WINERY: Commanderie de Peyrassol is located in the foothills of the Massif des Maures mountain range, 10 miles from the Mediterranean Sea, between Cannes and Marseille. Existing as a winery for almost 800 years, Commanderie de Peyrassol has thrived as a sanctuary for gathering travelers, all the while holding true to its values of hospitality and conviviality. The estate consists of 1,000 hectares with 95 hectares planted to vineyards cultivated on dry, rocky clay and limestone soils. With effort from the current owner, Philippe Austury, to revitalize estates centuries old reputation, Peyrassol is now, more than ever, synonymous with great wines and celebrated generosity across the world.

WINE: The fruit selected for the Château wines comes from the oldest part of the estate. The white is a blend of fruit from the hilly part of the estate, in the north, and the large plot in front of the cellar called le Carré du Milieu, all vines with at least 20 years of age. This 100% estate wine offers the purest expression of a great Provencal terroir.

The 2020 season began in spring with regular rainfalls until mid-July. Until the beginning of August, the water stress remained moderate. With the summer heat, the soils of the plateau, as well as the hillside (where the Rolle and Syrah grow) became relatively tense. Yet, the temperature variations between the cool nights and hot days helped reach a well-balanced acidity. The seasonality favored a very active ripening leading to a harvest taking place a week earlier than in 2019. The wines are mature and well-balanced.

Hand-harvested grapes are destemmed and have a short skin maceration. This is followed by cold settling, then fermentation slowly takes place at low temperatures in stainless steel vats. After fermentation, the wine is transferred to oak barrels.

With its beautiful pale golden color and green hues, Château Peyrassol 2020 reveals all its complexity: on the nose, it releases floral, vanilla, spice and white fresh fruit notes. The palate showcases notes of apricot and acacia flower. The finish reveals a vanilla note that never ends