De la Vigne au Vin

The Terroir

Our vineyard extends over about forty hectares, planted with noble and typical Provençal grape varieties. As a sign of recognition of the quality and typicality of the Estate, the signing of the decree creating the Coteaux Varois en Provence Appellation took place in our 12th century cellar.

Our grape varieties

A unique feature of our Estate is that we cultivate a wide variety of grape varieties (currently 13) on small plots, such as Cinsault, Grenache Noir and Blanc, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rolle, Carignan, Caladoc and Alicante… Names that sing…

Our soils

The Annibals terroir in the heart of Green Provence, 50 km from the Mediterranean, is constituted of stony clay-limestone soil and benefits from very sunny exposure on its hillsides and in the valley, facing the Loube mountain. Water is not far below our feet and allows the vines to withstand the sometimes very arid summer.

The climate

The climate, throughout the seasons, has great amplitudes: harsh winters, summers making the cicadas sing; and all year round at least 15 degrees of temperature variation between night and day. When evening comes, the vines can thus rest from the heat of the sun. Our friends the winds: rather tails of Mistral, a touch of Greek and a pinch of Sirocco.

The vines are prun in double cordons Royat and trellised, the oldest are in gobelet. Chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides and herbicides are prohibited. We practice light ploughing of the land to fight against the grass at the foot of the vines. When mechanized work is not sufficient, it is the man who must dig the land around the vines.

In the row, we sow legumes: radish, vetches clover.. to enrich our soils and provide natural nitrogen to the vines, necessary for its growth.
Biodiversity increases with more auxiliary fauna (foraging insects, microorganisms).

We bring our vines natural herbal teas : Nettle, willow, horsetail, yarrow in order to strengthen their natural defence.

The grapes are harvested with vigilance at perfect maturity, after taking preliminary samples to measure the fundamental parameters and check that the right balances are present.

We use small bins to a respectful transport of the grapes’s condition.

Then, the work in the cellar can start..

Vinifications

The Annibals Estate produces wines labelled AOP Coteaux Varois en Provence and Vins de Pays du Var. The work in the cellar is punctuated by the lunar calendar. Letting the cold ensure the decantation work to avoid filtration on earth, not filtering our reds, protecting the wines by inerting the vats but also the transfers, are some of the natural methods that we use in respect of the living. As a reward, the wines are typified by their terroir, aromatic, balanced and are - above all - a reflection of our personality.

Vinification of white and rosé wines

When fully ripe, the grapes are harvested at night, in order to benefit from the coolness of the night. After destemming and light crushing, a particularly long skin maceration follows. Free-run juice, very light pneumatic pressing, cold static settling, fermentation under temperature control, gas inerting are techniques that allow for optimal extraction of aromas and a natural balance. A stirring of the lees allows for more roundness to be extracted.

Vinification of red wines

Upon receipt, the harvest is placed in a temperature-controlled fermentation vat. Pumping over, punching down and racking over the days promote the gentle extraction of colour and substance. A long vatting process allows the production of reds for laying down, allowing us to offer you wines from older vintages. Most of the wines are not filtered. Some of our vintages are aged in French oak barrels.

Packaging of wines

All wines are bottled by us, with our own team and equipment, according to our quality charter in order to ensure perfect respect for the wine.