A Roman soldier, Bebianus, may have been the first owner here, given the land for his retirement as was customary. Later, like so many vineyards, it became part of a monastery and has since changed hands many times. The key owner was Alain Roux, who saw the potential and noted how close some of the land was to Châteauneuf. He set about replanting, taking cuttings from great estates – grenache from Rayas, syrah from Chave and mourvèdre from Tempier – and made great wine.
Order by midday on Friday, 7th June
New, ambitious owners followed but likely without the necessary capital, which suddenly became plentiful thanks to Russian owners. A gleaming new, gravity-fed cellar was installed with a new technical director, Benoit Pontenier, in charge. Faced with sanctions, the estate changed hands once again, with Benoit taking ownership. This period of instability came after the frosts of 2021 which froze most of that year’s crop. It gave Benoit time to reflect on what Bébian should be, bearing in mind the growing problems of heat and drought.
Benoit set about changing the way wines are made and aged, reducing the amount of extraction and using larger oak casks with less new wood, keen to let fruit express itself. In his opinion, syrah is no longer right for the Languedoc and indeed, others have said the same. So, he has taken it out of the grand vin, instead using a mix of 80% grenache and 20% cinsault.
