2013 Chateau Pradeaux, Bandol Rouge, Provence, France.
Etienne Portalis, the fourteenth generation, winemaker at Pradeaux has made a brilliant and deep Bandol in the 2013 vintage, it is my pick for #Mourvedre day, it is a traditional and old school wine that is made with the blessing of the warm Mediterranean sun and his family’s old vines. The Chateau Pradeaux, founded back in 1752, is a Provence legend and the house style is natural and powerful with Etienne only using whole cluster with stems, these are wines that have firm structures from the raw/authentic skin tannins and wines that can age many decades, that said, this 2013 shows a beautiful freshness of detail and refinement after it’s extended time in large used cask. The 2013 is deep in color with a dark garnet hue around a blackish core with an earthy profile that opens to a full bodied and complex wine, which almost 100% Mourvedre with a tiny amount of other black grapes, it reveals layers of dusty blackberry, kirsch, plum and boysenberry fruits, peppery briar spice, leather, chalky stones, anise, bitter coco and a touch of floral lift with a mix of violet and lavender as well as a cedar/tobacco element. This 2013 is drinking with an impressive palate impact with plenty of dry grip and force, but turns generous with air with a ripe opulence allowing lots of pleasure and textural charm, it’s a serious example that will gain further with short to mid term cellaring. Imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Chateau Pradeaux is without question, along with Domaine Tempier, is a standard barer of the region, and this 2013 is a beauty that will be perfect with rustic and simple country cuisine, it’s a big, bold and robust Bandol with a natural sex appeal and inner energy, drink over the next 10 to 15 years.
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

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