Since 2013, His Royal Highness Prince Félix of Luxembourg and his wife Princess Claire have been running Château Les Crostes in Provence, including the 55 hectares of vineyards that go with it. The château also serves as a first-class bed & breakfast. Last Monday, 15 April, the Prince and his distribution partners from Caves Bernard-Massard presented the new vintages at the Brasserie Schuman. We were there and had a few words with the Prince himself.
First of all, congratulations on the new offspring! How is little Balthazar?
Prince Félix: Thank you very much! Yes, he’s doing well. He’s now the third in the family, so you slowly realise what you’re doing. My wife and I are a well-rehearsed team.
How was the past year for viticulture and what can you tell us about the new vintages at Château les Crostes?
Prince Félix: 2023 was a tough but eventually good year. There was hail, mildew and little rainfall. But thanks to the high temperatures, we achieved good quality; the grapes were very high in sugar, which is why this vintage ended up with a high alcohol density and a very fruity character.
Do you have a personal favourite among the different varieties?
Prince Félix: A lot of people ask me that… I think it depends on what I’m doing or eating at the time. The Cuvée Amalia is clearly the best choice for an aperitif or to enjoy by the pool. With red meat in hot weather, the Cuvée Liam is an excellent choice as a rosé. However, I personally enjoy the Cuvée Amalia rosé and the Cuvée Liam red most often.
Now you have named your cuvées after your first two children, Amalia and Liam. When can we expect the Cuvée Balthazar?
Prince Félix: The Cuvée Balthazar will be available next year as a rosé and later also as a red wine. As the 12-litre bottles are also called Balthazar, I’m planning to release a limited edition Cuvée Numérotée for Balthazar’s birth year 2024!
Antoine Clasen, the director of Bernard-Massard, was also present at the event and provided us with a quick statement:
Bernard Massard is the exclusive distributor of Château les Crostes in Luxembourg. How did this partnership come about and how do you rate this long-standing collaboration?
Antoine Clasen: Prince Félix and I have known each other for many years. My brother was a classmate of his, so we often played together as children. As far as our exclusive collaboration is concerned, there was initially another distribution partner in the country until Félix asked me personally a few years ago whether we would like to take over the import as Bernard-Massard completely. Of course, I immediately said yes, because the product is good and so is the market. We achieved very good sales straight away in the first year, which is why we are delighted to be able to continue to offer the Château les Crostes vintages exclusively.
About the range:
Château les Crostes offers a varied selection of wines that combine traditional Provence styles with modern techniques. The white wines, around 5% of the regional production, consist of a unique blend of Semillon, Rolle and Ugni Blanc, characterised by freshness and balance. The Cuvée Amalia 2023 is a prime example of this, perfect with grilled fish or goat’s cheese.
The red wines, a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, are characterised by ripe, fruity aromas with spicy notes, ideal with red meat or game. The rosé wines made from Cinsault and Grenache offer a pale pink colour with notes of red fruit and citrus; the Cuvée Liam 2023 is particularly noteworthy with its structured taste.
The wines of Château les Crostes are distributed in Luxembourg exclusively by Caves Bernard-Massard.
Further information: chateau-les-crostes.com
Photos: © KACHEN/Marc Dostert