Château Canadel’s Bandol Blanc is a small production cuvée made exclusively from native white varieties: clairette, ugni blanc, and vermentino (rolle), grown on Canadel’s organically-farmed estate vineyards. Château Canadel is located on a unique terroir in the hamlet of Le Plan du Castellet, within the famed terraces of Bandol. The vineyards are planted on a geological anomaly: the inversion of soil layers from the birth of the Alps, known as the Renversement du Beausset. This event resulted in the Triassic layer (200 million years old) flipping on top of the Cretaceous layer (65 million years old) due to the subduction of a tectonic plate, which has surfaced the oldest rock outcroppings in the whole of the appellation.
This single-estate terroir’s microclimate yields elegantly structured wines from vineyards planted on terraces (locally called “restanques”) on the steep slopes of a natural bowl. Naturally low-yielding vines give just 22 hl/ha for the Bandol Blanc.
Vinification
Individual varieties are hand-harvested and sorted in the vineyard and then sorted again at the cellar before being de-stemmed and crushed. Following 12 to 14 hours of cold maceration, the grapes are pressed and then fermented for about 20 days at 17-20°C in stainless steel and concrete tanks. No malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged for six months on the lees.
Region
Côtes de Provence
Appellation
Bandol
Village
Le Plan du Castellet
Grapes
50% Clairette / 40% Ugni Blanc / 10% Vermentino (Rolle)
Vine Age
Vines planted in 2010
Soil
Limeston and clay
Fermentation
Fermented in stainless steel
Aging
Six months on the lees in stainless steel and concrete tanks
Farming
Certified Organic by Ecocert
Vegan
No
ABV
12.6%
Pack Size
12x750mL