An 800-Year-Old French Estate Founded by Knights Debuts Its First Organic Wine
The Commanderie de Peyrassol, a Provençal estate founded by the Knights Templar in the beginning of the 13th century, launched its inaugural organic certified vintage in the United States this spring. The winery’s entire range from the 2022 vintage, including rosé, white, and red wine, is certified by the French authority Ecocert, reinforcing the Commanderie’s commitment to quality, terroir, and biodiversity. First established in 1204 in the foothills of the Massif de Maures, 10 miles inland between Cannes and Marseille, the 2,100-acre estate produced its first recorded grape harvest in 1256.
Selected for its perceived spiritual energy and remote location, the Commanderie was built to shelter Crusaders on their way to and from the Holy Land. After French King Phillip IV disbanded the Knights Templar in 1307 due to their amassed power and wealth, the estate was transferred to the Knights of Malta. They continued the winemaking tradition until the French Revolution. The Commanderie became state property in 1789 and was acquired by the Rigord family one year later.
The first wines bottled under the Commanderie de Peyrassol label were sold in 1977 by the Rigord family. The current owner, Philippe Austruy, purchased the estate in 2001; his nephew, Alban Cacaret, is general manager of the estate, which has 235 acres under vine. Upon his arrival in 2002, Cacaret oversaw an extensive renovation process that overhauled everything from the vineyard to the winery and hospitality center. He was the primary force behind the conversion to organic viticulture.
Among the new releases are Les Clos Peyrassol 2022 Rosé AOP Côtes de Provence and Les Clos Peyrassol 2022 Blanc AOP Côtes de Provence. The just-released Les Clos Peyrassol 2021 Red AOP Côtes de Provence was produced under organic principles but is not certified organic. The organic certified 2022 red, a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, will be released next year.
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The Les Clos Peyrassol 2022 Rosé, a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Tibouren, Syrah, and Vermentino, is pale pink in color and has a bouquet of Valencia orange, apricot, and honeysuckle. It is full textured, with delicate flavors of lemon, white peach, and a hint of jasmine bathed in brilliant acidity that tapers off to a saline-kissed finish.
“What we’ve discovered through this process is that being organic further enhances our wines’ typicity and defining characteristics,” Cacaret says. “We really strive to imbue our wines with elegance, energy, and a sense of place. I will say that upon tasting the 2022 vintage, the aromatic complexity of the wines is truly remarkable, and I look forward to seeing how our wines evolve in a few years’ time.” Cacaret and Austruy took their time transitioning their vines to 100 percent organic practices. They also purchase fruit from a handful of outside grape growers, many of whom were already farming organically. For those that weren’t, Cacaret brought them through the process while the Commanderie’s vineyards went through full organic conversion. “Working organically and pursuing organic certification wasn’t necessarily our goal but was rather a natural byproduct of our desire to respect the incredible biodiversity at Peyrassol,” Austruy says. “We are very fortunate to have our vineyards completely surrounded, and therefore protected, by a dense oak and pine forest, and it’s this unique positioning that allowed us to seriously pursue organic certification, a process that took five years to complete.”
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