Domaine La Blaque

The estate is near Manosque, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in an unusual spot for French viticulture: between the Alps and the Mediterranean, with plots between 420 and 600 metres. These are among the highest vineyards in France.

The appellation it works in is tiny. Pierrevert is some 450 hectares in all, so the estate's fifty-five are more than a tenth of everything planted under that name.

Recognition came slowly. The Coteaux de Pierrevert cooperative was set up in 1925; in 1959 the area was granted VDQS status, the intermediate rung France used before awarding an AOC; and not until 1 July 1998 did the decree arrive that made it an appellation of origin. Seventy-three years from cooperative to AOC.

It is run by Gilles and Laurence Delsuc, both qualified oenologists from the Dijon faculty. Fifty-five hectares on limestone and clay, certified organic since 2014.