I’m sure many of you already guessed what part two would be…Château Simone’s bucket-list Palette Rouge. This fabled wine seems to be permanently reserved for a small subset of connoisseurs, except Simone doesn’t “reserve” wine for anyone. Their policy is simple: Buy it now or someone else will. That’s exactly why our market never saw the 2016 vintage—Europeans snatched up every bottle before their US liaison of 15 years could order any. As for 2017, well, we offered what little came nearly a year ago and it’s been sold out ever since. So, yes, we’re incredibly fortunate to have secured today’s thunderous, deeply silken 2018.
Family-run for nearly 200 years, Château Simone crafts its supernatural Palette Rouge by way of ancient vines (some of which may be the oldest in France), sorcerous blending skills, and a lengthy barrel-aging regimen in their 500-year-old cellar. All this results in a small-production masterpiece that captures the most alluring qualities of elite Bordeaux and Rhône. For us, uncorking Simone’s rouge is one of wine’s most enchanting experiences. They are region-defining, incomparable in taste, and their cellar life is nearly inexhaustible—so don’t be surprised when this 2018 is dominating your “superior” labels in 10-15 years!
Owned by the Rougier family since 1830, the property clings to a single hillside in Montaiguet, a small hamlet just east of Aix-en-Provence, 20 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 estate, but it’s impossible to begin discussing the property without immediately diving into the myriad qualities that make this one of the most distinctive estates in France.
The first and perhaps most shocking feature about the Rougier family’s vines is that they are north—yes, north—facing. Château Simone’s vines hug 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 few north-facing vineyards I’ve ever seen that produces world-class wine. Next, there is a shocking 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 for sommeliers and collectors. Despite Provence’s long and sometimes punishingly hot growing season, Château Simone does not produce heavy or overpowering wines. On the contrary, the Rougier family is renowned for bottling beautifully elegant, floral, aromatic reds that caress and finesse the palate rather than hammer it with alcohol and extract. This is a Provençal Grand Cru for lovers of traditional Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Piedmont!
Château Simone’s colorful palette of grapes are harvested by hand, de-stemmed, and lightly pressed before fermentation. A natural fermentation is carried out over several weeks in wooden vats and the resulting wine is racked into large oak foudres to rest on lees. After one year, the wine is decanted once more into older barriques, where it rests for an additional year before being bottled. The freshly bottled wine then matures for another year before leaving their cellar. All told, the entire process takes nearly four years before release into the US market! In our experience with Château Simone, the wines often require even more time in bottle before fully exhibiting the singular qualities that made them iconic. That said, those who uncork today’s 2018 in the near future will be thoroughly delighted. It’s loaded with the red-fruited sublimity of Grenache, the smoky-peppery allure of Syrah, and the unrivaled exoticism that comes from blending grapes from Muscat to Cabernet and everything in between. It’s gorgeously layered and deliciously ripe with a powerfully nuanced structure that elevates it into the top-tier of French reds. Enjoy now and over the next 10-15 years.
