Château Canadel’s Bandol rosé is made exclusively from mourvèdre, cinsault, and grenache grown on their organically-farmed estate vineyards, located on a unique terroir in the hamlet of Le Plan du Castellet, within the famed terraces of Bandol. The vineyards of Canadel 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 rosés, which originally gave the Bandol region international fame. Canadel rosé is a far cry from the cheap, quaffable tourist rosé of dubious origin produced throughout Provence. Instead, while it can be enjoyed young, it is structured to age in bottle, similarly to any great white wine. As a result, we give Canadel’s Bandol rosé additional time to mature in bottle before releasing it to the US market.
Vinification
After a manual harvest, the grapes are all destemmed. The mourvèdre and cinsault are then directly pressed, while the grenache macerates for 24 hours at 12°C. Fermentation lasts 20 days and is followed by six months of élevage in stainless steel and concrete tanks.
Region
Côtes de Provence
Appellation
Bandol
Village
Le Plan du Castellet
Grapes
50% Mourvèdre / 40% Cinsault / 10% Grenache
Vine Age
Vines planted in 1995
Soil
Limeston and clay
Fermentation
Fermentated for 20 days with native yeast in stainless steel after destemming. Mourvèdre and cinsault are directly pressed, while grenache macerates for 24 hours at 12°C
Aging
Six months in stainless steel and concrete tanks
Farming
Organic, practicing biodynamic
Vegan
Yes
ABV
13.5%
Pack Size
12x750mL