The new Petrus has arrived
Antoine Petrus, who spent a large part of his career in Paris, has recently stepped out of the ranks, migrated south and humbly embarked on new missions that link the land to the table.
Leaving Aix-en-Provence, take the départementale 14 to the hamlet of Couteron. The vegetation thickens, the pine forest takes shape, the road becomes winding and sometimes, at the end of a bend, offers a view of Mont Sainte-Victoire. A final bend. On the left is Château La Coste, a winery, art and architecture center,gastronomy and hotel business, owned by the discreet Patrick McKillen, nicknamed "Paddy", and his sister Mara.
As you enter the estate, the first vines to be certified organic since 2013 greet you before unveiling a masterly work of art. This is just one of 40 works of art scattered across the vineyard slopes and integrated into various areas of the estate. An open-air contemporary art center that can be discovered by following the Art and Architecture trail. On the right, the winery built in 2008 by architect Jean Nouvel fades into the background to make way for a typical Provencal village with its bastide house, shady squares, boutiques, bars and restaurants. on the terrace of the Auberge La Coste, Antoine Petrus waits, a glass of Grand Vin Rosé 2023 at the ready, attentive to the actions of the wait staff:" Service, I have it in me, it's visceral, I can't help but watch how everyone behaves, staff and customer alike. "
Royal Palace
" I came here to make wine. "A logical extension for this spokesman for the vineyards, currently sommelier for Le Petit Ballon (online wines by subscription), whose career and awards, at 40 years of age, leave one breathless. For experience, Paul Bocuse in Lyon, El Bulli in Spain, Le Crillon, Lasserre, Le Clarence, Taillevent in Paris, Maisons et Terroirs de Provence in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Sometimes sommelier, restaurant manager, consultant or general manager, when he's not writing for the press and publishing houses.his medals include the 2007 Ruinart Trophy for France's Best Young Sommelier, Meilleur ouvrier de France sommellerie 2011, Meilleur ouvrier de France maître d'hôtel, service et arts de la table 2018 and, most recently, President of the Meilleur ouvrier de France class in place of Gérald Louis Canfailla. " My career path is like Château La Coste, it has evolved over time. I couldn't see myself remaining at the heart of the sacrosanct triptych of sommellerie, catering and gastronomy. I needed to set myself goals, to encounter difficulties, because if you stay in your comfort zone serving in a restaurant, you regress. "
He arrives here with a great deal of humility, and is not here to fill a vacant post or to take someone else's place, but to support the estate and its people. It's not a career plan either, but a desire to maintain appetite, wonder and healthy curiosity. The meeting with Paddy and Mara was never planned, it happened ten years ago, maybe fifteen. Nobody remembers. A chance meeting, a discussion, and a question that keeps coming up: " Can we imagine less technical cuvées, closer to the fruit? "Antoine, with his recent proximity to the south, the Rhone Valley, Provence and Corsica, is convinced of this, but you have to drink it to believe it. As time goes by, he vinifies at Sartène in Corsica, a region which, depending on the terroir, can sometimes be confronted with high alcohol levels. The wine is matured for a long time to refine its texture. He returns to Château La Coste with a few bottles of wine under his arm for Paddy and Mara to taste: " This is what we can do. "The response is almost immediate: " Do that. "
julie Vandal
Imagining new wines
With his hands in his pockets, Antoine Petrus surveys the vineyards nestled between 280 and 400 meters above sea level, sometimes misty in the morning due to the presence of the Durance River. Here, rolle, the Provençal name for vermentino, there grenache, sauvignon blanc. Further afield, syrah, cabernet-sauvignon, chardonnay and cinsault on clay-limestone or basalt soils, for a production dominated by rosés (60%). White and red wines follow in equal order: " For red wines, we need to move towards a less dense, less concentrated, less tannic wine. This will involve ageing to bring out the more delicate qualities of the grapes. "
Antoine is aware that southern wines, mainly reds, may be less appealing than they used to be. We probably need to invent a different style. The same goes for rosés: "On the one hand, we need to imagine fruit rosés, and on the other, spicy, structured rosés, suitable for ageing, like the ones we 've been producing for a long time. s, suitable for ageing, as some winemakers know how to do in Bandol, or matured in new wood barrels without seeking out the aromas of wood. "Wines, whatever the color, that are more invigorating and refreshing, with acidity, because acidity is the basis of balance and reveals bitterness: " The aim, as with art according to Paddy and Mara, is for the wines to reach as many people as possible. "His work doesn't just begin with the 2025 harvest: he's already looking at wines in stock, such as this 2021 white, which is still a little austere, and which he will develop by playing with materials, stainless steel, wood or both.to achieve this, his playground will be completed by a new cellar that will allow him to continue maturing the wines, for wine is the school of wisdom, of time.
A glass for the road
In a world where kindness is in short supply, Antoine appreciated the fact that Paddy and Mara let him pursue all his activities: consulting, his job as sommelier at Le Petit Ballon, his involvement with the Meilleurs ouvriers de France, and this more personal project, Petrus, a glass for the general public: " I wanted to do something with my hands. "While he remembers his first wine, an ordinary Bordeaux, dry and bitter, tasted with his family in the Loiret region, he doesn't remember the glass: " It must not have been up to scratch. "
A few years later, he was offered his first glasses, which have stood the test of time, but have broken over the course of tastings. These were Schott Zwiesel glasses, of which only one remains. For its time and his age, barely twenty, it was the Rolls Royce of glass: "Over the years, all the glassmakers began to produce sublime glasses, working on the design of the drinking vessel, the chimney, the gob and the stem. I got involved with Zwiesel to try and recapture the feeling that holding a glass had given me. "Together, they came up with a very slender drinking vessel, with a very flared base, a glass that will be produced by machine and mouth-blown, and available by the end of 2025. It's a safe bet that the first examples of these Petrus will be given to Paddy and Mara, so that they can taste the wines of their estate in the creation of the one that helps and accompanies them.
Château La Coste
- Where? 2750, route de la Cride, 13610 Le-Puy-Sainte-Réparade
- Tel. 04 42 61 89 98
- www.chateau-la-coste.com
