Château Pradeaux Bandol Rosé 2023

Alcohol: 14%

Grape(s): 75% Mourvèdre, 25% Cinsault

Localisation: Provence, Bandol, France

Tasting Notes: The Bandol Rosé from Pradeaux is perhaps the most serious wine in this category. Robust, rich, and complex with an ability to age gracefully, Etienne Portalis insists that the Domaine's rosé is a gastronomic experience, not just an easy-drinking wine.

This rosé shows nice depth and appeal, with mango, blood orange and white cherry flavors that are flanked with anise, honey cream and rose petal elements. Bold, with good harmony to the powerful flavors.

The Domain: There is the appellation of Bandol with its plethora of producers, some good, some mediocre; and then there is Château Pradeaux, the unique, inimitable, standard-bearer for this ancient wine-growing district. The Château Pradeaux is situated on the outskirts of the town of Saint Cyr-sur-Mer that lies directly on the Mediterranean Ocean between Toulon and Marseilles. The estate has been in the hands of the Portalis family since before the French Revolution. In fact, Jean-Marie-Etienne Portalis, who inherited the estate in 1752, helped draft the Napoleonic Code and assisted at the negotiation of the Concordat under Napoleon the First. The estate was devastated during the French Revolution and suffered the effects of the phylloxera epidemic in the 19th century. Suzanne Portalis and her daughter, Arlette, retreated to the domaine during World War II and undertook to revive the domaine. The domaine is currently under the direction of Cyrille Portalis, the sole direct descendant of Suzanne and Arlette. He continues to maintain the great traditions of this estate and is assisted by his wife, Magali, and now his two sons, Etienne and Edouard.