L’ETRANGLE-CHIEN
The Mourvèdre grape is the raison-d’etre of the Bandol wine and is commonly known in Europe as a Spanish variety of grape. Once used throughout the Mediterranean, however, it likely dates to Phoenician times and it is still present in the winemaking of the Lebanese Bekka Valley. It is a grape known for producing full bodied wines and at its heart, has ferocious tannins, so much so, that in Australia it is generally referred to as the ‘dog-strangler’.
Best of bandol
The Amphitheatre
Nestled between the towering Sainte Baume massif to the north and overlooking the fishing villages and beaches of the warm Mediterranean shores to the south, the splendid appellation terroir of Bandol sits in a natural amphitheatre and covers eight towns in just eight square kilometres. This tiny dot on the map of coastal France is home to a more than 50 vineyards with vines planted across stone terraces over about 1,500 acres.
It’s pocket-sized yet picturesque setting amid pine trees and olive groves is a distinct draw for wine lovers including the Foil Cutter tasters! Added to this Provençal mix is the distinct make-up of the Bandol AOC which determines that all the wines must be strictly organically produced and grapes hand-picked.
Grapes have been grown in this region of Var since Phoenician times and the wine was popular – even served royal tables in Paris (when they existed). The peak in Bandol production is reported to have been in the mid-1800’s when almost 10,000 barrels were shipped out from the local ports to Northern European cities as the wine had a firm reputation for holding well at sea. But as the end of the century approached, the phylloxera disease that had destroyed most of the vines through France, reached Provençe and Bandol wineries were wiped out.
Rejuvenation
It isn’t clear when the decision to revitalise the Bandol terraces first came about, but slowly the 20th Century wine growing pioneers of Bandol started planting Mourvèdre – a grape that had traditionally been grown in the area and was well suited to the terroir and climate.
By the end of the 1930’s a few of the local wine growers – of whose families still run the business today – decided to introduce a quality-oriented policy to keep standards high. Instrumental in the process was the reputedly charismatic André Roethlisberger, whose Swiss parents had retired to Sanary-sur-Mer from Geneva and passed on their Provençal estate that combined vines, olives and an orchard, to their son. From the few snippets of information on Roethlisberger, it would seem he used his diplomacy skills to convince local winemakers of the full value in their local wine and to drive efforts to restore Bandol to the noble level that it used to hold before the phylloxeric invasion.
In 1939, Roethlisberger formed the Union of Fine Wine producers in Bandol (which was firmly in the Zone Libre of occupied France), assisted by figures from the National Committee of Appellations of Controlled Origin (AOC) and the Ministry of Agriculture plus a couple of famous French wine producers. Two years later, in November 1941, the Bandol AOC conditions were introduced, and the regime has existed with few changes until today.
Bandol AOC Rules
To meet the terms that the Bandol AOC demands, each wine producer must grow the vines organically and handpick the grapes. The balance between the grapes used is also largely based on the proportion of the mourvèdre grape that must be included in each vintage up to 95% of the total blend. For red and white, this is a minimum of 50% and for rosé this is set at 20%. The portion of accompanying grapes are kept to a 20% maximum each and we found that with few exceptions, it was cinsault and grenache as the blends of choice.
The Bandol AOC wines speak for themselves and on the whole, the rosés are quite notably a premium to their pink cousins elsewhere in France. Some of the reds, however, are simply superb - in a different league - surely some of the best you will find in Europe if not the world. That's a more expensive tasting trip to embark on ...