Vineyards in Provence are a pound a penny (or should that be a euro a cent?), but not all are created equal. Many factors influence the produce of said vineyards, including the soil, proximity to the sea, elevation, and historical land usage. You might say, then, that Château Sainte Marguerite was born lucky.

For the Fayard family, it all started in the ’70s, when Brigitte and Jean-Pierre moved to the region to find work in the manufacturing industry and discovered Château Sainte Marguerite instead, subsequently turning their hands to wine production. But the story goes back much further: this area, which achieved cru classé status in 1955, has reportedly been used for cultivating grapevines since the Roman age. Facing the Mediterranean, its soil is composed of clay and schist (dense rocks layered with minerals), and it is frequently assaulted by the famously forceful mistral wind. This stiff breeze has the happy and surprising effect of helping to maintain the vineyard’s organic status: the stronger the winds, the less hospitable the vines are to pests, and the less likely they are to develop mould, so there is no need for harsh chemicals to treat either.

Today, the vineyard boasts a 21-year organic status (longer, actually, but that’s the date it was certified as such) and has an entirely vegan production process, which means that through plenty of testing and experimentation, the team has replaced the egg white solution used in wine’s filtration stage with an equally effective chickpea mix. This is a Château with future-thinking at its heart.

This approach isn’t just limited to its winemaking, either. In 2020, the company built a groundbreaking new hub that defies the traditional Provençal vineyard visitor experience. The Fayards’ son Olivier, who is now in charge of the business alongside his siblings, explains that as an architecture fanatic, he wanted to eschew the rustic castle setting in favour of something striking and modern. This new building has three facades in rust, polished metal and copper to echo red, white and rosé wines. Each is punctuated with holes that recall the process of fermentation and let sunshine into the minimalist interior. Inside, there are no wines on display – a conscious choice that, contrary to the worries of Papa Fayard, increased sales at the hub exponentially, even during Covid. Olivier believes that offering visitors a glass and focusing on the moments of joy and connection through wine is a better way to do business than simply peddling bottles. This truly beautiful setting indicates what the future of French wine tourism might look like. And most recently, the business has been acquired by one of the industry’s most significant companies, Pernod Ricard – a sure sign that the vineyard has a promising path ahead.

And what about the wine itself? Well, the Château’s new ones have been developed with the future of rosé in mind. Combining grenache, cinsault and rolle grape varieties, the 2021 “Fantastique” rosé has notes of peach, florals and citrus, and far from the sweet and dark rosés of old, this wine could almost pass for a white in both flavour and colour.

The drink’s popularity has grown exponentially in recent years, and Olivier believes it is a result of the globalisation of food culture. There is a rosé for everything, he says – whether it’s a Thai curry, a pizza, or fresh fish and vegetables – and in the coming years we should expect to see a whole lot more of it.

chateausaintemarguerite.com