Provence

Provence makes nine bottles of rosé in ten, and rosé’s boom since 2010 brought LVMH, Chanel and a string of famous owners to buy estates. The official land price in Côtes de Provence is a modest €40,000 a hectare, but estates with a brand sell for far more than their vines, and Bandol, where Mourvèdre makes long-lived reds on terraces above the sea, stands at €125,000.

Economics in brief

SAFER gives Côtes de Provence €40,000 a hectare (€35,000–45,000) and Bandol €125,000 (€110,000–150,000) for 2024. The real prices paid for whole estates have been far higher: rosé is a brand business, and buyers pay for a name, a château and a view as much as for the vineyard. Rosé is also quick money by wine standards, sold within a year of the harvest with no barrels to buy or stock to age, which makes the cash flow unusually simple for a fine-wine region.