Château Pesquié

It is early summer, and the sweet, beguiling smell of ripe Grenache fills the Provençal air. The wine is aromatic, complex, and refined; the setting is similarly perfect; the Ventoux region is one of France’s oldest wine-producing areas and remains captivatingly unspoiled today. What’s more, it plays host to what is arguably Provence Wine Region’s most innovative and dynamic wine estate – Château Pesquié.

Vines have been cultivated on the land that Château Pesquié now proudly occupies for thousands of years. However, it is only relatively recently that the French authorities enshrined this region’s quality potential in law. The Château was built in the 18th century. However, the estate’s modern history – and key turning point – occurred in the early 1970s when entrepreneurs Odette and Rene Bastide purchased the Château from the heir of a famous Provencal writer, Alphonse Daudet. They immediately set about reinvigorating the ailing property, restructuring the vineyards and investing in the winemaking equipment, setting Château Pesquié on a course towards high quality rather than quantity. It is also during this time that the Ventoux region was awarded appellation status in 1973.

In the 1980s, the Bastide’s daughter and son-in-law, Edith and Paul Chauderie joined the family enterprise, vinifying their first vintage in 1990. At the time, there were but a handful of properties producing wine in Ventoux, making Pesquié a leading pioneer in producing top-quality wines. In 2003, Edith and Paul’s sons Alexandre and Frederic took over Château Pesquié, continuing their families’ proud tradition of dedication to quality above all else.

Today, Château Pesquié produces a remarkably consistent range of red, white, and rose wines from inside its state-of-the-art cellars. But expensive winemaking equipment does not guarantee an equally brilliant wine. Pesquié more greatly benefits from an enviable portfolio of choice vineyards, including some rare old-vine Grenache, some of which average 80/90 years of age. They are expertly made by brothers Alexandre and Frederic, who craft wines of real finesse and balance; elegance, not brute force, is clearly the aim. This sophisticated approach reaches its pinnacle with Quintessence, which is among the finest wines of the appellation. Just the right amount of Grenache lending opulence and complexity to a stupendous wine. Both are impressively cellar-worthy, but then who could stand to wait! Visit this gorgeous part of the world on a private, luxury wine tour with us.