Léoube sees ‘huge growth’ for Provençal reds

Château Léoube is enjoying “huge growth” worldwide for its Provençal white, red and sparkling wines – as well as, of course, its rosés – according to Jérôme Pernot, sales manager at the estate.

Château Léoube’s flagship red is made from Cabernet Franc grown organically at the Côtes de Provence property

During an interview with the drinks business last week, Pernot said that demand for the wines from the Provençal property, which is owned by Britain’s Bamford family, has been massive, which, for those who’ve been following the boom in Provencal rosé sales worldwide, won’t come as a surprise.

However, more remarkably, he said that Léoube was seeing an increasing call for its red and white wines, along with its sparkling – products that Provence is much less famous for.

“We have seen huge growth in our red, sparkling and white wines,” Pernot told db, adding, “Now people recognise Léoube for the quality of its rosés, they are intrigued to try its other wines, particularly our reds, which are selling very well, mainly in New York and the UK.”

Observing that he is gaining more by the glass listings for the Léoube red wine in Manhattan, he said that the château was now struggling to keep up with the demand.

“We’ve already had to increase production,” he said.

Léoube produce three red wines, which are unusual due to their use of Bordeaux grapes, even though they aren’t allowed within the appellation rules for Provence.

As a result, the property produces its reds under the Vin de France classification, and the range includes an the entry level Syrah-dominant blend, followed by Forts de Léoube, containing Cabernet Sauvignon, while the flagship wine, called Léoube Collector, is made from 100% Cabernet Franc – the only wine of its type from this part of France.

The sparkling wine too is unique for the area, because, like the Collector, it is made entirely from Cabernet Franc, but produced as a white fizz employing the traditional method, where secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle.

It is also a Brut Zero, which means the wine receives no added sugar.

As for the Blanc de Léoube, this follows the rules and traditions of the region, and is made using the white grapes of Provence: Rolle, Ugnic Blanc and Semillon.

All the grapes for Léoube’s range of wines are grown on the estate, which has full organic certification.

Pernot said that the property, which covers 560 hectares, currently contains 65ha of vines, some of which are planted just 50 metres from the sea – Léoube has 4km of coastline.

He also said that he planned to increase vine plantings to 75ha, but no further.

“Léoube is part of a national park, and the estate contains 65ha of vines, 20ha of olives, a fifteenth century château, and the rest is nature, and it is all protected, so we can only grow a bit [in grape production],” he recorded.

Léoube: production today

Total: 350,000 bottles
Rosé: approx. 268,000 bottles
Reds: approx. 50,000 bottles (9,000 bottles for Collector)
White: approx. 17,000 bottles
Sparkling: approx. 15,000 bottles