2014 Chateau Pradeaux, Bandol Rouge, Provence, France.
In a rare cooler style vintage the 2014 Pradeaux Bandol impresses for its restraint, delicacy and elegance, making for a lovely wine with pretty layers and subtly, rather than the usual Mourvedre power. Showing a sense of refinement, but definitely not a light wine this stuff has plenty of stuffing and complexity to satisfy on the medium/full palate with an underlying, velvet covered, tannic structure. Beautifully deep in color with a purple/garnet hue in the glass this 2014 turns on the charm right from the get go with crushed flowers, bright red fruits, snappy spices and a touch of earth before filling out and taking on a darker profile when open with black cherry, plum and mulberry fruits along with touch of cedar, anise, dusty pepper, lavender and even a classic leather note well in the background. This is a wine of purity and terroir, taking its clues from its limestone influenced Provence soils. Bandol, one of the great wines of France, often age decades and are great with robust and protein rich cuisine, going great with lamb and mushroom dishes and or hard sheep cheeses. This 2014 really starts rocking with food and air and it drinks as gracefully as a fine Medoc Bordeaux, though best to decant an hour before serving.
The Château Pradeaux, run by Cyrille Portalis along with his two sons Edouard and current winemaker Etienne, is situated on the outskirts of the town of Saint Cyr-sur-Mer that lies directly on the gorgeous azur (Blue) Mediterranean between Toulon and Marseilles. The estate has been in the hands of the Portalis family since before the French Revolution and the wines themselves transmit that long history and tradition and Pradeaux has been farmed to organic principles for many years. The estate is all about Mourvedre and this classic cuvée is 95% Mourvèdre and 5% Grenache, all whole cluster and with indigenous yeasts the wines then get a long élevage in large oak foudres, in fact they can last as long as four years. The concentration comes from the old vine fruit with the grapes only coming from vines at least 25 years of age, with most much older. The wines of Château Pradeaux are authentic, bold and sometimes rustic, but this 2014 is easy to enjoy in its youth, a rare joy in a Bandol, also look for their fabulous Rosé, which is composed of Cinsault as well as the obvious Mourvèdre. Chateau Pradeaux remains a great value in a region that has seen huge price jumps in the last 10 to 15 years, and this wine is well worth searching out.
($45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive