ULTIMATE PROVENCE

Monaco-based billionaire Mark Dixon has built a Provençal wine and hospitality empire second to none...

- JARED PAUL STERN

The elegant dark-blue Airbus helicopters sporting the name Monacair are the first indication; they arrive bearing well-heeled visitors from Monte Carlo, in for lunch, a wine tasting, or an overnight stay at the historic, extraordinary Château de Berne. Part of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux association, the 2,400-acre property in the heart of Provence is home to an iconic wine estate with vineyards and organic farmland, a five-star hotel, two swimming pools, award-winning spa, a Michelin-starred restaurant, a bistro, culinary school, and now a castle and private villas that are sure to bring global acclaim.

Only an hour’s drive hour from Saint-Tropez — and a mere 20-minute helicopter ride from Monaco — Château de Berne’s foundations can be traced to the 12th century, while parts of the main buildings in use today date to the 15th century. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian monks settled on the estate and developed a vineyard, which was replanted in the 18th century by the noble Estellon family, and which now produces Berne’s famous wines.

These days it is the domain of a more modern aristocratic type: Mark Dixon, the self-made, British-born billionaire car collector and founder of the International Workplace Group, who lives in Monaco but frequently takes up residence in Château de Berne’s private castle on weekends and holidays. Acquired by Dixon in 2007, Berne was the first Provencal property in his portfolio, now united under the MDCV (Mark Dixon Châteaux Vignobles) Group marque that he established in 2018; and it remains the gold standard for vinotourism in the area — as well as being one of the very few winemaking estates worldwide to encompass so many exclusive offerings under one roof.