The Wine Pair Podcast

Getting Serious about Rosé #4: Bandol!

• The Wine Pair • Season 1 • Episode 175

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They say summer is the time for Rosé, but did you know that not all Rosé wines are the same? Bandol is the perfect example of a Rosé that may just surprise you. Yes, it comes from Provence in France, but it is made predominantly with the Mourvèdre grape, which is unusual, and creates a Rosé wine with surprising depth, character, and, dare we say, seriousness?!? If you’re one of those people who is just not convinced about Rosé, Bandol may be the Rosé that changes your mind. Plus, in this episode, we talk about the ancient Phocaeeans who started viticulture in that part of France. And, no, we did not spell Phoenicians wrong. Look, you need to listen to the episode, and we’ll set it all straight.  Wines reviewed in this episode: 2023 Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé, 2022 Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé

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Show Notes

Episode 175: Getting Serious about Rosé #4: Bandol!  00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

If you are new to our podcast, here is what you can expect. If you love wine and want to find great wines at affordable prices, and you want to expand your wine horizons, and you want to have some laughs and fun while doing it - then you are in the right place! Each week we explore a different wine varietal, style, brand, or region of the winemaking world, and learn about what makes them worth knowing about. And then we taste 2-3 of those wines that are reasonably priced to let you know if they are worth your hard earned money. If that feels like your vibe, then we are super happy you are here. And, we are proud to say that Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining.

Carmela, it feels like it’s been a long time since we recorded an episode, and it has been! About a month, if you can believe it. We’ve done a lot of stuff in that time, including our trip to Italy which we’ll give you a little taste of, and there is more, including pictures in our latest newsletter, so if you missed it, just send me an email at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and I will get it to you.

We’ll go through your top reflections and memories of the trip in a minute, Carmela, but here were the standouts for me:

  • Spending tons of time with family, most of whom I had never met before. Carmela and I did not have dinner on our own until the very last night of the trip. Which was awesome and exactly why we went on the trip. And, thankfully we had many relatives who spoke just enough English, but we were pretty disappointed in our Italian. 
  • Driving in Italy, and Naples in particular, just made me happy. It is totally aggressive driving and very chaotic, but it works, and it was fun to navigate. We came up with a saying that the people in Naples just don’t give a fuck - they just go. People cross the street with oncoming cars and don’t even rush. They just saunter across.
  • The history and cities in Southern Italy are totally, totally underrated. We saw so many amazing places - Naples, Consenza, Serra Pedace, Catanzaro, Bari, Polignano a Mare, Lecce, Ostuni, Alberobello, Melfi, Taurasi - places you can’t believe and most people either avoid or don’t know about. And the ruins. Yes, there is Pompeii which is amazing, but the Greek temples in Paestum are unbelievable, and the ruins at Ercolano are like Pompeii but more navigable, and there are ancient ruins all over the place - in Naples, Lecce, Sibari, you name it. 
  • It was hot as shit, and so the next time we go, I want to go in the fall or the spring. 
  • The differences in the terrain in Southern Italy were stunning. Serra Pedace is in the mountains, Naples and Bari on the sea, and tons and tons of farmland in between. Just stunning. 
  • And, of course we should talk about wine and stuff, and we covered some of this in our newsletter, but here a few notes. We drank a lot of Primitivo, and some Aglianico in Naples, but in Puglia, we drank a lot of Rosé  made from Primitivo. We stopped by the Librandi Ciro winery in Calabria, and we did one of their wines in our Italian Wine Adventure episode on Ciro, and we bought some Ciro as well as a sparkling wine, and we went to the town of Taurasi which is THE spot for Aglianico wine. And, I will also say that the Southern Italians like beer with their pizza, no kidding. And, yes, Aperol and Campari Spritz are all over Italy now, as well as a new Spritz I had not heard of yet called the Hugo Spritz.


What are your thoughts, Carmela?

Now back to the wine for today. We are focused, not on an Italian wine, but on Bandol Rosé which some say is the best in the world, and Rosé is just a good wine to talk about because a lot of people drink it in the summer. And, again, in Puglia, we drank a ton of Rosé made from Primtivo - so just another indication that it is a good hot weather wine, and probably goes with more foods than people give it credit for.

