Château Léoube: Sustainable Winemaking at Its Best

Hidden away in the greenery of the Provence region, nestled in a bay by the Mediterranean Sea, you’ll find the rather captivating Château Léoube. This spectacular estate, spanning 560 hectares along 4km of coastline, was taken over by Carole and Anthony Bamford in 1997, who had long dreamed of producing quality, authentic Provencal wines (particularly rosé) in the heart of this picturesque region.

For Carole and Antony, it was love at first sight when they first laid eyes on the estate. Enchanted by its breath-taking surroundings and highly desirable location in one of France’s most famous wine-producing areas, they bought Château Léoube and undertook a lengthy restoration of the vineyard and olive garden. The goal was to live sustainably while pursuing their passion for winemaking, so they transformed the entire estate into a completely organic one.

Sustainability is at the centre of everything they do, just like they had done at their Cotswolds farm in the UK before relocating to France. Over the years, Carole and Anthony have worked tirelessly to meet their objectives of bringing their natural approach to Léoube, working with the rhythm of the seasons to produce wines that are in line with nature. For over 20 years they have worked tirelessly to strengthen the biodiversity of their estate, using only natural and non-toxic treatments so that eventually the vineyard would be completely free from any previously-used chemicals and pesticides. As a result, the estate was able to achieve official organic certification in 2010.

Since then, they have taken their desire further. Their sustainable practices go far beyond just the grape growing. Every aspect of the winemaking process has been thought through to ensure the impact on the environment is at an absolute minimum. A zero-waste policy has been implemented to support this, meaning everything is reused or recycled. Vine prunings are ground down and added back to the soil to add extra nutrients and to avoid the need to destroy the waste. On top of this, all packaging produced for their wine is recyclable, to eliminate waste production even after the wine has been enjoyed.

With 75% of the estate being wild land, Carol and Anthony are keen to encourage all animals, especially endangered species, to inhabit the estate. To achieve this, they are planting hundreds of new trees this year to help further increase the biodiversity of the estate and encourage wildlife. This great initiative highlights the lengths these guys are going to in order to really support the environment and reduce their carbon footprint.

To date, Château Léoube holds three environmental certifications, and has won countless awards for their organic wines and winemaking practices over the years, including runner-up of last year’s The Drinks Business Green Awards Biodiversity Award (narrowly missing out to a producer with a dedicated butterfly garden by their vineyard!). The standards are extremely high and the competition is fierce, yet Château Léoube remains firmly at the forefront of biodiversity and sustainability in the world of winemaking.

The wine produced by Château Léoube is nothing short of exceptional. Their love for the environment is mirrored in their love for wine. We all know Provence is famous for incredible rosé, and Château Léoube are producing one of the best in the region.

Love by Léoube Organic Côtes de Provence is a stunning dry rosé that’s produced from a blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Winemaker Romain Ott, who works at Château Léoube, has crafted a vibrant, aromatic and well-balanced rosé that’s fruity and light. You really don’t just need to take our word for it with this one – with a staggering seven awards and counting under its belt, this wine is really at the top of its game when it comes to quintessential Provencal rosé. What’s the secret? Well, the organic and biodynamic principles followed at Château Léoube mean the soil is full of natural nutrients and free from chemicals, allowing the vines to thrive in all their glory.

Perfect for all seasons, but on another level when served chilled on a warm summer’s day. With alluring notes of exotic fruits on the nose, followed by red fruits, subtle spices and minerality on the palate, its a characterful rosé that has a pureness about it from the fact its been made with minimal intervention. Great with fish, shellfish, spicy exotic cuisine and light salads, we can’t recommend this one highly enough for summer drinking.

So, whether its your next garden party, a beach picnic, or you just fancy a glass of something elegant and refreshing, this is the perfect Provence rosé for the job – with the added bonus of knowing you are supporting sustainable winemakers too. What better excuse could you need to crack open a bottle?