Our History

The earliest evidence of human habitation at Saint-Ferréol dates from the 1st century B.C. (burial sites, clay jars, amphoras, rhyolite grindstone, floor made of broken tile). These archaeological evidences prove that people lived there, working the land and making wine at this time. On these lands stood a chapel dedicated to Saint Ferréol who died a martyr in the third century at Vienne (Isère) in Eastern France. The name Saint Ferréol was given in the 17th Century.

Pontevès Family

During the middle ages this lands belong to the Pontevès family. Between the 11th and 13th centuries a castle mound with tower and yard was built overhanging the Riou valley. This fortification seems to have been in connection with the chapel Notre Dame des Salettes whose ruins are located three hundred meters below, near the current buildings. A dovetail screw press counterweight, which was found nearby, may date from this period. At the eastern end of the property and near an ancient cemetery was another chapel, dedicated to the Roman centurion Saint Ferréol, who died a martyr in Vienna (Isère) in the 3rd century. The archives mention farm buildings located near these two chapels at the end of the 15th century. The whole will be called Saint Ferréol in the 17th century.

Pierre Maurel, a
rich banker

In the middle of the XVIIth Century, Pierre Maurel bought the land from Louis de Pontevès. The new owner, a rich financier from Aix en Provence, was nicknamed the King Croesus of Provence. He built a mansion whose architecture was patterned on the trendy Aix countryside’houses. When he died in 1672, Pierre Maurel left behind eighteen children (he had married three times) but also many debts, because of considerable work undertaken in Provence (among them the oldest hotel in Aix en Provence cours Mirabeau, the renovation of the castle of Pontevès). One of his nephews inherited from the estate.

Lyon of Saint
Ferréol family

In 1720 Joseph Lyon purchased Saint-Ferréol, when the land and buildings were in poor condition. He undertook major restoration works. His grandson, Treasurer of the States of Provence, continued them by building around the small courtyard in 1750 the central part of the farmhouse. It improves land drainage by capturing the source further upstream. The development is organized around the farm of the Mansion and that of Saint Ferréol. At his death, during the Revolution, the property passed to his daughter, Julie, widow of Alexandre Perrache d'Ampus. Julie remarries and leaves Saint Ferréol to her two children: Alphonse François Perrache d'Ampus and Fanny Héraud.

Lyle Taulane family

Through marriage, the property was transferred to the family of Lyle Taulane. Jules de Lyle Taulane used his agricultural skills there, in particular by increasing the irrigable area. Within a century the Domain grew to its full size (185 acres of arable land, 494 acres of woodland). New buildings increase the storage capacity of crops and animal housing and allow the grouping of activity on the current site. In the years 1875-1880 the vineyard was destroyed by phylloxera, an insect pest accidentally imported from the United States, which ravaged a large proportion of the vines in Europe.

De Jerphanion family

However, from 1899 onwards, the vineyard was gradually replanted, thanks to Jean de Jerphanion, the grandson of Jules de Lyle Taulane. His sister Marie managed the wine estate until her death in 1932. At the end of the Second World War, their nephew, Edouard de Jerphanion, took over and increased the vineyard area to 111 acres. En 1979, Guillaume de Jerphanion replaced his uncle. He and his wife Armelle learned the skills of the peasants `{`...`}` and the wine growers. Thanks to the improvement of vine-planting and the “protected designation of origin” label obtained by the wines produced on the Coteaux Varois area, they were able to make very high quality wines and diversify the sales forms. In 1992, the first bottling took place. And a few years later Armelle opened a wine-cellar for direct sales of wine to the public. At the same time, part of the buildings is renovated to allow for hosting.

Thomas de Jerphanion

After starting his carrer as management controller, Thomas de Jerphanion took over from his parents, who retired at the end of 2018 and manages now Saint Ferréol.