Maison de Famille since 1998

Ten years after laying the foundation stone for Fermes de Marie, Jocelyne and Jean-Louis Sibuet were keen to create another place of their own, but in the South of France. Jean-Louis, who had spent his early childhood on a farm, had in mind a place with links to the vine and the land. Both were immediately attracted by a large 18th-century family bastide. This large, elegant country house is an invitation to stroll: in the shade of its walls or fragrant gardens, or in the charming villages and markets around.

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The DNA of Old Stone

Set in 6 hectares of vineyards, the bastide, purchased in 1998, underwent a year of renovation before opening. Of course, if everything seems to have always been there, with that refined elegance and charm of imperfection that they love so much, they've completely rethought it, always following the same thread, that of pleasure and the art of living, which is tinged according to the location, as Nicolas Sibuet confides. In 1998, Jean-Louis and "his boys" from Megève set about renovating and redistributing the space, as well as building the two swimming pools, one of which is a former water retention basin. To do this, they salvaged hundreds of stones from the restanques. The paving in the courtyard of the bastide and around the gardens comes from stones collected in the vineyards. As for Jocelyne, she draws her inspiration from natural materials, white Ménerbes stone, terracotta floor tiles, beautiful tiling, soft colors and the romantic feel of this grand residence. An object enthusiast, she hunts for old Provençal, Baroque and 18th-century furniture with the patina of time at markets in and around the South of France, notably at nearby Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and draws inspiration from the collections of the Museon Arlaten, in Arles, dedicated to Provence, to find that old, bohemian touch, elegant and country without ever being too stuffy or bourgeois. As when she decided to cover the baroque sofas and armchairs in the grand salon with denim, the origin of which is Nîmes twill, hence its name.

In 1999, La Bastide de Marie opened. The following year, it was the turn of the cellar, built in six months by Jean-Louis with an architect friend, the same one with whom he designed Les Fermes. I knew nothing about wine or vines, so I learned everything on the job," he explains. Like with the cellar, which we designed with everything we needed inside. I set off with my head held high. Luckily, he met Arnaud Bressy, the cellar master who was just finishing his studies at the time, and worked with him to design a beautiful vineyard to produce his wine. As soon as a plot of land became available, he bought it and planted or replanted vines.

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La Passion de la Terre

Nicolas Sibuet was 17 at the time, and came to harvest with his friends. Marie was 13. Both know the area inside out, having grown up and lived there. It's an estate that's close to the family's heart, and everyone loves to spend time here to recharge their batteries. And as Nicolas shares his father's passion for botany and working with the land, he is further developing the plant side of the estate with the creation of a farm, which has just been completed. A contemporary concrete farm building, planted and buried, to be as neutral as possible in the landscape of this estate located in the Luberon Regional Nature Park. "What's the point of being in nature if you can't sublimate it," he says. His idea? To create a living, connected estate, on a human scale, where nature is fully experienced. So, in addition to the farm, a large permaculture garden has been planted, and is growing every year. Here, under the unchanging Provencal sun, vines, lavender, beehives, truffle oaks and olive trees, fig and pomegranate trees and aromatic and medicinal plants grow, to be enjoyed at chef François Martin's table, as infusions and herbal teas, or in the Pure Altitude spa treatments. In other words, a garden of Eden to be experienced and tasted, as from next year in the cellar's agricultural restaurant, in addition to wine tastings and the oenotheque, where you can discover a winegrower's cuisine, composed in perfect harmony with the wines that will be worked into reductions, juices and jellies, as well as the estate's market garden produce. The Sibuet family is currently working on the creation of two new exceptional villas, to be enjoyed with a light spirit and dedicated, made-to-measure service, as well as a charming stone hamlet offering some 15 new rooms, which will make you realize that they have always been there, on this estate in the heart of nature and Provence.

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