"Belonging to the Matton-Farnet family for 80 years, Château Minuty is a family run wine estate located in southern France’s Provence region, overlooking the Saint-Tropez peninsula.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
1930 - The early years - already the owner of the Domaine de Châteauneuf in Vidauban, Gabriel Farnet acquired Château Minuty in 1936. The Estate and its small chapel were originally built under Napolean III, the latter lending its name “De l’Oratoire” to the wine that was for years the Estate’s flagship product. Many of the most prestigious hotels on the Côte d’Azur still stock this curved bottle. Gabriel Farnet began by completely replanting the Estate, bringing Château Minuty back to its former glory and splendor after the Second World War. In 1955 Château Minuty was one of 23 estates to be certified as a “Cru Classé” or “vintage class” of Côtes de Provence wines.
1960 - Minuty's continued rise on the Côte d’Azur - Monique Farnet, Gabriel’s daughter, and her husband Etienne Matton, who was President of the Cru Classé board for many years, replanted traditional and local grape varietals like Tibouren, Rolle and Grenache, keeping yields low in their quest for producing wines of the highest quality. Thanks to the painstaking work carried out in the vineyards, they assured Château Minuty’s reputation and presence in the finest restaurants on the French Riviera.
1990 - The modern era - today Jean-Etienne and François Matton have taken over Minuty, pushing the estate even further forward. They have left their mark by continuing to restructure the vineyard, replacing the Carignan and Ungi Blanc varietals with Grenache and Rolle and by streamlining the winery equipment to create a modern, state of the art facility. Under their leadership, the reputation of Minuty’s wines has expanded greatly throughout France and around the world with a presence in over 75 countries. In 2012, major renovations were undertaken in order to improve the Estate’s visitor experience. Surrounding themselves with renowned architects and interior designers, upgrades were made to the tasting cellar and a second barrel-housing cellar as well as a meeting room and a tasting room for professionals were built.
SAVOIR-FAIRE
Château Minuty is one of the foremost winemakers in the Côtes de Provence region, producing high quality rosé wines. The combination of an historical savoir-faire and advanced technology ensures the wine’s continued quality.
Minuty wines begin with the vines in a protected environment - Minuty puts a great importance on enriching its soil through the use of natural manure, rich in organic matter, originating from local goats and sheep. Working the soil allows the micro-organisms present in the earth to breathe, enables better penetration of rain water and facilitates root submersion from the early years of growth, allowing the necessary nutrients and water from the sub-soil to be procured. The vines are harvested in an ecologically sustainable environment without weed killers or pesticides. A Protected Woodland Area surrounds the vineyards, guaranteeing a unique and high quality ecosystem.
Château Minuty is one of the last estates in the Côtes de Provence region whose harvest is entirely hand picked, ensuring that the grapes arrive at the cellars in perfect condition, thus limiting the extraction of plant matter in the must.
In an ever-greater concern for precision and quality improvement, our vinification is becoming more and more parcel based. Combining the expression of our terroir with the know-how of our winery is our ongoing goal.
SAINT-TROPEZ PENINSULA
On the Saint-Tropez peninsula, the Château Minuty vineyard puts southern grape varietals on centre stage. A remarkable domain on the breathtaking Saint-Tropez peninsula overlooking the iconic Bay of St Tropez, the Château Minuty winery is remarkably well situated on the hillsides of the villages of Gassin and Ramatuelle and the vines benefit from a temperate, maritime climate.
Southern grape varietals in the limelight. Minuty’s great rosés are produced mainly from Grenache, known as the “king of rosés”, and Tibouren, the emblematic varietal of the Saint-Tropez peninsula, used to keep local character in the wines. The white wines are produced mainly from Rolle, which has been grown for many generations in the Var. As for the reds, they are produced from Syrah and Mourvèdre, the grape varietal that flourishes in the schist soils found along the Mediterranean coast." Minuty