Domaine de Trévallon IGP Alpilles blanc 2011

Details

Located on the northern slopes of the Alpilles mountains, between Avignon and Arles, near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, the Trévallon estate was acquired in 1955 by René Dürrbach. This painter and sculptor, a friend of Picasso, Léger, Delaunay, and others, was seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of the French Riviera in a more peaceful setting. Legend has it that this oasis was purchased thanks to the sale of a spectacular tapestry of Guernica to Nelson Rockefeller. In 1973, at the age of 23, his son, Eloi Dürrbach, then an architecture student in Paris, decided to settle in one of the farmhouses, the Trévallon estate, and create a vineyard by dynamiting part of the hills surrounding the property. It was a real challenge: the land was harsh and rocky, where only wild thyme and a little garrigue scrubland grew. The first vines were planted during the winter of 1973, in a truly extraordinary location, a blend of garrigue scrubland and limestone outcrops.

The vineyard consists of small plots located within a two-kilometer radius of the winery. The vines are cultivated naturally and traditionally, without insecticides, fertilizers, or chemical herbicides. For the production of red wines, Eloï Durbach, a self-taught winemaker, opted for an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. He also drew inspiration from his reading, in this case from a book by the agronomist Jules Guyot. This decision led to the INAO (National Institute of Origin and Quality) refusing to grant his wine AOC Baux de Provence status when the appellation was created in 1993. The reason given was the excessive proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. Yet it is Syrah that gives the wine its distinctive character: on the Alpilles terroir, it imparts spicy notes, with aromas of cinnamon and pepper. Syrah lends the wine its mellowness and a silky, captivating quality. Previously classified as Coteaux d'Aix, Trévallon wines have carried the Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône designation on their labels since the 1996 vintage. Despite the obstacles the winemaker overcame to have his wines classified, many of his peers quickly recognized him as a winemaking genius: Robert Parker, Aubert de Villaine (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti)... Eloi Dürrbach passed away suddenly in 2021, and today his children, Ostiane and Antoine, are at the helm of what is considered one of the legends of Provence.