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In the late 1980's Jacques Seysses, founder of Domaine Dujac, and Aubert de Villaine, co-owner of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, started looking for a vineyard in the south of France. They were driven by the conviction that some great wines could be produced in the Var, an area typically known for its rosés and thin table wines.
After much searching, at the end of 1989, they came upon the Domaine du Logis-de-Nans, an existing estate in Provence, northeast of Marseille and due east of Aix-en-Provence. What caught their attention was the slope itself. The three friends were attracted by the southern exposure of the vineyards and the clay and limestone soils, which in some areas resemble the great terroirs of Burgundy, in other the top coteaux of St. Emilion. Most vines in the area are planted on valley floors in deep soils; here, the entire estate was 'plein coteaux', on a south-facing slope, rich in limestone and with a low content in organic matter: too poor for agriculture but excellent for viticulture.
The estate which showed evidence of settlement and culture since Etruscan times, spreads between altitudes of 420-450m above sea level and lies on a gently sloping hillside between the mountain ranges of Monts Aurelien and Sainte Baume, guaranteeing cool nights and, as was found out, a long growing season, propitious to good acidities and complexity.
The estate was renamed Domaine de Triennes, after the triennia, festivities in the honour of Bacchus that took place every 3 years in Roman times.
Domaine De Triennes's website |
