Grapes have been cultivated on the land currently occupied by Château Simone since the region’s earliest recorded history; for two centuries, numerous generations of the Rougier family have worked these same vines. The Rougier’s 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 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—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 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 for sommeliers and collectors. Despite Provence’s long and sometimes punishingly hot growing season, Château Simone does not produce heavy or overpowering wines—thanks no doubt to the age of the vines and the variety of thick-skinned black grapes. On the contrary, the Rougier family is renowned for bottling beautifully elegant, floral, and 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 Burgundy, Barbaresco and traditional Bordeaux.

Château Simone’s grapes 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 large oak foudre to rest on lees (spent yeasts and solids left over after fermentation). After 18-24 months in barrel, the wine is decanted 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 our 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 almost seven years after harvest, it is entering its sweet spot.

Château Simone’s 2010 Palette Grand Cru Rouge is a fascinating wine. Whereas many estates translated this legendary vintage’s length and warmth into above-average power and alcohol, Simone seems to have been able to extract extra detail, elegance, and complexity. A filigree of purple flowers, thyme and lavender blossoms, earl grey tea, earthy soil notes and wet stone envelop a robust core of dark cherry and currant fruit. Simone is a uniquely enjoyable wine to drink because, while I always know what it is even when tasting blind, it’s a wine that morphs and evolves in many directions over the course of 24 hours. When the cork is first pulled, it can be dominated by tannins and floral aromatic, and thus reminiscent of Barbaresco or Barolo. Eventually, as air begins to soften the fruit, it finds a cruising altitude somewhere between dark Côte de Nuits elegance and Right Bank Bordeaux muscle. In short, this is a wine that has a lot to offer and you should take care to enjoy it over multiple hours. If sharing with friends, please decant for 45 minutes and serve in large Burgundy stems at 60 degrees. This wine’s fine-grained tannins cry out for a slow-braised feast. I encourage you to try your hand at the attached veal shank recipe. The final point I want to stress, however, is that Château Simone is a wine built for your cellar. This 2010 is brilliant now, but it is a wine known to improve for decades and probably won’t even begin to peak for another 10-12 years. So, by all means, enjoy some in the next 6 months—but know that you will never regret owning some of this iconic estate’s top wine from this legendary vintage.