The 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 the estates’ centuries-old reputation, Peyrassol is now, more than ever, synonymous with great wines and celebrated generosity across the world.

The Wine: Known by devoted seekers of finesse, Le Clos Peyrassol Red is a perfect blend. Rare and precious, it is only produced in great vintages in limited quantities and comes from a scrupulous selection of the best grapes from one of the most beautiful plots on the estate, surrounded by low stone walls, at the foot of the Templar buildings.

To say that the 2021 vintage was a long and quiet river would be a sweet joke! However, Peyrassol went through the ordeal without suffering adversity. At the end of April, a historic frost from the northwest (-9°) hit the region. The vines, late, did not really bud. The loss was minimal. Not a drop of rain all summer long! Deeply rooted, the vineyard resisted well. In mid-August, a fire of rare violence broke out in the plain of Le Luc, sowing desolation in its path. The mistral was kind to Peyrassol and repeled the fire in the opposite direction.

At the beginning of September, a hail storm destroyed the entire harvest of the village of Pignan, just a few miles from the estate. Our hills miraculously blocked the clouds! Finally, floods ravaged all the surrounding municipalities… but stopped at the gates of Flassans! And at the end, the ultimate reward was an exceptional quality of musts and wines. 

Manual harvesting, de-stemming, crushing, manual sorting, vatting by gravity, fermentation at controlled temperature +/- 28°C. The vinification is carried out variety by variety, in the traditional way, with alternating gentle punching of the cap and pumping over. The vatting period is 3 to 4 weeks.

The first nose surprises with its beautiful aromatic complexity: notes of slightly candied mandarins, and wild blackberries, burst out with an elegant minerality. The ample and voluminous palate exalts the aromas of cocoa beans and bourbon vanilla. The Syrah also expresses all its fruity and almost floral character of peony. The chalky tannins are finally lost in a silky, velvety finish of great freshness.