For over two centuries, the Rougier family has been working the vines surrounding Château Simone. The family’s property clings to a single hillside in Montaiguet, a small hamlet just east of Aix-en-Provence, and twenty miles north of Marseille. The appellation that encompasses this village is Palette AOC, and even as a small independent producer, Château Simone produces a majority of the wine labeled within the designation. To the naked eye, Château Simone appears to be a classic family-run château, but it’s impossible to begin discussing the property without immediately diving into the myriad of qualities that make this one of the most exciting, unique and inimitable estates in France.
The first and perhaps most shocking feature that jumps out about the Rougier family’s vines is that they are north facing. Yes, you read that correctly—Château Simone’s vines cling to a 750 foot limestone face that is angled directly away from the sun. This is unusual, but it allows the vines to retain their freshness, despite the region’s fierce heat. It is one of the very few north facing vineyards I’ve ever seen that produces world class wine. Next, there is a mind-boggling diversity of grape varieties present in these ancient vines. Château Simone sits directly between Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Bandol, so it’s unsurprising to see standards like Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Syrah and Carignan—but if you look a little closer in the vineyard, you will discover Cabernet Sauvignon, Manosquin, Castet, Muscat Noir, Théoulier, Tibouren, Picpoul Noir, Muscat de Hambourg and many others. Finally, the character of Château Simone’s wines is perhaps what is most unique and fascinating for sommeliers. Despite the punishingly hot and long growing season, the century-and-a-half old vines, and the diversity of thick skinned black grapes, Château Simone does not produce heavy or overpowering wines. On the contrary, the Rougier family is renowned for bottling beautifully elegant, floral, and aromatic reds that dance on the palate rather than hammer it with alcohol and extract. This is Provençal wine for lovers of Burgundy, Barbaresco and traditional Bordeaux.
Château Simone’s grape clusters are all harvested by hand, destemmed and lightly pressed before fermentation. Indigenous yeast fermentation lasts for two to three weeks in wooden vats. Afterward, the wine is racked into small foudre to rest on lees. After 18-24 months in foudre, the wine is racked once more into neutral, older barriques where it rests for an additional year before being bottled. All told, the entire process takes over four years before release into the US market—but it’s still not enough! In my experience with Château Simone, the wines often require an additional few years of cellaring before they start to show their stuff. Today’s wine is no exception—but at about seven years after vintage, it is just entering its sweet spot.
The 2007 Château Simone Rouge has an opaque ruby red center quickly moving to a garnet and orange rim. The nose is earth driven, floral, and gorgeous in its savoriness with notes of dried wild flowers and tobacco leaf, black tea, lavender, dried mushrooms, leather, dried orange, black currants, forest floor and crushed rocks. The palate is harmonious and balanced to start, but only becomes softer as each moment passes. In drinking this wine I was constantly reminded that there is nothing like the wines of Château Simone—this is one of the most unique and instantly identifiable reds bottled in France. This 2007 has just entered its optimal drinking window and will spend the next ten to fifteen years softening and improving if cellared in the proper conditions. For now, please decant for a minimum of one hour and serve from Bordeaux stems at about 60-65 degrees. Each minute in the glass, the wine reveal a new and different quality, so please be patient. This deeply complex, elegant and multi-faceted red calls out for a simple and rustic dish to act as a counterpoint. I recommend preparing
this simple grilled rack of lamb and substituting
this classic potato and leek gratin preparation for the pasta. Cheers!