But before we talk about the Rosé, let’s talk about Bandol in general.

First, Bandol is a wine region in the Provence area of France, which is sort of the Mecca of Rosé. It is recognized internationally as one of the very first appellations or AOC’s in France, and was officially registered in 1941. The wine region is named for the port town of Bandol in the southern coast of France, east of Marseille.

Bandol is unique in France because it is the only French wine region where the Mourvèdre (moor - veh - druh) grape is dominant, and so it is the signature grape in Bandol wine. The AOC regulations require that Mourvèdre (moor-veh- druh) make up at least 50% of both red and rosé blends, but winemakers often use more. And, like a lot of French wines, the wine is named after the region, not the grape, and the wines are mostly blends anyway.

Speaking of blending, Mourvèdre (moor - veh- druh) is often blended with Grenache and Cinsault in Bandol, and Syrah and Carignan are also permitted but are restricted to a maximum of 15% of the blend or 10% each. So, you will find GSM blends in this area, but Mourvèdre is the main grape.

Mourvèdre is an interesting grape - it is late-ripening and it really likes the heat and sun, so Bandol is a great spot for it because the climate in the area is Mediterranean. The vines are planted on stone terraces which makes harvesting by machines impossible, and anyway, mechanical harvesting is prohibited in the AOC.

There are several wines from Bandol, and while Rosé is the most common wine, about 20-30% of the wine made in Bandol is red made primarily from, you guessed it, Mourvèdre - which can be said to make a powerful wine.

But we are not here to talk about red wines from Bandol, we are here to talk about Rosé wine from Bandol, and we have two Bandol Rosés to taste and review to see if they are worth checking out . . . 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and if you haven’t  had the chance to do so yet, now would be the perfect time to follow or subscribe to our podcast and leave us a nice rating and review  to help us grow our listeners - and a huge thank you to all of you who have subscribed already! 

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And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us and give us some feedback or let us know if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com
A few shoutouts for this week:

  • Masked & Uncorked on IG who sent us the nicest note about the pictures we posted on our story on Instagram
  • Timmysvino who has a new IG handle called the stupidwinereviews
  • Alison Shea who has a great IG handle called theextrovertedbookworm
  • Kristin T, AKA the Cabernet Cowgirl who gave us a wonderful review on Apple Podcasts and sent us a sweet note about the pictures we posted on IG
  • Mark S on BS
  • Tips2LiveBy on BS who are always so supportive and left a nice comment about our minisode on alcohol content
  • Shekar who always reaches out after we send out our newsletter and he shared a write-up of his business called Nalla
  • A HUGE shout-out to Chris McColgan who responded to our newsletter and correctly guessed the mystery celebrity that we saw at the Starbucks at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Way to go, Chris!!!


And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - and this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who thinks all Rosé wine is the same because they are about to have their minds blown with the knowledge we be dropping.


RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE





Topic: WTF is Bandol Rosé? 13:26

So, Carmela, let’s find out just what the eff Bandol Rosé is, shall we?!?

As you already guessed, and we have already said, Bandol Rosé is from the Bandol AOC in Provence, near the town of Bandol, and the appellation covers eight communes which I am not going to go through because I will screw up their names, but you can find links to all of this information in our show notes.

Evidently, the vineyards of Bandol are arranged in a kind of natural amphitheater with sloping hills that face south towards the Mediterranean Sea. This amphitheater stretches up to 450 meters or 1,500 feet in some places and is protected by the Sainte Baume mountain (Massif de la Sainte Baume) to the north.

Something I think people often forget about the south of France, Carmela, is that the climate is very warm. You have been to the south of France, right (Nice, leads to Genoa) And in Bandol, this warm climate meets up with cool sea breezes, which is real good for grape growing. The climate of Bandol is said to be similar to Houston, Texas, which I would never have guessed.

