TERREBRUNE, THE TERROIR AND NOTHING BUT THE TERROIR.

And just like that, the holidays are already over and the back-to-school season, with its parade of worries, is rearing its head…

No matter, it's the same every year — and as far as we're concerned, the batteries are well and truly recharged!

To kick things off in style, we're shining a light on an estate we were lucky enough to visit this summer and that we absolutely LOVE, the domaine de TERREBRUNE.

35 hectares located in the BANDOL vineyard, and more precisely on the Trias massif, with its exceptional clay-limestone terroir that gives these wines all their character.

This estate, founded in 1963 by Georges Delille, is now run by his son Reynald Delille and Jean d'Arthuys, with the same guiding principle: respect for nature, no chemicals, and as little intervention as possible — allowing this unique Bandol terroir to express itself fully in the wines.

But let's come back to the title of our piece: what exactly is terroir? The word is notoriously difficult to translate into other languages. It's not simply a soil or a subsoil — it's a whole: "It refers to a region (territory) from which a typical agricultural product (crop, livestock) originates, born of the unique combination of cultural factors (techniques and know-how) and natural ones (geology, pedology, climate, exposure, microbiology).

In short, if this land makes it possible to produce remarkable wines, it is thanks to those who work it, cultivate it, and improve it — "simply" by respecting it.

Now let's talk a little about the wines, because that's what we're here for…

The estate has always operated the same way since its founding, resisting the trend toward single-vineyard wines — they make one red, one rosé and one white.

Let's start with the red. Here the reigning grape is mourvèdre — a notoriously temperamental variety that this estate has managed to tame with rare mastery. The red is 85% mourvèdre, with 15% grenache and 5% cinsault.

Worth noting too is one of Terrebrune's great strengths: holding back its wines for several years before releasing them — the red in particular, sometimes up to 5 years — so that what reaches the market is genuinely ready to drink. This is extremely rare, and particularly commendable.

Their reds are marked by great elegance and finesse, while still offering fine structure and well-integrated tannins.

On the pairing side, the red will go beautifully with a fine aged côte de boeuf with grenailles & girolles and a reduced jus — on the HABILE September menu.

On to the rosé. We stay with an assemblage of 60% mourvèdre, 20% grenache and 20% cinsault. The result is a rosé with real character and fruit, yet one that holds up beautifully at the table — with fish, white meat or even lightly spiced octopus.

Finally, the white is a subtle blend of regional varieties: clairette, ugni blanc, bourboulenc, rolle and marsanne. A wine with notes of exotic fruit and white flowers, coloured by touches of fresh butter and citrus. On the palate it delivers a lovely sense of salinity with noble bitterness, great freshness fed by the limestone terroir and, naturally, a seductive mineral thread — all wrapped in contours of exquisite roundness.

This wine will pair superbly with the mushrooms currently on the menu at HABILE.

Thanks to the richness of their terroir, all these wines have exceptional ageing potential, which allows us to cellar them while still being happy to offer them to you right now for immediate enjoyment.

In short, we are very proud to work with this human-scale estate whose red, white and rosé wines bring out the best in the authentic, seasonal cooking of our chef Eric Fontanini.

So this year, no back-to-school blues! Come by HABILE for a good dose of good cheer, authenticity and seasonality. Your choice: the dining room or the chef's table for a tasting menu put together directly with Eric.

We are open CONTINUOUSLY from 11am to 11pm Tuesday to Saturday at 16 rue de Lancry, Paris 10.