The name refers to the land being used by shepherds for grazing sheep during the transhumance from La Brigue. Until 1997 the motto “Cu bèu d’aquèu vin de la vida noun vè plus la fin” (who drinks the wine of life no longer sees the end).
The pastures used by sheep had become covered in pine forest and needed to be cleared and the vineyard created in 1984.
Jean Noël Cambillau was born in 1931 in La Ferrière, in Oran in Algeria. He came to France after Algerian independence and moved to the Gers where he worked in agriculture.
In 1980 he came to Nice with his wife and two children and, after much effort managed to buy a vineyard with 6ha on the slopes of the Colline de Saquier. Coming from a family of winemakers (he was the 4th generation) it had always been an ambition to own a vineyard. He terraced the hillsides and planted vines and installed a cellar
In 1997 he renamed his wine ‘Cuvée Ludovic Cambillau’ after his father who had died in 1990.
Sadly, in 1990 Jean Noël Cambillau was killed in an accident.
The vineyard continued to be managed by Mme Louise Cambillau and Vincent Dauby, a friend of his son.
Leave a Reply