A  working  vinyard  over several  generations,  Henri, and  subsequently,  his daughter,  Agnès, are passionate  vintners.  In  this  place nothing  seems  really  ordinary, and  the  visitor  who is  open-minded  will  feel  that  here ,  there  is  genuine  farming  and  a  cultural  experience  to  be discovered.
 

 

 HISTORY :
Henri’s   great- grandfather,  Mr. Vincent  Negrel,  a  wine  and  oil  merchant  at  La  Cadière  d’Azur, buys  part of the estate. His daughter, Agnès, marries  Mr. Eugène  Pignatel. Towards  the 1930s they create  the  brand  name : Château de la Noblesse, believing  in  the  Bandol  vintage. Their  daughter, Marie-Jeanne,  along  with  her husband, replant  with  appropriate  varieties  of  vines.

In 1961 the Château de la Noblesse  accounts  for  10% of  the Bandol  vintage.

After  agricultural  college,  Henri  goes  into  partnership  with  his  mother,  then  buys   uncultivated lands  adjacent  to  the  estate  and  sets  about  improving   them.  He  levels  and  plants  them ,  to increase  the production of  vintage  Bandol.

In  1990,  Agnès, after  oenological  studies, goes  into  partnership  with  her  father,  Henri.  They  build  a new  wine – making  plant  for vinification and storage  of  bottled  wine.  Since  its  creation, the  estate  has  remained  in  the  family  and  is  of  workable  dimensions.

 

 THE SOIL :
The  Château de la Noblesse  extends continuously over approximately 14 hectares, exposed to the rising sun. The soil  is  clayey  and  chalky  (the origin  of  the  name  of  the  communal  road),  which means   that  the  soil  must be  worked  at  the right  time. (The  soil must  not  be  too  wet  as  it  will   stick   to the  implements,  nor  too  dry  o r it  will  become  rock  hard.)   It   is  necessary  to plough  frequently  in  Summer,   otherwise  there  is   too  much  evaporation  from  the  cracks in the   earth  due  to  its  retractation.

 

 THE VINE PLANTS :
For  black grapes   with  green  pulp,  the  plants  consist  mainly of :

• MOURVEDRE (a  Spanish  variety  with  small  grapes  and  a  thick  skin, which  contains  a  great  deal of  anthocyanines  and  tannins),  which  appreciates  the  heat  and  humidity  of  the  night.  It contributes  tannin  and  colour.
• GRENACHE (a  typical  variety  of  Château  Neuf  du  Pape),  which  is  a  variety  with  small  grapes contributing   alcohol  and  mellowness.
• CINSAULT,  which  is  a  fairly  large grape  contributing  to  fruitiness                                        and  fragrance.

For  green  grapes,  the  vines  are :

• La Clairette : which  is  the  main  ingredient  of  our  white  Bandol.  It  contributes  mellowness  and  the  fragrance  of  acacia.
• White  Ugni  brings  a  touch  of  acidity, which prevents  the  wine  from  being  flat  and  increases  the  freshness  of  Château  de  la  Noblesse.
• Rolle, a  minor  vine,  which  brings  flavours  of  flowers  and  fruit. It  is  also  called  Vermentino.

 

 THE CLIMATE :

Situated  in  the  basin  of  Le  Beausset,  we  benefit   from  a  maximum  of  sunshine  with  very  little rain,  which  means  that  the  vintners  must  work  the  soil  or  remove  some  of  the  grapes  at  the  beginning  of  Summer (green  or  unripe  grape  harvest ),  in  order  to  prevent  the  vines from  suffering  and  to enable  them  to  bring  their  grapes  to  maturity.

(cf : satellite map)

 

 

  THE WORK :

Agnès Cade and Henri Gaussen are passionate  vintners.  They  study  the soil and the subsoil in order to plant the appropriate vines. Henri looks after the vines as a father would look after his family. As soon  as the leaves  fall in Winter,  they prune the vines , differently , depending  on age.

 

In  Spring, there is no lack of work as the vines are growing. So, it is necessary  to tie up, thin out ( i.e.   remove useless  branches ), clip the tops, plough ( to avoid the competition with weeds ),strip the fruit.

In Summer, when the vine  lignifies , the bunches of grapes  change  colour and  the shoots  become woody.

In  Autumn, the vine harvest  is the busiest  time, coming at the end of a year’s work. The grapes must  be  ripe ( sufficiently  sweet  to  allow for the minimal  alcohol  content  permitted ), since chaptalization is  forbidden.

The  varieties  are picked  and sorted  by hand, each  separately,  depending  on  maturity.

 

 
 

VINIFICATION IS AN EXACT ART :

• White  wine  is produced  from  green  grapes  which  are  left  to  macerate  at  low  temperature  for one  night, then  they  are  pressed   and  ferment. In  Winter, Agnès  beats  them  to obtain  richness and  mellowness.
• Rosé  wine  is  made  by  immediate  pressing,  the  juice  is  drained  off and ferments  for  about  a fortnight. The blending is carried out in Winter.
• Red  wine  is  produced  from  old  vines,  as  they  have  small  grapes,  resulting  in  the  vintage  red wines  of  the  Château de la Noblesse. The  grapes  are  crushed  and  put  into  vats  ( juice,,pips,  skin ). The  vinification  and  maceration  last  for  a  month,   in  order  to  obtain  a  wine  which  is  tonic,  fruity,  dark -  red  and  well – balanced. ( The marc  or  rape  is  pressed.)

The  red  wine  of  the  new  vintage  is  tended ,  for 18 months  minimum,,in barrels  in  the 18th  century  vaulted  cellar  of  the  Château de la Noblesse.  The  red  wines  mature  very  well.  They  can   remain  in  your  temperate  cellar  for  several  years.  

 

ECOLOGY :

Agnès  has  deliberately  chosen  the   «  bordelaise  evolution  «  for bottling,  since  the  weight  in  glass  is  greater  than  that  of  the  «bordelaise  lourde »  by 20 – 25%.

 

 

Some  years,  when  there  are  two  different  vintages  of  red  wine  alone,  the  latter  is  named   «  Pignatel «  in hommage   to  Agnès’  grandmother,  Marie-Jeanne  Pignatel.

On  sale  on  the  estate,  there  is  rosé  wine,  white  wine  of  the  year  and  red  wines  of  different  vintages  ( 4  minimum ),  which  wil  allow  you  to  have  wines  ready  to  be  drunk  and  sampled  or  younger  wines,  to  be  looked  after  by  you.

The  red  wines  improve  with  time,  they  have  flavours  of liquorice,  morello  cherry  and  blackcurrant.  After  10 years  of  good  keeping  they  have  the  fragrance  of  leather,  undergrowth, liquorice,  truffles,  venison.

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