Today is a triumphant day for SommSelect. We’ve always wanted to offer Château Pradeaux’s legendary Bandol Rouge but prohibitively high prices and low availability have felled almost every attempt with previous vintages. So, it’s a thrill to type “Château Pradeaux” in the title of this email, and especially with this mature and magnificent 2012 vintage.
In Bandol, home to some of France’s most haunting and powerful reds, Château Pradeaux is not only a monument of consistent and centuries-deep excellence, but also tradition. Perhaps no other top-tier estate has stayed so true to the uncompromising grape blend and rigorous cellar regimen that defines Bandol’s inimitably dark and long-lived character. I’m not the only one who feels this way, either. Eric Asimov of the New York Times calls the estate “a personal favorite” and Robert Parker says Pradeaux is “one of the greatest producers of Southern France.” So, if you’ve never experienced classic Bandol—or if you hesitate to spend $75-100 on this wine’s closest local peers—I’m confident you’ll appreciate today’s offer as much as I do.
I can think of few world-class wine appellations that have changed so dramatically in style and technical definition as Bandol. In decades past, Bandol represented the Provençal equivalent of the greatest Barolo or Left Bank Bordeaux—it was the epitome of dark, deeply complex red wine that demanded many patient years in barrel and bottle before revealing its true glory. Bandol was overwhelmingly dominated by the tannic and unforgiving Mourvèdre grape, mercilessly fermented in whole clusters, then aged for years in enormous old oak barrels before release to the American market (where it still demanded additional years in cellar before optimal consumption!). There was no “drink now” Bandol or “modern” Bandol—there was only Bandol, the singularly brooding expression of Provence’s most unforgiving terroir.
Fast-forward to the present day, wherein the majority of red wine produced in Bandol comes in the form of young-drinking, fruit- and vanilla-scented reds. Many incorporate a large percentage of stickily overripe Grenache, 100% destemming, aging in small new oak barriques, and end with a release date that just barely satisfies the AOC’s minimum 1.5 year aging requirement. To put this in context, I wouldn’t fault an experienced taster for confusing many modern Bandols with Côtes du Rhône or Spanish reds. Still, some of these changes are not restricted to low-quality Bandol. Even for the region’s most classic wines, like Domaine Tempier’s Bandol “Cabassou” ($95 per bottle and widely considered one of the village’s finest), grapes are destemmed, barrel aging is a mere 18 months, and the current vintage is a relatively recent 2015. All told, this is an extraordinary shift that’s immeasurably changed the character and style of Bandol Rouge.
To be clear, Château Pradeaux rests at the completely opposite end of this historic and stylistic continuum. The property’s reds are proudly 95-100% Mourvèdre. Pradeaux ferments its grapes in the traditional whole-cluster method and resulting wines are aged in enormous neutral oak foudres and ovals for four (!) years before—you guessed it—even more bottle aging before release. The result is a powerful red with a complexity and depth of character all its own. Because of this uncompromising approach in the vines and in the cellar—and above all, because of one family’s integrity and undying patience—Château Pradeaux’s reds continue to carry the torch for the classic Bandol of yesteryear. Cyrille Portalis (whose family has farmed Château Pradeaux since before the French Revolution) is the current patriarch of the family property and he maintains all traditional processes: Vines younger than 25 years are jettisoned to rosé production, leaving only 35- to 100+-year-old vines for Pradeaux’s reds. All fruit is harvested by hand, and everything from the grape varieties to the giant old barrels in the family’s cellar remain as they were in the 1960s.
Today’s wine, the 2012 Chateau Pradeaux Bandol Rouge, is truly epic, and overflowing with palpable history and soul. The dark crimson-ruby center gradually moves to ruby and orange tones on the rim. 2012 is a lower-yielding but classically styled vintage in this wine’s native Provence, and this bottle has the power and length to prove it. Black currant, black plum, roasted fruit and cassis meet cigar tobacco, leather, and cracked pepper. Everything is wrapped with dried lavender, thyme and exotic dried flower notes. This is a beautiful and mysterious wine but it is not delicate by any stretch. In its present youthful state, formidable tannins and raw minerality frame every sip. So, even five years after harvest, I urge you to decant it for two or three hours if drinking soon. Even better—and especially at today’s extremely fair price—collectors would be wise to hide a trove of bottles in the back of their cellar. Château Pradeaux Bandol is renowned for its capacity to improve for decades, and this wonderful 2012 is no exception. I’ve enjoyed many mature bottles of Pradeaux in my career and can attest that if you wish to experience the true, unhomogenized character of the historic Bandol terroir, this wine is your ticket. Cheers!
