Bandol Rouge 2022

This red Bandol is signed by La Bastide Blanche, the estate of the Bronzo family, established for three generations in the north of the Bandol appellation, in Provence. The vines, 32 years old on average, grow on a clay-limestone terroir dotted with gravelly patches, under a Mediterranean climate that gives Mourvèdre, the appellation’s emblematic grape variety, the warmth it needs for its slow ripening.

The grapes, 81% Mourvèdre complemented by Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan, are harvested by hand and then fully destemmed. The maceration lasts 25 days and malolactic fermentation takes place in large oak vats (foudres). The wine is then aged for 18 months in foudres of 13 to 80 hectolitres, then bottled without filtration or fining.

This wine reveals notes of black plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, liquorice, liquorice pastilles, cocoa, tapenade and Kampot pepper. The nose reveals the southern character of the vintage, between black fruit, spices and cocoa. The palate, spherical, combines dense, suave tannins with lovely acidity, before a finish of black fruit, black olives and pepper.

The cradle of wine culture in Western Europe, France owes its first vines to the Greeks of Phocaea, who settled around Marseille some twenty-six centuries ago, before the Romans spread viticulture along the Rhône and the Garonne and as far as Champagne. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian and Benedictine monks cleared the slopes of Burgundy and patiently mapped out the climats, laying the foundations of the notion of terroir. The 19th century brought the glory of the classifications, then the disaster of phylloxera, which wiped out the vineyards before they were rebuilt on American rootstocks; the creation of the appellations d'origine contrôlée in the 1930s then set the rules that would inspire the whole world. Today, France vies every year with Italy and Spain for first place in world production by volume and remains the ultimate benchmark of the Old World, as much for its age-worthy wines as for its winemaking models. Vineyards cover almost the entire country, from the cool north of Champagne and Alsace to the Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and Provence, by way of the oceanic climates of Bordeaux, the Loire and the South-West, continental Burgundy, the steep slopes of the northern Rhône and the high-altitude valleys of Savoie and the Jura. This mosaic of soils – limestone, schist, gravel or rounded pebbles – explains the extraordinary diversity of styles. As for grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate Bordeaux and produce structured reds, Pinot Noir is the signature of Burgundian finesse, Syrah of the depth of the Rhône, while Grenache, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Mourvèdre cover every register, from easy-drinking wines to wines for long ageing. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Riesling and Viognier offer expressions ranging from lively and mineral to unctuous, all the way to great sweet wines. A land of benchmarks and constant discoveries, France remains the compass for wine lovers the world over.