History
In a few short years Pibarnon has become a leading estate in Bandol. It was in 1977 that Comte and Comtesse Henri de Saint Victor came from Paris to realise a dream. The early days were difficult. On the 5 Hectares of land, terraces had to be prepared from the hard rocky soil. Heavy rains during the first winter saw the total destruction of their first year's work. Undaunted they started again. Now there is a total of 48 Hectares spread out, in small parcels, over the surrounding hills.
It has been said that Pibarnon has a secret ! How else could the property have won 7 gold medals in a row at the Paris Agricultural Fair during the 1980's ? No doubt several factors contribute to the "secret" but most important must be the high content limestone in the ancient triassic soil. It is also worth noting that the vineyards are the highest in the appellation, with fine sunny exposures to ripen the grapes and cooling evening breezes to preserve fine aromatic complexity. This is a classic case of "terroir" driving quality.
Comte de Saint Victor is assisted with the vineyard management and wine making by his enthusiastic son Eric. His wife, Catherine, redesigned and rebuilt the old Provencal house with such impeccable taste that numerous magazines have been to photograph and report on her achievements. The family commitment to hard work is also part of the "secret". Notwithstanding, after only 15 short years, Pibarnon is to be found on the tables of the leading restaurants of France, enjoying a prestige and notoriety that usually takes more than a lifetime to accomplish.
In 1978, after visiting many French vineyards, Catherine and Henri de Saint Victor stopped in Bandol in the secret hope of acquiring a wine-producing estate. While lunching in a little restaurant by the harbour, they discovered the 1975 Château Pibarnon Red and were immediately struck by the quality of that great wine. They noted down the information and, without wasting another minute, Henri and Catherine set off to inspect the property.
They were received by Modesto Ramognino's successor who happened to mention that he was finding life very hard at Pibarnon, perhaps too hard. The cellar and the house obtained their water supplies from wells and had no running water, the soil was very stony and the environment very harsh. However, the beauty of the site, at an altitude of 300 metres overlooking the scrubland of Provence and the Mediterranean, and the wine they had sampled, persuaded Catherine and Henri to utter the words that were to thrust them into a new life: "We're interested in buying”.
Thus, they acquired Pibarnon, an uninterrupted 16 hectares of land, suspended between earth and sky, only 3.5 hectares of which had been planted with vines.
Henri de Saint Victor was not afraid of starting from scratch. He was used to registering patents and having to start all over again with each discovery ...
He knew nothing about vinification and wine-growing, but he did know how to taste wines.
Having no agricultural labourers didn't bother him. Henri became a tractor driver and looked after his vines himself. He dived into his passion with the fire of a pioneer, bulldozed the land into terraces, raising tons of dust, and immediately planted 6 hectares of vines, achieving a total of 9.5 hectares. Henri handled the wine-making process himself and marketed the wines with his wife Catherine to local restaurants and cellarmen, forming a clientele. The house, which was uncomfortable and too big, and the cellar, which was too small, obliged Catherine and Henri to rethink the whole project. Nothing seemed to stop them. They pulled the house down and rebuilt a more modern, better equipped home, a perfect replica of an 18th century Provençal farmhouse. The wine store was completely remodelled and a modern vat system was installed. The task was daunting but Catherine
and Henri did it on their own, like mediaeval builders. It was not until two years later than they employed a young head grower and, four years after that, chose a chief warehouseman.
In 1980, the moment came to present their first wines at the great wine competition of the day: the Paris General Agricultural Show.
Their success was immediate.
It was the 1978 vintage which made the grand slam:
- GOLD medal for red and rosé wines
- SILVER medal for white wine
Their first attempt turned out to be a masterstroke. For six years on end, until the 1984 vintage, Pibarnon Red won the GOLD medal. That had never happened before in the history of the competition.
From the outset, and throughout the years that followed, the couple formed close links with certain journalists, great wine waiters, restaurant owners and also, eventually, a few importers.
All of them were prepared to bet that the venture would be successful, were keen to show these Mouvèdre wines to their customers - and even to force them to try them.
During the 1980s and until the early 1990s, the property gradually increased in size. From 9.5 hectares it grew to15 hectares, then 20 hectares. Some tenanted farms on the hill also enabled the vineyard to expand. As the vinestocks matured their production became ever finer. Even with the extensions, Catherine and Henri were not producing enough wine. The price of success is that demand outpaces supply. It is true that this enabled them to choose their retailers and importers with care, to avoid mass distribution, but one cannot be the originator of a great estate without wanting to satisfy the demand ... New vineyards and an amphitheatre of vines soon came into being!
Eric de Saint Victor, who had completed his studies and taken several courses in the Bordeaux region, joined his parents on the estate.
He played an active part in the grape harvest and worked meticulously with his father on the 1989 vintage whose Red the Slow Food Guide was to classify the following year as one of the 150 best wines in the world.