Clos Cibonne: Toulon's Secret Tibouren Estate
Wine Estates
Clos Cibonne at Le Pradet, the cult Tibouren rosé made just minutes from Toulon on the French Riviera. The story and how to visit.
20mn from Villa Mauricette
Tibouren Grape
Rosé
Historic Estate
Bay Views
Closest to Villa
If you visit one estate during your stay, make it this one. Clos Cibonne sits on the hillside above Le Pradet, barely twenty minutes from the villa, looking out over the Bay of Toulon with a calm that belies four centuries of history. Founded in 1630, it is one of the last domaines in France still growing Tibouren: a rare, ancient Mediterranean grape that makes a rosé unlike any other, aged in century-old wooden tuns that give it a saline, mineral depth you won't find in the pale, beach-bar pink of the supermarket shelf. This is rosé with a memory.
A grape that almost vanished
Tibouren is one of Provence's oldest varieties, once common along this coast and nearly lost in the 20th century to easier, more commercial grapes. Clos Cibonne is its last great champion, coaxing salinity from the sea air and minerality from the schist soil into a wine of real character: pale copper, scented with wild herbs and dried flowers, finishing like a breath of sea breeze. The red, from the same vines, is just as singular, light and aromatic and thoroughly Mediterranean.
Tasting at the estate
The welcome is unhurried, and the setting above the bay does half the talking. Come for the wine, stay for the view.
Practical information
Location: Le Pradet, overlooking the Bay of Toulon. One of the closest estates to the villa.
Getting there: 20 minutes from Villa Mauricette.
Tastings: Tuesday and Thursday at 4pm, €15 per person, minimum 4 guests. Book ahead.
Wines: Tibouren rosé and red, Côtes de Provence.
Website: clos-cibonne.fr
Mauricette's Tip
This is the estate we send every guest to. After your tasting, drive five minutes down to Almanarre beach for a sunset swim; the Tibouren's saline finish makes even more sense with salt on your skin. For the wider picture, see our guide to wine tasting around Toulon.
The best of Provence wine sits twenty minutes from your door. See the house and book direct.
Explore nearby Magaud & Méjean coves · Château La Tour de l'Évêque · Wine tasting around Toulon
