If we could give 10 stars it wouldn't be enough…read more As a sommelier, ex wine director and a lover of Bandol, finally visiting my favorite winery on the planet was a bucket list item. Expectations were exceeded on every level. MAEVA, our host has joined the winery and is offering private tastings for the first time. And WOW, she blew us and our other guests, including a NYC sommelier out of the water. The wines are unique and incredible and the 3 hours we spent were amazing. The care was personal, the setting in the the cellar perfect, and recalled my time working in Napa. Can't recommend it enough! Go!!!

The Wine. The hospitality. The view. All 5 stars…read more Did my tasting with Victoria the owner. Her family have been at the work for four generations (think the vineyard was founded in 1935). Lovely lady, very kindly put up with my terrible French, walked me through the wines, showed me the vineyard and shared stories with me. Not snobbery at all, just a friendly passionate person. All her wines are fantastic. The Rose is widely reviewed as one of the top 5 in Provence. Could taste that; it's neither as saline heavy as many other Provence rose, nor is it a candy store fruit basket. Stuck in the middle, complex, enjoyable. The white is from a plot they just bought with a completely different soil composition. It's so light and delicate. You think it would be an insult to say it drinks like water, but it's like flowery, melon-y, peachy water. So good. So refreshing. The red is also excellent. Drank the '14 and '15. Both are well balanced. '15 is a little more fruit forward, but mellowed by 18 months in oak. '14 is more. Dark, brooding. Bought a bottle to carry home. To get there: I Hiked out to Bandol wine country from the train station (Beautiful, but highly recommend catching the bus from the train station or renting a car... it's far). Beautiful Rocky Mountains (the last of the Alps) and vines upon vines make up the view. You pass a charming high school and beyond that is the Chateau. They have 60 acres of grapes, and the majority are gathered around the house.

Wines from this Bardol appellation vineyard are done in the classic French (Old World) style. High…read morein acid, high in tannins, high in minerality, high in alcohol and low on fruit forward. Great care is taken by the winemaker to create wines that are designed to last over 25 years. Too bad it will take about 20 years in the bottle for them to get to a drinkable stage. The wines clearly reflected the calcareous soil on which the vines grow. There is little rainfall and the vines are not trellised. This leads to year to year variation and losses which are then reflected in good and bad years for the local wines. The yield per acre is a fraction of what is seen in California. The aging process is performed in puncheons of Austrian oak that is very tight grain. It is done for two years. The bottles are not released before 18 months on the shelf at the winery. Vintages from 4+ years past are the first that the consumer can buy. We tried the reds, rose and whites. None of them met the palates of the group we were with.

I'm a huge fan of Bandol wines. Okay, I'm obsessesed. I drink them, read about them, visit…read morewineries in the appellation, collect them, and age them, and Les Vins de Bandol is one of my little wine temples. They sell Bandol wines of all the colors, in several formats (magnums too), and the provenenace of the bottles is obviously pristine. One of my favorite things about the store is the comprehensive book that lists everything they sell, with all the appointed details, vintage, whether or not it's organic, old vines, etc. Another huge plus is that you can buy back vintages of several producers at very reasonable prices. I have had many pleasant interactions with the people who work here, who have been informative and helpful. They don't sell absolutely all Bandol wineries - for example in my many visits I have never seen Domaine Tempier for sale here - because from what they explained to me, the wineries have to commit to a certain number of bottles to sell or a certain amount of time (I forget the exact stipulation) the store can sell their wine, and I'm guessing Tempier's renown does not make this necessary, or profitable for them? No matter, this is a wonderful place to discover new domaines and new vintages without mark-up. Bravo et merci mille fois!!

This is a great place to stop to get a perspective on the range of wines, indigenous grape…read morevarieties, and wine producers in one of the great wine regions in the south of France. They offer free tastings of a few of the day's featured wineries and is clearly worth a stop just for that alone. In addition, it's a great place to help plan your itinerary for individual vineyard visits while in the Bandol region. It is conveniently located right in the heart of "downtown " Bandol and an easy stroll from pretty much anywhere. Prices are good, selection is representative of most of the major local producers, and the staff was actually pretty friendly considering most people who walk in just want free tastings and aren't looking to buy. They are knowledgeable about the region and are a good resource. Worth a stop!!

