matches, always in pursuit of
balance and purity.
At Pibarnon, the combination of the various plots is what
gives the wine its richness and spirit.
2010 therefore marks an important step forward with a first
wine focused on its finest soils, revealing all its refinement
and grandeur, as well as the arrival of Pibarnon Restanques.
This new blend, called “Les Restanques”, affirms another of
the estate’s identities, a more immediate aspect, crisp fruit
with charming tannins and straightforward spices, while
retaining the honesty of its forebear.
For its part, the Château is the embodiment of its estate, now made up of some ten plots. Come
with us and discover this patchwork of vineyards which makes the estate so complex.
1
Let’s start with Les Pointes Blanches. This
plot of Mourvèdre, suspended above the
void, stones rolling right to the foot of the
vines, is typified by its minerality and
power. It draws the essence of the
Mourvèdre variety from our Triassic
limestones. Caignet & Guerazzi, planted in
a Triassic limestone soil over old clays,
exposed to the west, reveals a lot of depth
and power, unveiling a crisp and lively
black fruit and continuing with fine notes of
spice and liquorice.
Jourdan, faultlessly dressed, dense, elegant,
vigorous, plays its part as an older brother,
stable, aristocratic, imposing and
recognisable.
A Mourvèdre which establishes a suave and
powerful style. A subtle expression of
masterly volume and depth.
La Grande Paguette, situated in the cirque
opposite the cellar, is certainly the most
iconic because of its position in an
amphitheatre. Planted in the early 1990s,
these Mourvèdres, with their east and southeast exposure, quickly establish their.
presence as a support for refinement and
elegance - with a pinch of salt.
Le Cirque. In this plot, the Mourvèdre
variety shows its “acrobatic” side: it is
powerful, but neither round nor rich. Here, it
is as slender as a panther.
Les Beaux Grenaches expresses all the
charm and vigour of this wine variety at
Pibarnon. Its importance is primordial.
2
It opens the fan of the Mourvèdre variety
in its youth, giving it a cheeky, devil-maycare attitude.
Mainargue. The wisdom of old
Mourvèdre vinestocks brushed by sea
breezes.
Here, the wines are lean, the tannins
sculpted and the aromas suggest a
Provençal coastal footpath, somewhere
between the scent of the local heathland
and iodine.
Lastly, Bel Air. The vine “from up top”, growing at over 350 metres above sea level, the
transcendent vine, the “venerable” vine growing in stony ground. This plot is the soul of
Pibarnon, unveiling an incredible length combined with tannins of velvety power.
Our tour should also take in a few other plots, such as Les Hurlevents, La Réale and Croc
d’Amic which also contribute fruit, refinement and minerality.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Just like other great estates, at Pibarnon there are no special blends or selections, but two of
its wines, Les Restanques de Pibarnon and Le Château de Pibarnon, share our local soils. On
the Château de Pibarnon estate, the harmony achieved between the various plots offers that
splendid balance of pressure and volume, minerality and fruit, vigour and freshness, power
and sensual pleasure.
An ideal climate
2010 is THE vintage of balance in Bandol, a real winter, the right amount of rain, a somewhat
cool spring, a hot, sunny summer and then a cooler late August and September swept by a
relentless mistral. In 2010, all the conditions necessary for a great vintage were thus fulfilled.
The vintage of the 2000s
Only just bottled, the 2010 wine is still producing its primary bouquets of black fruit,
blackcurrants, but also spices, such as cinnamon or liquorice, with heathland notes. This wine
reveals a suave and crisp attack, a coaxing fruit, extending to fine spices, with a remarkably
deep end of mouth, salty and mineral.
2010 is a picture in which flesh and fashion mix, mystery and understanding, simplicity and
depth, the tangible and the elusive.
A wine in symbiosis with fine cooking
It can be served now with a nice roast beef joint, one of those famous pieces of Iberian ham
like la pluma, roast pigeon or pressed duck. In a few years’ time, it will reveal all its
complexity and elegance as a companion for truffles, game and venison.
3