If you visit one estate during your stay at Villa Mauricette, make it this one. Clos Cibonne sits on the hillside above Le Pradet, barely 20 minutes from your terrace, overlooking the Bay of Toulon with a serenity that belies its four centuries of history. Founded in 1630, it is one of the last domaines in France to cultivate Tibouren — a rare, ancient Mediterranean grape that produces a rosé unlike anything you’ve tasted before.

The wine is aged in century-old wooden tuns, a tradition that gives the rosé its signature depth: saline, subtle, and hauntingly mineral, with a character that speaks of this particular hillside and no other. This is not the pale, Instagram-ready Provence rosé you’ll find at every beach bar. This is something altogether more serious, more soulful, and more rooted.

A Grape That Almost Disappeared

Tibouren is one of Provence’s oldest grape varieties, once widespread along the coast but nearly lost in the 20th century to more commercially viable cultivars. Clos Cibonne is its last great champion — a guardian of a grape that thrives in the maritime climate of the Var coast, drawing salinity from the sea air and minerality from the schist soil.

The result is a rosé with real personality: pale copper in colour, with aromas of wild herbs, dried flowers, and a saline finish that lingers like a sea breeze. The red, from the same Tibouren vines, is equally distinctive — light, aromatic, and utterly Mediterranean.

The Tasting

Visits are by appointment: Tuesday and Thursday at 4pm, €15 per person, minimum four guests. The tasting takes place in the estate’s cellar, among the ancient wooden tuns that have shaped the wine’s character for generations. The experience is intimate, unhurried, and genuinely educational — the kind of visit where you learn something you didn’t know you wanted to know.

The estate itself is beautifully kept: stone buildings, olive trees, and views across the bay that make you want to stay long after the last glass.

Practical Information

Location: Le Pradet, overlooking the Bay of Toulon

Getting there: 20 minutes from Villa Mauricette. One of the closest estates to the villa.

Tastings: Tuesday & Thursday at 4pm, €15/person, min. 4 guests. Book ahead.

Wines: Rosé (Tibouren), Red (Tibouren)

Appellation: Côtes de Provence

Website: clos-cibonne.fr

Mauricette’s Tip

This is the estate we recommend to every guest. After your tasting, drive five minutes to Almanarre Beach for a sunset swim — the Tibouren’s saline finish will make even more sense with salt on your skin. For a deeper dive into the Var’s wine country, see our full guide to wine tasting near Toulon.

The best of Provence wine, 20 minutes from your door — Villa Mauricette puts you at the heart of the Var’s most authentic estates.