The road into Saint-Tropez tells you something the town itself occasionally forgets to mention.
Long before the harbour, the yachts, and the famous beaches, there are vineyards. Row upon row of them, pressing close to the road through Gassin and Ramatuelle and Cogolin, sun-bleached and unhurried, producing some of the most beautiful rosé in the world.
The Golfe de Saint-Tropez sits at the heart of the Côtes de Provence appellation, and its wines, drawn from schist hillsides, sandy coastal soils, and south-facing slopes warmed by the Mediterranean, are as much a part of this landscape as the sea itself. For guests staying here, a half-day spent among these estates is one of the most rewarding things the peninsula has to offer. It is an escape from the beach crowds, a direct encounter with the people who make the wine you have been drinking all week, and a genuinely pleasant way to spend an afternoon. These six estates are the ones our team returns to again and again.
Château Barbeyrolles | The pioneer of Provençal rosé in Gassin
There are a handful of moments in wine history that genuinely changed the way the world looked at a single colour, and Régine Sumeire’s creation of Pétale de Rose at Château Barbeyrolles in 1985 is one of them. This twelve-hectare estate at the foot of the village of Gassin was acquired by Sumeire in 1977, and the Pétale de Rose cuvée, a wine of extraordinary clarity and elegance, did more than almost any other single bottle to establish Provence rosé as a serious proposition for the world’s finest restaurants and wine lists.
The philosophy here begins in the vineyard, where horses still plough between the vines, the harvest is done by hand, and every stage of the winemaking process is governed by gravity rather than pumps. The result is a certified organic wine of remarkable finesse: a white and a red complement the famous rosé, and all three are regularly awarded prizes in France and abroad. Régine Sumeire was among the first women to vinify in Provence, a fact that sits quietly behind every bottle. The estate is open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, and welcomes visitors for direct sales and tastings. No experience in this part of Provence is complete without it.
Château des Marres | A wine bar in the vines, steps from Pampelonne
On the Route des Plages, between Ramatuelle and the sea, Château des Marres occupies one of the most envied addresses in the appellation: a 30-hectare family estate on the direct road to Pampelonne beach, with views across the bay and a wine that has been made here since Henri Benet first acquired the property in 1907. The Benet-Gartich family have maintained that tradition across five generations, and the estate is currently in organic conversion.
The terroir here is a combination of sandy clay-schist soils from the Maures hills and the moderating influence of the sea, which creates what the estate calls a thermal and hydrometric buffer: a microclimate of exceptional stability that allows the grapes to ripen fully without the stress that inland vineyards endure in high summer. The winery is equipped with modern temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and thirteen terracotta amphorae for red wine ageing in the traditional manner alongside oak barrels from the Tronçais forest.
The Le 1907 Wine Bar on the estate terrace, open in season, is a particular draw: a relaxed setting among the vines with tapas boards, cheese and charcuterie platters, and a pétanque court alongside the vines. Guided cellar tours with tastings of four wines are available by reservation from April to September with multiple packages to choose from.
Château Minuty | 80 years, one family & the peninsula’s most celebrated rosé
Château Minuty needs no introduction to anyone who has spent time on the Saint-Tropez peninsula. The estate’s elegant bottles appear on terrace tables across the gulf, in the finest restaurants of the Côte d’Azur, and on wine lists in more than one hundred countries. It is one of only 18 classified growths in all of Provence, a designation earned through eight decades of commitment to quality by the Matton-Farnet family, who have tended these 170 hectares in the Berle valley since Gabriel Farnet acquired the estate in 1936.
The vines here are among the oldest in Gassin, and every grape is harvested by hand. The great Minuty rosés are built on Tibouren and Grenache, grape varieties that are as much a part of this peninsula as the red-roofed villages above it, and the range spans several distinct cuvées: from the accessible and fruit-forward M de Minuty to the prestigious Rosé et Or, which is broadly regarded as one of the finest expressions of Provençal rosé produced anywhere. The chapel on the estate, built in 1780, adds a particular poignancy to any visit. The modern tasting cellar is open weekdays from 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm. A self-guided audio tour of the estate is available year-round. Guided tours for groups of six or more can be booked in advance.