From a historical standpoint, winemaking in the area of Bandol is said to go all the way back to the 5th century BCE when the Phocaeeans (foe-see-uhnz) established a colony there. I really had no idea who these guys were, so I had to look it up.The Phocaeans were the inhabitants of Phocaea, an ancient Ionian Greek city located on the western coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Although they sound similar, this is a distinct group from the Phoenicians which were from the area that is now Lebanon.

The  Phocaeans were said to be excellent seafarers, and created a large trade network throughout the Mediterranean. They also became active colonizers, not only establishing a colony in Marseille and the Bandol region, but also in Spain and Italy. In fact, the people of Marseille are still colloquially referred to as Phocaeans, or Phoceens in French.

In Bandol, the vineyards started by the  Phocaeans were further developed by the Romans and wines from the region were known as Massilia, the ancient name for Marseille, and had a reputation for both quality and aging capabilities, which is good when you are transporting goods by boat.

In the 16th century, the Mourvèdre grape is said to have arrived in France from Spain and became Bandol's most prestigious grape. Like a lot of European grapes, they had a lot of trouble during the Phylloxera plague in the 1870s and so when the farmers started replanting, they heavily focused on Mourvèdre as well as Grenache and Cinsault.

We already mentioned that Bandol was given AOC status in 1941, but initially in Provence, including Bandol, it was red wines that were predominantly consumed. However, Bandol Rosé steadily became more and more popular because of the warm weather, and today, rosé production has largely eclipsed red wines in volume within Bandol. And, Bandol is considered one of Provence’s most prestigious wine appellations.

In terms of production, Bandol Rosé is heavily focused on Mourvèdre, which is not typical, and one of the things that makes Rosé  wine tricky and confusing for people because it is a style, not a specific grape or grape blend. In fact, in Provence, the predominant Rosé  grape is Grenache, but not in Bandol. And we already talked about the percentage requirements in the AOC so we will not cover that again.

They keep the yields of the grapes pretty low, among the lowest in France, and the grapes for the rosé are typically harvested about a week before the grapes for red wines. Mourvèdre for rosé is also  often planted on cooler sites, higher up or facing away from the sea, to produce lighter and fresher grapes.

Most Bandol producers prefer the direct press method for rosé production, rather than the saignée, or bleed, method - and it is the direct press method that is most commonly how Rosé is made. In the direct press method, red grapes are harvested, and the juice is immediately squeezed out. Then the clear juice is put in contact with the skins for a short period of time to give it a pink or salmon hue.

Bandol Rosé wines are produced rather simply, fermenting in cement tanks for 15 days on average, and usually they are not oaked.

Although many rosés are typically drunk young, Bandol rosés are known for their structure and longevity, which is attributed to the Mourvèdre grape. And this is one of the reasons why Bandol is so revered. These wines can acquire more complexity and age well for 1 to 3 years, and some can even be cellared for five, ten, or twenty years, developing secondary flavors. So while the Rosés are typically released around March 1st the year following the vintage, and they can be drunk young, these wines can age.

From a taste standpoint, typical aromas and flavors are peach, strawberries, pineapple, orange peel, and wet stone. When they age, however, they can get much richer flavors, like dried apricot and honey. And Bandol is often considered a little bigger bodied than most Provence Rosé

But I think that is enough background. Now it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?


Bandol Rosé Wines We Chose for This Episode 21:23

As usual, the wines we have chosen for this episode are kind of under $25 each, or at least close, and they should be relatively easy to find because I bought one at wine.com, and the other I bought, with much fear and trepidation, at Total Wine. Now, I went to Total Wine because they have a whole section dedicated to rosé, at least at the store near us in Seattle, but they had like one Bandol there, so, whatever. If you go to your local wine shop, they can can easily find it for you, although it will usually be on the slightly pricier end than your average rosé

The first wine we are going to be drinking today is the one I got from Total Wine which is the 2023 Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé - and if I have the right wine, Decanter scored it as a 94. But I am not quite sure. 

