We love Bandol for its soulfulness, its scrub-brush savor, its depth of brooding fruit, but we don’t always feel like waiting over decades to revel in its glories. Enter Château St. Anne’s Côtes de Provence Rouge. Here’s a bottle ready to wow right now, a “baby Bandol” that hits every southern French pleasure point, with an added dimension of freshness and lift you don’t often see around these parts. And it’s not from some fly-by-night newcomer looking to upend centuries of local tradition; no, Château Sainte Anne is one of the heroes of Bandol and, dare we say it, of French wine. They were pioneers of natural wine and their Côtes de Provence Rouge proves they’re still masters of the style. It brims with energy and is totally clean despite having nothing but a tiny drop of sulfur added to it. This bottle could be thought of as near-perfect natural wine. Or near-perfect Provençal red wine. Or near-perfect cold weather wine. Take your pick, just be sure to load up.
They may not garner the social media buzz of some of those other producers, but for true natural wine aficionados, Château St. Anne needs no introduction. First and foremost, they’ve been working vines in Bandol for five generations, and were driving forces in the appellation’s creation in the 1940s. On that count alone, they stand with the best in the region, producing wines with the same power and ageability as local legends Pradeaux or Tempier. But they’re also founders of the natural wine movement. Since the beginning, they relied only on organic grapes, spontaneous yeasts, and very little sulfur–if any–in their long-lived Bandols. Alongside natural wine standardbearers Thierry Puzelat and Pierre Overnoy, they founded the Association des Vins Naturels, the first French association of likeminded natural winemakers. Château St. Anne is, in many ways, the ultimate rejoinder to those who believe all natural wine is flawed or meant to be chugged ice cold in a loud bar. Despite their practically hands-off winemaking, Château St. Anne produces deeply complex reds that can go for decades in your cellar; these are great wines first, natural wines second.
Château St. Anne is located just a few kilometers inland from the Mediterranean, the breeze off the ocean helping to moderate the very hot summer weather here. It’s headed up by fifth-generation Francoise Dutheil and her son Jean-Baptiste, and they run the estate basically as it always has been. Their vineyards are located on steep slopes on terraces, and they have an enviable collection of bush-trained vines approaching 85 years of age. Their main focus is of course the animalistic Mourvedre variety, but they also grow Grenache, Carignan, and Cinsault, all of which make their way into today’s Provence Rouge. The varieties make up a roughly equal proportion in the final blend. They’re harvested by hand and fermented separately in stainless steel before being pressed into large wooden foudre, where they age for at least two years before blending. Just before bottling, a miniscule dose of sulfur (less than 10ppm) may be added.
A bottle of Château St. Anne’s Provence Rouge is like taking the fast track to the south of France. It pours a deep ruby with hints of purple, and the nose is just a blast of Provençal charm. Crushed red raspberry, black berry, purple-fleshed plums, lavender, wood smoke, coffee, and that unmistakable twang of garrigue herbs all flood forth. On the palate it’s medium-full in body, certainly lighter and defter (and lower tannin) than any Bandol of similar age, but by no means light. Instead, it’s ample and powerful yet drinkable, ready to be popped tonight alongside some rich cuts of lamb or beef. Grab a few bottles and consider yourself in the know on Château St. Anne!
