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A former sand pit in the Sainte-Baume nature park: who would expect vines here? Domaine Alône chose exactly this unusual place: sandy soils with perfect drainage, at 420 to 470 metres altitude.
Christian Ott and Pascale Jourdan bought the site in 2018. The extreme swings between day and night give the grapes time: Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah ripen slowly here and keep their freshness. In the cellar: indigenous yeasts, the lunar calendar, ceramic spheres from Limoges.
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Sand instead of schist: a terroir like no other
Where diggers once worked, vines now stand. The former sand pit in the heart of the Sainte-Baume nature park offers conditions that would be unthinkable elsewhere: deep sand that drains water in a flash and forces the roots to dig deep. All around, wooded hills shelter the vines from cold winds.
The altitude of 420 to 470 metres brings a wide diurnal range. While the grapes build up sugar by day, the cool nights preserve acidity. The result is wines of remarkable tension, fresh but not unripe.
Two mavericks and their ceramic spheres
Christian Ott brings more than a quarter-century of winegrowing experience. Pascale Jourdan comes from a family that has been tied to wine for generations; her great-grandfather made corks. Together they share a conviction: wine is made in the vineyard, and the cellar should merely accompany it.
Instead of wood they rely on ceramic spheres from Limoges, egg-shaped vessels that work like amphorae but insulate more modernly. The wines breathe, oxidise minimally and keep their fruit.
Rosé with substance
Alône's rosés are not terrace wines for a quick gulp. The Rosé “SABLE” bears the name of the terroir and shows what sand can do: mineral saltiness, wild herbs, a hint of mountain thyme. The Rosé “ATMO” captures the atmosphere of the place: wild strawberries, citrus peel, a finish that recalls wet stone.
Compared with the powerful Bandol rosés of Château de Pibarnon on limestone, the Alône wines show another side of Provence: lighter, saltier, shaped by sand. For special occasions there is the rosé in magnum.