On the Château La Vivonne website, they give the following information:
70% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache
They say the vines are pruned in goblet form, which I had never heard of before, and the soil is sandy loam over marly limestone - so good, high drainage soil to create the ever looked for grape water stress
The grapes are hand-picked, and they use the Direct Press method
They say you can cellar it for up to 8 years

For a little more about the winery, Château La Vivonne was founded in 1904 and is said to be iconic.  In 2010, Michel Benhaïm took over the estate and modernized it. They have adopted what they say is an authentic approach, and have implemented environmentally friendly and pesticide-free agricultural practices since 1987. They are certified organic, and they use no chemical fertilizers and use artisanal techniques in the winemaking.

On to the next wine which is the 2022 Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé and has received some good recognition in the past, including a 92 from Vinous, and a 91 from sucky James Suckling. 

The wine is 62% Mourvèdre, 34% Grenache, and 4% Cinsault. Both of these wines are a little boozy, coming in at 13.5% alcohol. 

The winery gives a lot of editorial detail, saying that they had a very warm mid-summer, and so started harvesting at the end of August and were done by the end of September. They claim the fruit has more acidity than previous years. They handpick the grapes in the early morning hours, and they also use the Direct Press method, and they try to keep the wine fresh and pale. 

I will say the winery had some confusing information about its history. From what I can tell, they have been making wine since about 1992, and that the parent company called Bieler Wines actually also makes Bandit boxed wine among others, so that is interesting. So, they have several brands under the Bieler Wines umbrella, of which Bieler Père et Fils is just one.

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!


LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES


2023 Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé, 2022 Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 26:28

Wine: Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé
Region: France, Provence
Year: 2023
Price: $24.99
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grapes: 70% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache
Professional Rating: D: 94, Vivino

What we tasted and smelled in this Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé:

  • Color: Salmon, Coral, peach
  • On the nose: Watermelon, strawberry, bitter, a little bit of airplane glue
  • In the mouth: Bigger bodied, a little hot, tart strawberry, raspberry, a little astringent on the end, almost like a cordial or a brandy


Food to pair with this Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé: Charcuterie, can stand up to meat, pizza, BLT sandwiches, may be a lot for fish. 
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 6/10
  • Carmela: 6/10


Wine: Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé
Region: France, Provence
Year: 2022
Price: $25.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grapes: 62% Mourvèdre, 34% Grenache, 4% Cinsault
Professional Rating: V 92, JS 91, Vivino 3.9

What we tasted and smelled in this Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé:

  • Color: Coral, almost orange
  • On the nose: Gasoline, a touch of raspberry, a little watermelon, flowers like rose, white pepper
  • In the mouth: Lots of tannin, strawberry, strawberry liqueur, hot, creamsicle, bitter orange with cream on it


Food to pair with this Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé: Pancakes, Chinese duck pancakes, duck, chicken and waffles, chicken burger, cheeseburger with ketchup, spicy foods

Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 7/10
  • Carmela: 6/10


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

  • Carmela: Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé
  • Joe: Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé



Taste profiles expected from Bandol Rosé 41:18

  • General 
    • Red fruit like raspberry, red plum and strawberry. Stone fruit like peach, and citrus like blood orange, grapefruit, and mandarin. There can also be aromas and tastes of herbs like thyme and rosemary, as well as rose, wet stone, sea spray, spice, and even almond, smoke, or black licorice. Also known for being a little bigger bodied than most Provence Rosé
  • Château La Vivonne Bandol Rosé
    • Winery: Fresh and inviting bouquet of redcurrant, pink grapefruit zest and herbs. Intensity and freshness, with strawberries and cherries.
  • Bieler Pere et Fils Reserve Bandol Rosé
    • Winery: Enticing aromatics of peach, white cherry and wild raspberry that are balanced by summer flowers, white tea and Provence herbs. These delicate flavors carry through to a creamy yet lifted palate that’s interwoven with rose petal and wet stones.
    • JS: Serious nose for a rosé with some grilled herbs to the freshly cut strawberries, stones and grapefruit. Subtle chewiness gives a supportive structure to the bone-dry, medium- to full-bodied palate. Deliciously dry and appetizing.


What is the verdict on Bandol Rosé? 42:49
Carmela is not convinced. She liked it but didn’t love it. Joe did like them and would drink them again. This is the Rosé for people who think that Rosé is not a serious wine.

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 43:52

Ok, so, Carmela, it’s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to follow or subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast app - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

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