The Sumeire Family has lived in Trets next to the Sainte Victoire since the 13th century. This local winemaking family owns three châteaux in Provence, the region where the first vines were planted in France: Château Maupague, Château Coussin, and Château l’Afrique. We caught up with Annabelle Sumeire recently to visit the property and learn more about the story of their wines including César, which was inspired by local artist, César Baldaccini (1 January 1921 in Marseille – 6 December 1998 in Paris), a noted French sculptor.
César created an original piece of artwork crafted out of the family’s existing wine labels that now hangs in the chateau and has been incorporated beautifully into the case artwork lending a true authenticity to this creation by vignoble, Olivier Sumeire. The César red has won a silver medal at the “Concours des meilleures Syrahs du Monde 2013” and a star in the Guide Hachette 2014. The rosé offers a beautiful pale pink in color with a bluish highlight with an elegant nose of jasmin and wild rose.
The Chateau Coussin estate is 120 hectares of vineyard planted in the Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence sub-appellation and are composed of clay and limestone that are unique in their origin from ancient stony alluvial deposits from mountain torrents. Viticulture has been present in this area dating back 2,600 years ago to the ancient Greeks. While ancient traditions abound, the winery is a state of the art facility and every attention is given to preserving the bright and aromatic aspects of the spectacular fruit that Chateau Coussin produces. The Croix du Prieur label is the second wine of Chateau Coussin.
The Sumeire Famille wines have been receiving rave reviews for all three châteaux in Genuss magazine recently and a wider distribution in fine retail and restaurants in the US. Chateau Coussin’s 2013, for example, has been cited by Decanter magazine as ‘the perfect Provence Rosé’, once you’ve poured a glass of Chateau Coussin Rosé 2013, Cotes de Provence, France (£13, Oddbins) it won’t take much convincing that this wine is going to be utterly delicious. The colour is a pale, baby pink, the bouquet is rose and strawberry scented which leads to passion fruit and pink grapefruit flavours with an underlying minerality that adds freshness and elegance.
I think we’re ready for a glass …care to join us?
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