Château Barbanau - L'Instant 2012

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

This family-run estate, spanning two appellations—Cassis and Côtes de Provence—is now led by the very friendly and dynamic couple Sophie and Didier Simonini-Cerciello. Across their 32 hectares of vineyards, including 7 hectares in Cassis known as Clos Val Bruyère, they practice exemplary viticulture and have been certified biodynamic since 2018. As a result, the vines and soil thrive, and the surrounding area is teeming with exceptional biodiversity—even by organic standards. The wines are crisp and well-defined, with, in the Cassis appellation, that salty touch that so perfectly characterizes this terroir. The Blanc Kalahari cuvée, whose name was inspired by the couple’s love for Botswana, is worth the trip: it is one of the estate’s most interesting—and original—wines.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

Émile Bodin founded Clos Val Bruyère in 1889. A century later, Sophie, his great-granddaughter, and her parents took over the few hectares of vineyards they had inherited and breathed new life into this estate. That same year, they acquired Château Barbanau, 23 hectares of vineyards located at the westernmost edge of the Côtes-de-Provence appellation, at an elevation of 360 meters. Today, Sophie and her husband Didier run this estate and have been producing biodynamic wines certified by Biodyvin since the 2018 vintage.