Château Val Joanis is a winery located in the

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

, just west of the town of

Pertuis Pertuis (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in Vaucluse, a Departments of France, department in the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, south of the Luberon. Pertuis has existed since at least 981, and a castle was first b ...

. The wines it produces are classified AOC Côtes du Luberon. The gardens of the winery are listed by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the French Ministry of Culture as one of the

Remarkable Gardens of France The Remarkable Gardens of France is intended to be a list and description, by region, of the more than three hundred gardens classified as ''"Jardins remarquables"'' by the Ministry of Culture (France), Ministry of Culture and the Comi ...

History

The Chateau is built on the site of an ancient Roman villa, some of whose stones today decorate the garden. The building is decorated with the coat of arms of Jean de Joanis, the secretary of the King

Louis III of Naples Louis III (25 September 1403 – 12 November 1434) was a claimant to the Kingdom of Naples from 1417 to 1426, as well as count of Provence, Forcalquier, Piedmont, and Maine and duke of Anjou from 1417 to 1434. As the heir designate to the throne ...

. The estate was occupied by the Arnaud family, who kept it until the 17th century. The estate was given the status of a fief in 1754. The house and estate fell into ruins during the 19th century. It was purchased in 1977 by Jean-Louis Chancel. Between 1979 and 1999, he planted 186 hectares of vines. He also commissioned the architect Jean-Jacques Pichoux to build a modern winery building, inspired by the architectural style of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

The gardens

The gardens were begun in 1978 by the owner, Cécile Chancel, with the help of landscape designer Tobie Loup de Viane. The garden was finished in its present form in 1990 and became a Remarkable Garden of France in 2005.Marie-Françoise Valéry, Jardins de France en fleurs The garden is built on three terraces cut into a hillside overlooking the vineyards. *The upper terrace is a kitchen garden and flower garden. *The middle terrace is devoted to flowers and ornamental plants. *The lower terrace is devoted to fruit trees, and to platane trees over twenty years of age brought from

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

. The three terraces are linked by a pergola, or tunnel, covered with climbing roses and trumpet vines, which runs from the top to the bottom of the garden.

Wines

The winery produces seven wines under the label AOC ''Côtes du Luberon'', and also uses the ''

indication géographique protégée Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

'' (IGP) label ''Vins de Pays de Vaucluse'' The AOC wines of ''Château de Val Joanis'' are made with

Grenache Grenache (; ) or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry condi ...

and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

grapes for the red wines and rosés and

Grenache blanc Grenache blanc (; also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol ...

Roussanne Roussanne () is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...

, and

Ugni blanc Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

for the whites. The wine with the label IGP is the ''Réserve Les Agasses'', a white wine made with 100%

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu AOC, Condrieu in the Rhone Valley (wine), Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', Third Edition, p. 754, Oxford Univers ...

grapes. File:AOC Luberon Château Val Joanis.jpg, Château de Val Joanis, Réserve les Marises, 2010 Image:Vins Val Joanis1.JPG, Image:Vins Val Joanis2.JPG, Image:Vins Val Joanis3.JPG,

References

Bibliography

*Marie-Françoise Valéry, Jardins de France en fleurs, Taschen, Paris, 2008. ().

External links

Site of the Jardins du Chateau Val Joanis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jardins du Chateau Val Joanis Val Joanis Wineries of France