Appellation: Bandol.
Cuvée: Red.
Colour: Red.
Grapes: Mourvèdre 50-60%, Grenache 20-30%, Cinsault 10%, Carrignan 10%.
About: A very accessible, digestible, charming and elegant Bandol, with a classic core of mineral, leather and spicy fruit.
Vines
Location, parcels: From almost all of the 12 parcels surrounding the Domaine.
Size ha: from the older vines of the Domaine’s 17ha.
Age: planted between 1960 and 1980.
Soils: clay-limestone soils.
Exposition: essentially south, on very gentle slopes.
Altitude m: 150.
Training: on wire.
Farming and philosophy: organic for healthy, living soils, in harmony with environment.
Average yield hl/ha: 39.
Climate: maritime Mediterranean, benefitting from some humidity and sea-breezes.
Winemaking
The fruit is hand harvested into small boxes. The harvest is carefully sorted to remove any less than perfect fruit. It’s around 90% de-stemmed, crushed into concrete tank, with all varieties to co-ferment, according to the progress of the harvest, using native yeasts and temperatures rising naturally to around 30ºC. There’s a minimal extraction with a usually daily brief pumping over. Around 2 weeks maceration. The wine’s aged 24 months in old foudres then 6 months in bottle before release. It’s bottled un-filtered and un-fined.
Vintage Notes 2016
A challenging year, dry and hot, low-yielding, small berries. Rich wines.
Yield hl/ha: 23.
Harvested: mid September.
Bottles produced: 15,000.
Date bottled: 2018-04.
Alcohol %: 14.76.
SO2 Total: 29.
Vintage Notes 2018
This year’s blend is Mourvèdre 50%, Grenache Noir 45%.
A relatively wet spring, causing some stress to manage mildew, was followed by a hot, dry summer. The style is even more juicy and digestible than usual with an attractive mineral, vegetal quality to all the wines.
Yield hl/ha: 25.
Harvested: mid September.
Bottles produced: 12,000.
Date bottled: 2020-05.
Alcohol %: 14.5.
SO2 Total: .
Tasting: (2020-05) beautiful ;very gentle, not vegetal but relaxed, with rich black cherry, berry fruit, mineral, spicy, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, black olive. Refreshing, lively, with sappy, vegetal tannins.