Print this pageDate Added: 08-02-2007
Bandol wines have been shipped overseas for many centuries. It is reported that at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Bandol, can be found centuries old baked clay barrels used for exporting the wine.
The harbour, built for boats loaded with containers of wines marked stamped with the familiar “B” goes back to the Middle Ages. Many famous people including King Louis XV was a lover of Bandol wines.
It was in 1941 that Bandol AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlé) was awarded. It acknowledges the quality of a product, the winegrowers’ courage and talent.
The Bandol wines will never be produced in quantities. The winegrowers sacrifice numerous numbers of green bunches each spring in order to concentrate the rising sap in the remaining bunches.
The Mourvèdre, a late maturing black variety is seldom planted in France. However, the conditions on the Bandol slopes and terraces, climate and soil enable this variety to grow well. The red wines require a minimum of 50% of the Mourvèdre grape although this percentage is often higher.
The secrets of the highly successful Bandol wines are passed from generation to generation. Much passion and skill go into the production of these fine wines. The Reds are the glory of Bandol, the popular Rosé with its freshness and depth and the Whites, lively and fresh worthy of hard to please palates. Judges of good wines place the “grand B” among the greatest in France.
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