Domaine Aspras

Domaine Aspras: Côtes de Provence - Correns, Var

Aspras: the honest wines of Provence.

History and origins of the estate

The story of Domaine Aspras begins in 1961, when Gottfried Latz (1907–1971) and Lisa Latz (1920–2002) acquired this land at Correns. From the outset, their ambition went beyond winemaking: they wanted their vineyard to be inseparable from an environmental and human commitment. Preserving biodiversity, fighting inequality, building a fairer economy, these convictions were in place before the first bottle was ever filled.

Today, Michaël Latz leads the estate. He frames his mission in three parts: to transmit what he inherited, the spiritual dimension. To maintain the financial balance of a self-sustaining estate, navigating the growing challenges of the climate, the daily reality. And to place Aspras among the producers of the most honest wines in Provence, the driving ambition.

The terroir and its unique character

Domaine Aspras stretches along the Argens valley, at the northernmost limit of the Côtes de Provence appellation. That geographical position is anything but incidental: it is a fringe where Mediterranean warmth softens, where summer nights retain their freshness, and where the white limestone hills that surround the estate define its terroir.

The word "Aspras" itself comes from the Latin asper-aspera, rocky ground, thorns, roughness. These white-earthed limestone hills gave the estate its name before it was ever a vineyard. A terroir that does not come easily but rewards in return with a mineral precision and a depth of character that softer soils cannot reproduce.

Working the vines and our commitments

Every parcel of the estate, les Aspras, Cannebière, la plaine, Broves and Petit Saint-Estève, has been farmed organically since 1995. All are nourished and amended with biodynamic composts. This is not a recent conversion: it is the way things have always been done, rooted in the family's convictions long before organic certification became a communication tool.

It is Robert Nourrisson, the estate's Maître de Chai, who embodies this philosophy of soil and vine day by day. In his own words: "I am in the vineyard. That is where the work begins, respecting ripe, balanced grapes, a good leaf canopy, careful training, biodynamic soil work. Feeding, watering, watching, observing, that is my craft." The moment he loves most ? The instant he decides to harvest, that precise, ephemeral balance between agriculture and oenology, a firm and final decision from which the wine's entire future flows.

The estate has chosen to cap its yield at 35 hl/ha for the Côtes de Provence, an economically demanding commitment, accepted as a non-negotiable condition for producing wines that have something genuine to say.

Grape varieties and appellation

Domaine Aspras produces under the AOC Côtes de Provence appellation, one of France's benchmark rosé designations. Its position at the northern limit of the appellation gives the wines a natural freshness and aromatic precision that sets them apart from the warmer, flatter vineyards further south.

The range is built around three main cuvées, Licorne, Les Trois Frères and À Lisa, each available as a rosé, white and red, with the addition of the sparkling Si cuvée and the 9 Grappes white. Magnum and Jéroboam formats are also available for exceptional occasions and larger gatherings.

The wine style and the cuvées

The wines of Aspras carry the imprint of their limestone terroir and their rigorous organic farming. They have that precise, taut, mineral quality, an expressive nose, a fresh palate, a persistent finish, that comes from soil that asks something of its vines. The range covers every colour: elegant, fruity rosés for meals on the terrace, original whites to surprise at aperitif hour, character reds for long evenings and generous tables.

What you will only find at Aspras

Organic since 1995, before it was fashionable. Domaine Aspras has been certified organic for nearly thirty years. At a time when organic farming was a militant conviction rather than a marketing tool, the Latz family had already made that choice. Every parcel, every cuvée, without exception.

An organic and socially engaged estate. Since acquiring the domain in 1961, the Latz family has insisted that its wine activity be inseparable from a commitment to preserving biodiversity, fighting inequality and building a more equitable economy. This is not a label, it is the estate's DNA.

35 hl/ha, quality over volume. At a time when yields frequently exceed 50 hl/ha across the Côtes de Provence, Aspras has chosen to cap at 35. An economically costly decision, but one that guarantees the concentration and aromatic precision that over-cropped vines simply cannot deliver.

The name says it all. Asper-aspera in Latin, rocky ground, thorns, roughness. These white-earthed limestone hills gave the estate its name before it was ever planted with vines. A terroir that resists, that demands, and that generously rewards those who truly commit to it.

Frequently asked questions about Domaine Aspras