Villa Minna

History of Domaine Villa Minna 

The history of Domaine Villa Minna begins in 1929, when grandfather Alexandre Luc acquired the family property and brought his harvest to the village cooperative cellar. After his death, the vineyard was left abandoned, until in 1987 his grandson Jean-Paul Luc decided to put down roots and take over the estate with his Finnish wife, Minna. The couple patiently shaped an artisan estate and released their very first wine, a Minna rouge, with the 1999 vintage.

The very name of the estate carries history: the term Villa recalls the importance of wine estates in Roman times, the vineyard being served by the ancient Via Aurelia, today the road to Pélissanne. From 2014, their youngest daughter Meryl joined her parents, soon supported by her husband Arno in 2016, and since 2020 the new generation has gradually taken the reins. A singular and poetic detail: the labels, redesigned with each vintage, feature drawings by the family's children, forming a kind of puzzle to be pieced together over the years.

Terroirs and Vines of Domaine Villa Minna 

The 15-hectare vineyard is nestled in the heart of the Aix-en-Provence countryside, in the commune of Saint-Cannat, between hills and aromatic garrigue. Its great originality lies in its distribution across two distinct slopes: a north-facing hillside, cooler, which preserves the acidity and freshness of the grapes, and south-facing plots that bring maturity and generosity. The soil, predominantly composed of fossil-rich limestone rocks, gives the wines a beautiful minerality and a saline character.

The grape varieties are diverse and high quality. For the reds, there are Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre and Grenache, while the historic varieties Caladoc and Marselan were uprooted after 2017. For the whites, Vermentino (Rolle), Roussanne, Marsanne, Clairette, Carignan and Ugni Blanc make up the blends. Since 2020, the estate has been restructuring its vineyard to develop the proportion of whites, replanting Clairette and Vermentino in particular. The vines are worked by plough, with no herbicides or chemical products, and intentionally very low yields.

Winemaking at Domaine Villa Minna 

Winemaking is carried out with the utmost respect for the grape, from manual harvests, with the bunches selected and transported in crates to avoid any crushing. The work is done in small stainless steel tanks (30, 40 and 50 hectolitres), with a proportion in barrels for the whites, and exclusively using indigenous yeasts present on the berries, with no additives whatsoever. The estate's philosophy refuses standardisation: each vintage is the faithful expression of its year, just as a great chef adapts his cooking to the seasons.

Ageing takes place grape variety by grape variety in an underground cellar, sheltered from temperature variations. The whites age for approximately 30% in barrels and 70% in small stainless steel tanks, on fine lees with regular stirring, while the reds are aged exclusively in barrels (never new, to preserve the aromatic character of the terroir), also on fine lees. Blending takes place after twelve months for the whites and twenty-four months for the reds. The wines, often unfiltered, are only released when they are ready to drink.

The cuvées of Domaine Villa Minna 

Minna Rouge: the estate's great signature cuvée, in IGP Bouches-du-Rhône, a Syrah-dominant blend complemented by Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre, aged at length in barrel and released approximately five years after the harvest. Deep, complex and structured, with notes of dark fruits, garrigue and spices, this is a noble, age-worthy wine that can flourish for more than a decade.

Minna Blanc: the great signature white wine, a blend of Mediterranean grape varieties (Vermentino, Roussanne, Marsanne) aged partly in barrel and partly in tank, on fine lees. Full-bodied and intense, it unfolds aromas of white fruits, flowers, honey and butter, in an expressive, delicate and highly complex whole. A gastronomic white, built for ageing.

Villa Minna Rouge: a more accessible cuvée, in AOP Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, a blend based on Cabernet Sauvignon and a majority of Grenache. The garnet robe with violet highlights heralds a bouquet of dark fruits, cherry, spices and leather, followed by a full-bodied palate with silky tannins. Generous and harmonious, it pairs well with red meats, grilled dishes and cheeses.

Villa Minna Blanc: a fresh and easy-drinking white wine from a blend of Carignan, Clairette and Ugni Blanc. It charms with its delicate freshness and rich texture, enveloping the palate with subtle aromas of brioche, flowers and citrus, with a hint of salinity that elevates the finish. An elegant balance between vivacity and roundness, perfect as an aperitif or paired with fish.