Grape Guide
Tibouren
RedTibouren is a black-skinned Mediterranean variety grown chiefly in the Var, on the gulf near Saint-Tropez, where it makes pale, savoury rosé. It also grows in western Liguria, where the very same vine is sold as Rossese di Dolceacqua. Plantings are small, and the wines are herbal, earthy and distinctive.
Key Characteristics
- Black-skinned variety identical to Liguria's Rossese di Dolceacqua
- Very early budding, mid-season ripening
- Pruned short; prone to millerandage and stem desiccation
- Roughly 400 to 450 ha in France, almost all in the Var
- Principal variety for Côtes de Provence rosé and red
Typical Flavors
Major Regions
Côtes de Provence (Var) · Saint-Tropez peninsula · Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC (Liguria) · Rossese Riviera Ligure di Ponente · Coteaux Varois en Provence
Also Known As
Antiboulen (Var) · Tiboulen (Var) · Rossese (Liguria) · Rossese di Dolceacqua (Liguria) · Rossese Nericcio (Liguria) · Rossese di Ventimiglia (Liguria)
Overview
Tibouren is a minor but distinctive black grape that belongs to the Provençal coast and, under the name Rossese di Dolceacqua, to the Ligurian hills just across the Italian border. In France it is nearly always used for rosé, either on its own or as the lead partner in a blend with Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah or Mourvèdre, and it gives wines that smell of dried herbs and scrubland and finish with a gentle savoury grip. In Liguria the same vine yields a translucent, light-bodied red with a fresh cherry character, made in a few terraced valleys behind Ventimiglia. Plantings of both versions are small, and the variety survives largely through a handful of committed estates that value its local identity over its volume.
Origins & History
Tibouren is traditionally said to have reached the Saint-Tropez area of the Var in the late eighteenth century, brought by a naval captain named Antiboul; the synonym Antiboulen, used in the Var, is explained as a reference to him. The idea that it came from Antibes has no support, since the vine has never been recorded there, and suggested links with Greece or the Near East have not been borne out by DNA work. For a long time Tibouren and the Ligurian Rossese di Dolceacqua were treated as separate vines. Microsatellite profiling published around 2009 showed they are the same variety, and the Italian variety database now lists Tibouren as a synonym of Rossese di Dolceacqua. Local tradition in Dolceacqua holds that the vine was brought from France by soldiers of the Doria family and then spread along the Riviera; the French account points the other way, and which country it began in remains unresolved. No parentage has been established for it. It should not be confused with Rossese di Campochiesa, a distinct red variety grown around Albenga and Campochiesa in the province of Savona, which may be the grape behind some wines labelled Rossese Riviera Ligure di Ponente, since the rules do not say which Rossese is meant.
Viticultural Characteristics
Tibouren buds very early, which leaves it exposed to spring frost, and it ripens in the middle of the season. It is pruned short to control the crop. Millerandage (uneven berry set) and desiccation of the bunch stems are its main weaknesses; it is otherwise not especially prone to pests and disease, although mites can be a problem. Ungrafted vines more than a century old can still be found around Saint-Tropez, Ramatuelle, Gassin and Grimaud, the traditional heart of its range. In Liguria it is grown on steep terraces at up to about 600 metres in the Nervia and Verbone valleys behind Ventimiglia, where altitude and sea breezes keep the wines lively.
Wine Styles & Characteristics
Rosé is Tibouren's main style in Provence. Pressed lightly, it gives pale, dry wines with a herbal, garrigue-like nose, earthy depth and moderate acidity; it blends well with Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, and the grape is a named principal variety for Côtes de Provence rosé and red. A traditional approach, associated with Clos Cibonne, ages the wine for a year or more in large old foudres that are not topped up, so that a veil of yeast forms on the surface. This produces a savoury, nutty rosé with notes of beeswax and stewed peach that can age for years. Red Tibouren, usually blended with Syrah and Grenache, is full-bodied and ageworthy but rare. In Liguria, Rossese di Dolceacqua is a lively, aromatic red with a sour-cherry freshness and light structure, made as a varietal wine, with a Superiore tier held back longer before release.