Domaine de Trévallon: The Provence Red That Left Its Appellation

A cabernet-syrah blend from the Alpilles, made by a family who chose their vineyard over their label.

There are not many estates whose most famous decision was to give up an appellation. Domaine de Trévallon is one. Its red, a near-equal blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah grown on the limestone of the Alpilles, has been one of southern France's great wines since the late 1970s, and it carries the humble words IGP Alpilles on its label by choice.

A vineyard cut from rock

Eloi Dürrbach planted Trévallon in the 1970s on the northern slopes of the Alpilles, near Saint-Étienne-du-Grès. The soils are thin, the limestone close to the surface, and the mistral dries the vines after every rain. It is hard country for a vine, which is why it produces such concentrated fruit.

Dürrbach chose cabernet sauvignon for structure and syrah for perfume. He saw in them the two sides of the Alpilles: the austerity of the rock and the warmth of Provence. The vineyard has been farmed organically from the beginning.

The day the rules changed

When the Les Baux-de-Provence appellation was formalised in the 1990s, its rules capped cabernet sauvignon at a minority share of the blend. Trévallon's identity was the blend. Rather than replant, the Dürrbach family left the appellation and bottled as a regional wine.

Collectors understood immediately. The wine did not change; only the words on the label did. Today Trévallon is the clearest proof that a great site and a clear vision matter more than a classification.

A label worth keeping

The labels are drawn by René Dürrbach, Eloi's father, a sculptor and painter who worked alongside Picasso. Each vintage carries his hand. It is one of the quiet pleasures of a Trévallon vertical: the bottles look like a series, because they are one.

Today the estate is led by Eloi's daughter, Ostiane Dürrbach, who has kept the blend, the farming and the patience exactly as they were.

How Trévallon ages

Young Trévallon is firm. The cabernet gives it tannin and dark fruit; the syrah adds violets, olive and garrigue. It is not a wine to open a year after release.

With eight to ten years in bottle, it relaxes. The fruit turns to plum and leather, the herbs become more savoury, and the structure that seemed severe starts to feel like poise. The best vintages hold for twenty years and more.

That makes the run we hold unusually useful:

• 2014, 2015 and 2016 are the vintages to open now. They have the first signs of maturity and a long road ahead.
• 2018 sits in between. Decant it for two hours.
• 2019, 2020 and 2021 are for the cellar. Give them until the end of the decade.

Opening a vertical

The best way to understand Trévallon is three vintages side by side: 2014, 2016 and 2019. You see the same vineyard at three stages of life, from the tension of youth to the softness of age. For a gathering of eight, a jeroboam of 2010 does the same job in one bottle, and it pours as well as anything on a long summer table.

Serve at 16–17°C. Lamb with rosemary, daube provençale and hard sheep's cheese are the natural partners.

From our cellar

We hold Trévallon from 2010 to 2021, in bottles and jeroboams, stored in our bonded cellar in Luxembourg. Each bottle is photographed and tagged, and with your Digital Cellar you can always check your wines, wherever you are.

Trévallon is rarely talked about outside France. That is part of its charm, and the best reason to know it now.

FAQ

Why is Trévallon labelled IGP and not AOC?

Its cabernet-syrah blend exceeds the cabernet limit of the Les Baux-de-Provence appellation, so the estate chose to keep the blend and bottle as IGP Alpilles.

When should I drink Trévallon?

Usually from eight to ten years after the vintage; great years keep for two decades.

What does Trévallon taste like?

Dark fruit, olive, violets and Provence herbs, with firm tannins that soften with age.