Château Saint-Maur | A Cru Classé in Cogolin with art, music & the Clos de Capelune
Located in Cogolin at the foot of the village of Grimaud, Château Saint-Maur Cru Classé is among the most ambitious and visitor-focused estates on the gulf. The property, which takes its name from a former monastery believed to have been established here in the early medieval period, was acquired by Roger Zannier in 2011 and has since undergone an extensive programme of investment, including a high-technology winery built in 2013 and a gradual conversion to organic farming that will see the entire estate certified by 2028.
The 100 hectares of vines are divided across three distinct parcels, each with its own soil character and microclimate: the main estate in the foothills of the Maures massif, the Clos Saint-Vincent near Saint-Tropez with its maritime soils, and the remarkable Clos de Capelune, which sits at 449 metres altitude overlooking the gulf and produces some of the most distinctive and intense wines in the appellation. Notably, the estate harvests its Cru Classé grapes by hand at night to preserve their freshness in the summer heat.
The visitor experience here is among the most developed of any estate in the region. Options include a grouped guided tour with a tasting of three wines (€18 per person), a private Luxury Wine Experience with the prestigious Clos de Capelune cuvée (€35 per person), a vine-to-glass workshop across six wines (€50 per person), and a digital vineyard trail via the Explorama app (€8 per person). Summer evenings on the estate terrace bring live music, art exhibitions, and food trucks. Reservations are required for all guided experiences.
Domaine des Tournels | Pampelonne views & three generations of passion above the bay
The story of Domaine des Tournels began in 1920 when Laurent Bologna, an Italian exile on his way to Paris, fell in love with a piece of land on the heights above Pampelonne bay and never left. The estate he founded has passed through several generations of the Bologna family and today covers 110 hectares in total, with 55 hectares of cultivated vines on schist hillsides that produce the aromatic, mineral wines for which the domaine is known.
The position is extraordinary: the vineyards sit directly above the Pampelonne bay, with the Camarat lighthouse at their feet and the curve of the gulf visible from the estate on a clear day. The terroir, a combination of sandy-loam and schistous soils with the natural drainage and mineral intensity that comes from ancient rock, produces rosés of real elegance alongside full-bodied reds and crisp whites. Alongside the classic Provençal varieties such as Grenache, Cinsault, and Rolle, the domaine also works with Tibouren, a grape synonymous with this specific corner of the Var. The boutique is open all year round, Tuesday to Saturday, and a guided cellar tour with a full tasting of the range is organised every Friday morning. It is one of the most generous and unhurried tasting experiences on the peninsula.
Domaine La Tourraque | Two centuries of organic farming on a protected Ramatuelle coast
Of all the estates on the Saint-Tropez peninsula, Domaine La Tourraque may be the one that most rewards those willing to make the effort to find it. The track to the domaine is not straightforward, but the reward for arriving is a working farm of extraordinary character: thirty hectares of certified organic vineyards within the classified Trois Caps site, which forms part of the Port-Cros National Park, and has been cultivated by the same family without interruption since 1805. The estate still functions as a self-sufficient farm in the old Provençal tradition, with bees kept in partnership with a local beekeeper to support pollination, sheep that graze the land in winter to fertilize and maintain the fields, and a small museum of farming tools that speaks to the depth of the estate’s history. The vineyards overlook both sea and hillside, and the organic conversion completed in 2013 has produced wines of real character: reds that are light and fruity, whites that are complex and long on the palate, and rosés of genuine elegance.
Free tastings are available without appointment at the estate Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm, and Saturday, 10am to 2pm. In summer the family also opens a cellar boutique in the village of Ramatuelle at 34 Rue Clémenceau, Tuesday to Sunday, which is considerably easier to reach by car. Guided Balade tours of the vineyard by 4x4, followed by a full tasting of the range, are available to book via the estate website and are among the most personal and memorable wine experiences on the peninsula.
The six estates above represent the full range of what this corner of Provence offers to anyone genuinely interested in wine: from the world-renowned rosés of Château Minuty and Barbeyrolles to the untamed organic character of La Tourraque and the polished Cru Classé experience of Saint-Maur. Each estate is within easy driving distance of the gulf, and a well-planned morning or afternoon can take in two or three without feeling rushed. Our team is happy to help guests staying in a luxury villa in Provence build a wine itinerary to suit their interests and travel dates, including advance bookings for private tours and tastings. Whether you are a committed wine enthusiast or simply looking for a beautiful way to spend an afternoon away from the beach, the vineyards of the Saint-Tropez peninsula offer something that cannot be found anywhere else. Contact us to plan your visit.
À bientôt,
