A story...

Mas de la Dame has been producing wine and olive oil for four generations. Caroline Missoffe and Anne Poniatowski, Today, the founder's great-granddaughters, women of passion and heart, manage this estate which covers three hundred hectares, including 58 hectares of vines and 28 hectares of olive trees.

Located at the foot of the mythical village of Les Baux-de-Provence, on the southern slopes of the Alpilles, sheltered from the mountain barrier, the wines benefit from a unique terroir and a very specific microclimate. The vines grow in a harmonious balance with the surrounding garrigue, on a highly draining soil composed of stony scree of clay-limestone origin, resulting from the disintegration of the rock specific to this part of the Alpilles. The persistent mistral wind in this region favors good health and the exchange of aromas.

Quoted in the predictions of Nostradamus, painted by Van Gogh, evoked by Simone de Beauvoir, Mas de la Dame has been producing wine and olive oil for several centuries...

Vines and olive trees have grown side by side in the Vallée des Baux since antiquity, as witnessed by the reconstruction of daily life from that era, made possible by the remains of Glanum, the ancient city discovered by archaeologists at St Rémy de Provence.

The story of the mas begins one sunny morning in 1903. While visiting the region, Auguste Faye, a Burgundy merchant, fell in love with this old farmhouse nestled in the vineyards on the slopes of the white rocks.

The vineyard covers 58 hectares in a single plot, of which around 50 are currently in production. Some plots have just been planted and are still too young to produce appellation wines. Vines that have been pulled out are only planted after five or six years of fallow. This is the time needed to eliminate viruses and sanitize the land.

The vines are managed without insecticides or weedkillers. Copper and sulfur levels are limited. The soil is cultivated with scratches and enriched with organic fertilizers. Vinification is certified organic by Ecocert.

The main grape varieties are Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Carignan for the reds and rosés, and Sémillon, Clairette, Rolle, Grenache blanc and Roussane for the whites. All grapes are harvested by hand, in skips or crates for the grand cuvées. For the latter, the grapes are sorted and vinified separately.

Legend has it that Hercules, after completing one of his labors, discovered the olive tree. He brought back a branch and gave it to the goddess Athena to offer to the city of Athens.

Since 1997, Vallée des Baux has been producing PDO fennel-flavored green olives, black olives and a world-renowned olive oil. Its distinctive character is the result of a blend of several varieties:

• Grossane,
• la Salonenque,
• la Picholine,
• la Verdale
• l'Aglandau.

From these 5 varieties grown on some 20 hectares, Mas de la Dame produces 3 olive oils: Noire, Verte and Grossane.