Château Henri Bonnaud (Le Tholonet, PALETTE)
From old vineyards overlapping those of legendary Château Simone, Stéphane Spitzglous began making wine in his garage in 2010, went bio in 2013, and this past decade has quietly transformed his estate into one of the darlings of the Provençal wine scene.
The smallest and oldest AOC in Provence, Palette was created in 1948 and is a few minutes drive East of Aix-En-Provence. Covered in pine forests between 500 and 750 feet above sea level, this unique microclimate is surrounded by three rocky massifs –the Barres de Langesse, the Grand Cabri, and the Montagne du Cengle - and unlike anything else in Provence it allows for fine thoroughbred wines with serious finesse.
Stephane’s limestone “Calcaire de Langesse” terroir below Mont Sante-Victoire.
The Spitzglous family has tended vines in Le Tholonet for four generations, and previously sold off most of the fruit but today Stéphane farms 14 of the 42 hectares that make up AOC Palette. With a background in physics and chemistry, Stéphane felt called back to the quiet farming life and has grassed over his land with barley and vetches to generate protective nitrogen. Since his humble garage beginnings, he has expanded the cellar and briefly experimented with clay amphorae, but today uses a mix of larger foudres, French oak demi-muids, along with some smaller barriques for the longer-aged reds.
2023 Palette Rosé "Vieilles Vignes"
Stéphane’s 2023 Rosé was awarded France's Guide Hachette des Vins “Coup de Coeur” this year, and we asked him to bottle our US allocation from a selection of his oldest vines of Mourvédre, Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah in the "Calcaire de Langesse" terroir — pure limestone directly eroded down from Sainte-Victoire’s mountain massif. The grapes are hand-picked, sorted, and de-stemmed before being aged in French demi-muids and foudres for eight months.
2022 Palette Blanc
Clairette Blanche, Ugni Blanc, and Grenache Blanc, all harvested by hand, rigorously sorted then destemmed before a cold maceration and delicate pneumatic pressing. Fermentation is exclusively done in barrels, then malolactic allowed, and further aging in larger wood for eight months.
2022 Palette Blanc "Vieilles Vignes"
Clairette Blanche, Clairette Rose, and Ugni Blanc are from his oldest bush vines, over 65 years on average, fermented and aged in French oak demi-muids. Candied fruits, toasted brioche, with tons of dry extract that almost presents as tannins, and an intensely long, crazy complex finish.
2019 Palette Rouge
Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, and Vieux Carignan are harvested by hand, destemmed, and then fermented in oak vats with daily punch-downs and pump-overs, followed by 18 months of aging in a combination of barriques and larger foudres. Stéphane notes the presence of morello cherries and fresh raspberries, and there is a freshness and vibrancy in his 2019 Palette Rouge that belies the vintage.
2019 Palette Rouge "Vieilles Vignes"
Stéphane is the fourth generation of Spitzglous to farm in Palette, and his oldest vines are Carignan planted in 1953, which make up the backbone of his Vieilles Vignes bottling of Rouge, along with Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, and a little Syrah. His oldest parcels are interwoven with those of Château Simone, who credits the rich pine forest of Mont Sainte Victoire as a contributing factor in the aromas found in the reds here, but Stéphan's dedication to organic farming and meticulous work in the cellar up the ante. His 2019 vintage of old-vine red is a strong contender for one of the most complex and interesting wines in Provence today.
Stephane’s sheep foraging among the oldest vines in the "Route de Langesse.”
“ Qui n’avance pas, recule. La nature, en mutation brutale, nous impose une projection sur le long terme et la maîtrise des impératifs du présent.” (‘If you don't move forward, you move backward. Nature is in a state of sudden change, so we need to look to the long term and master the imperatives of the present.)
- Stéphane Spitzglous