Château Pradeaux is one of Bandol's prized estates, coming from the mid-1700s. They make a…read moreseriously age-worthy red Bandol wine, a wonderful and gastronomic Bandol rosé, and a Côtes de Provence rosé, amongst other wines, and an Eau de Vie de Marc. They have a fun and lovely Instagram presence too, showing behind-the-scenes activities at this old standard bearer of a winery. I have tasted here on two separate occasions and once had a terrific tour of the cellar, the gardens, and the olive trees on the old property. The reds are not for the faint of heart, they are sturdy, tannic, and contain in the high 90%-range of Mourvèdre, the grape that makes up the backbone of Bandol. By the law, it has to make up at least 50% of the blend, but Pradeaux uses a lot more than that, giving it the ability to age for decades, and highlighting the terroir notes of garrigue, leather, and mesquite. The Bandol rosé has body and is great with food, while the Côtes de Provence rosé is just as delicious but with perhaps less stuffing. There's a rosé called Vesprée that is complex and structured, aging on the lees and in concrete eggs. They don't make a white wine. There's a tasting room open for sales and tastings, but I believe visits must be arranged on the telephone and with a 10€ fee. In general new releases of this wine usually cost cheaper than other wonderful Bandol estates of this quality, including when seen for sale in the US. Well worth it to experience this historic and delicious winery in person!

Very friendly owners who are trying to break the style of French wines and make them more ready to…read moredrink. We tried a couple of their reds, a white and a rose. They were softer wines with more fruit forward than the typical wineries from the Bandol appellation. These still did not convince us to buy any of them. Beautiful grounds and an interesting tasting room. Worth a try to see if their products fit your palate.

It is with honesty I can say this vineyard produces the best wines I have ever tasted The estate…read moreboasts a marvellous mansion and olive trees more than a thousand years old. The olives from these trees produce very fragrant and tasteful olive oils. The red wines (I am a fan of the Bandol 2003!), as well as the whites and rosés are superb and have won several awards Bandol wines are quite heavy but they taste o so good! The prices range from 12 to 32 euros (for the Bandol wines)... I have seen them in restaurants selling for 80-90 euros a bottle! The olive oils are all you need for salad dressings and such, no need to add anything else, they are that good. If you send an email (preferrably in french, but english is possible!) you can order bottles of wine and olive oil. You get a very nice and polite message back with the total cost (including shipping) before your order is accepted. Life is good in the south of France, you can just taste it!

From the owner: Souviou is home to 12 varietals of olive trees each bearing a unique fruit used in our expertly…read moreblended oils. Each fruit is picked by hand to make some of the best olive oil on earth. All Domaine Souviou oils are Extra Virgin and exclusively from the first cold-pressing to extract only the purest ingredients. Also the Domaine Souviou's vineyards are planted with noble grape varieties such as Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan. The yield is 35 hl/ha for the Bandol and 40 hl/ha for the Côtes de Provence to ensure the highest quality . Sustainable farming methods are used in order to show full respect for the land and produce the most natural product. The grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted when they are cut and at the entrance to the cellar. The red wines are aged in oak barrels and the rosés in stainless steel vats in order to help them retain all the freshness and fruitiness.

Fabulous winery in the heart of Bandol terroir…read more Setting is breath taking, parking easy, English is spoken here too

Nous avons découvert le Château Canadel un peu par hasard lors de notre séjour à Bandol, et quelle…read moremagnifique surprise ! Le domaine est niché au cœur des collines, entouré de vignes en restanques avec une vue superbe sur la campagne provençale. L'accueil a été chaleureux et authentique -- on sent tout de suite la passion et le respect de la nature qui animent les vignerons. La dégustation était un vrai moment de partage : des vins élégants, précis, pleins de caractère. Le Bandol rosé est d'une finesse rare, le rouge puissant mais très équilibré, et le blanc -- une révélation ! Nous avons aussi beaucoup apprécié les explications sur le travail en bio et l'histoire du domaine familial. Un endroit à ne pas manquer si vous aimez le vin, la Provence et les rencontres sincères. Nous sommes repartis les bras chargés de bouteilles et le cœur léger !