His grandfather invented UHU, his father bought a Château in Provence.
Peter Fischer turned it into one of the most exciting wine estates in the South of France.
30 hectares at 400 metres altitude, surrounded by 170 hectares of forest. At night, Alpine air slides down into the valley – a microclimate unique in Provence. Organic since 1990, biodynamic since 2011.
From Baden via Davis to Jouques
Peter Fischer comes from Baden-Baden, studied oenology at Davis in California and then looked for a place where he could realise his ideas. In 1985 he found it:
Château Revelette, 30 kilometres north of Aix-en-Provence, at the foot of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, the mountain Cézanne painted countless times.
What he found: an old villa with centuries-old plane trees, a stream providing shade, peacocks on the roof. And a terroir everyone considered impossible. Too high, too cold, too far north for Provence.
Alpine Nights in Provence
At
330 to 400 metres, Revelette lies on the north-westernmost edge of the Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence. At night cold air slides down from the Alps and fills the valley. The result: wide differences between day and night, slow ripening, wines with freshness and tension.
The
Syrah from 1984, the first vines Fischer found here, still makes him enthuse today. Then there are Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault. Among the whites, a
single-varietal Chardonnay dominates: unusual in Provence, but at home here for decades.
Concrete Eggs and Nettle Spray
Fischer was one of the first to use
concrete eggs, the egg-shaped tanks that are now found everywhere. Alongside them are amphorae, foudres and aromatically neutral concrete tanks. Certified organic for more than 30 years, biodynamic since 2011: spraying according to the lunar calendar with a mixture of nettles and eggshells.
The
Le Grand Blanc shows what Chardonnay can do when given time: partly aged in small oak, the rest in stainless steel for freshness and polish. The
Le Grand Rouge from Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet also needs patience: spicy, racy, Mediterranean.
PUR: Wine without Compromise
The
PUR series is Fischer's most radical statement: minimal sulphur (below 1 mg/l), no filtration, no stabilisation. Precise, slender, reductive: natural wine without folklore. Small wonder the wines have found their way onto the lists of Troisgros and Paul Bocuse.
While
Château de Pibarnon in southern Bandol relies on limestone and Mourvèdre, Revelette in the north shows that Provence can do cool, too. Hugo and Clara, the next generation, now work alongside him: 40 years of knowledge, passed on.
