A rose-pink winery tucked between olive trees and broom bushes: in Les Lauves, the three Arlon sisters Audrey, Léonie and Justine have been making some of the freshest rosés in the whole region since 2013.
Les Lauves is a hamlet of La Cadière-d'Azur, named after the large limestone slabs that jut out of the landscape here. Right in the middle stands a pink house that pops out of the green surroundings like a marshmallow on a meadow: the Domaine des Trois Filles. The Arlon family's nine hectares sit on a slope overlooking the Mediterranean. As they ripen, the grapes watch the sailing boats in the bay of Les Lecques, and the site protects them so well that neither fog nor frost nor the mistral can touch them.
For many years, Madame and Monsieur Arlon grew vines in the Bandol appellation and sold the harvest to the cooperative. Their three daughters grew up to the rhythm of the grape harvest. Audrey, the eldest, studied agriculture, worked in Chile and Bordeaux and became cellar master at an estate in Bandol. It was she who suggested to her parents that they start their own winery. In 2013 the new estate was painted pink, christened «Trois Filles» and the first harvest vinified. Léonie, by then a food specialist, joined a year later. And in the logo, the dot on the i of «Filles» becomes a flower.
«Our vines are like our daughters: we give them love, and they give it back», says the Arlon family. That is not a marketing line, it is a working instruction. Everything in the vineyard is done by hand, from debudding to harvest. Picking happens early in the morning so the grapes suffer no temperature shock, berry by berry, into small crates. However young the estate may be: when it comes to care, it easily keeps up with the region's long-established houses.
Location & Soils
Soils Les Lauves literally means: the big limestone slabs. The vines grow on clay-limestone soils (argilo-calcaire) on slopes that store water well and release warmth slowly.
Grapes
Vines Mourvèdre leads the way, as it should in Bandol: the AOP Bandol rosé is 60% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache and 15% Cinsault. The Côtes de Provence rosé adds Carignan to the blend.
Climate
Climate A Mediterranean microclimate on a sheltered slope: the nearby sea softens the heat, while the exposure keeps fog, frost and the mistral away from the grapes.
The Arlons built their cellar into the slope of the vineyard, straight into the rock. It stays at a constant, cool 14 to 16 degrees, and the grapes reach it without unnecessary handling: they follow gravity and drop straight into the press. The rosé is pressed directly and fermented at low temperature to preserve the aromas, then aged in concrete tanks. And because the house is pink, so is the cellar: lacquered in plum red and pink.
The estate sits right on the edge of the AOC Bandol. Which means: Bandol-level quality at a noticeably more relaxed price. The Bandol rosé itself comes from hillside plots within the appellation and stands out for a freshness you would not expect in the warm Provence. It has been a long time since we drank a rosé that tastes so clearly of sea and fruit at once.
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