Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 60% Clairette and 30% Ugni Blanc complemented with Rolle, Bourboulenc and Marsanne, the 2023 Bandol Blanc exhales a complex, perfumed bouquet of ripe orchard fruits, lemon, acacia flowers, spring flowers and confit citrus. Medium-bodied, textured and enveloping, it’s delicate with a fleshy mid-palate, bright acids and a long, mineral finish. This is a stunning white wine that will offer a broad drinking window.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Provence’s leader in concentrated and age-worthy red wines, Bandol is home to the dense, deep and earthy Mourvèdre grape. Like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Bandol produces characterful reds that, while approachable in their youth, are typically designed for the cellar.
Given its coastal, Provencal situation, Bandol also naturally produces an assortment of charming, aromatic rosés made of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault.