Bandol Chateau Vannieres question

[Davy Strange]

Good evening,

I find it hard to come here so I hope you will forgive me if I am brief.

I wondered if anyone had any recent experience of the Bandol producer Chateau Vannieres? The last one I had was the 2001 when it was two years old - this was a long time ago. If you have tried it recently do you feel it is a Bandol with long ageing capability? Continued life permitting I like them when they are twenty years old or more. Also, is it still a relatively low Brett Bandol? I'm no fan of Brett but the wild savage in me - who's not terribly wild - let's me make a slight exception for Bandol.

Any recent intelligence gratefully received!

I shall now disappear like a phantom into the night.

Anon,
Davy.

 

[Stephen Pickles]

Good to see you here Davy. I am a fan of Vannierres, partly because the chateau is done in magnificent scottish baronial victorian style, and partly becasue they are old school - certainly when I was buying them up to around 2010. I haven't been on a proper shopping trip in bandol since 2018, and I didn't taste / try Vannieres on that trip due to lack of time.

I do have some 2001 in the cellar, personally my view was they are long lived , trad bandol, which if you give them the time they need repay age. Let me have a burrow for some notes from a visit in the noughties.

 

[Stephen Pickles]

OK, so I was last there in 2008, tasted the 2006 and 2004 reds. Both dark bramble fruit, fine acidity and a meaty edge, but that's mourvedre not brett. I did buy some back vintages, summer time is not really the time for bandol red for me. I will open a bottle of 2001 in autumn and give you an update then?
I do remember on visits there earlier that every producer I ever spoke to about 2001 said it was an extraordinary vintage , even for Bandol which tends to be favoured by good weather.

 

[Davy Strange]

Good to see you here Davy. I am a fan of Vannierres, partly because the chateau is done in magnificent scottish baronial victorian style, and partly becasue they are old school - certainly when I was buying them up to around 2010. I haven't been on a proper shopping trip in bandol since 2018, and I didn't taste / try Vannieres on that trip due to lack of time.

I do have some 2001 in the cellar, personally my view was they are long lived , trad bandol, which if you give them the time they need repay age. Let me have a burrow for some notes from a visit in the noughties.

Please don't go to any trouble. Since I know the same family is in charge (son slowly taking over from Eric), I shall assume the best and blow my wad on some bottles to squirrel away for a long time.

I've recently got some Gros'Noré as well, both the Bandol and the Bandol Cuvée Antoinette - with the Vannieres as well, that's a chunk of my wine fridge booked for very nearly all of the rest of my life!

Why the sudden interest in Bandol? I was sent a Miguoa 2000 and a 2001 from my cellar in Burgundy and it occurred to me that, even though I love Bandol deeply, I've only purchased two three packs of mags since my 30th birthday (spent in Bandol). I'd been letting the side down, which side I'm not sure, but I'll go to the one mirror in the house and check.

Cheers!

 

[Davy Strange]

OK, so I was last there in 2008, tasted the 2006 and 2004 reds. Both dark bramble fruit, fine acidity and a meaty edge, but that's mourvedre not brett. I did buy some back vintages, summer time is not really the time for bandol red for me. I will open a bottle of 2001 in autumn and give you an update then?
I do remember on visits there earlier that every producer I ever spoke to about 2001 said it was an extraordinary vintage , even for Bandol which tends to be favoured by good weather.

The 2001 was fantastic as a young beast, as were Pibarnon and Pradeaux. I wasn't as keen on the Tempier 01s as the 00s as a new winemaker had taken over, cleaned up the place and insisted on harvesting later - the Cabassaou was 15.5% if memory serves. Even though I was sniffy about it in 2003, it was bloody marvellous at last new year!

Anon!

 

[Paul Anderson]

Great to see you back here Davy. I visited Vannieres in 2016 and could only taste a recently bottled vintage of the red 2014, I think. It is definitely for the long term and at least 20 years should see it coming round to reasonable drinkability. As I am now 61 yo I am concerned they may outlive me and can only hope my children or grandchildren get into wine
For what its worth I have also recently had a bottle of Tempier 2000 and it was in a great place. Really lovely expression of Mourvedre and they don't come much better than this at that level.

 

[Davy Strange]

Great to see you back here Davy. I visited Vannieres in 2016 and could only taste a recently bottled vintage of the red 2014, I think. It is definitely for the long term and at least 20 years should see it coming round to reasonable drinkability. As I am now 61 yo I am concerned they may outlive me and can only hope my children or grandchildren get into wine
For what its worth I have also recently had a bottle of Tempier 2000 and it was in a great place. Really lovely expression of Mourvedre and they don't come much better than this at that level.

Hi Paul,

I love Tempier wines at around 20 years and am now waiting for what I hope is an entertaining event to open my 00 and 01 Miguoas. I've always through of myself as more of as a Tourtine kind of chap. A 2004 Miguoa two years ago demonstrated that I could well be wrong. The pudge of varietals in La Miguoa become totally wonderful with age.

I may just last 20 years longer. If I'm not going to, at least I've got plenty of quality kit to wash down the painkillers with I won't have any grandchildren to leave them, at least none I'll ever meet!

Cheers!

 

[Paul Anderson]

Davy, having seen your documentary/life story on TV, I heartily recommend any wine, and Tempier in particular, over the painkillers every time.

 

[Johnny Richardson]

I like Tourtine too but they evolve at a glacial pace compared to the regular Tempier offering, don't they?

I remember 2001 as being exceptional for Bandol, I bought quite a lot as we had a holiday home in the Var at that time, but sadly now all drunk, many of them were delicious at a fairly young age (for Bandol), though I do wish I had managed to hang on to some of them a bit longer.

I have a soft spot for Ch. Vannières as it was the first Bandol rouge I ever tasted back in the 80s, but it has been many years since I have tried one, difficult to find in this country and in any case I'm now far too old to start buying Bandol again! Others I liked were Gros Noré (can be bretty sometimes); Pibarnon: and J-P Gaussen.

 

[Davy Strange]

I like Tourtine too but they evolve at a glacial pace compared to the regular Tempier offering, don't they?

I remember 2001 as being exceptional for Bandol, I bought quite a lot as we had a holiday home in the Var at that time, but sadly now all drunk, many of them were delicious at a fairly young age (for Bandol), though I do wish I had managed to hang on to some of them a bit longer.

I have a soft spot for Ch. Vannières as it was the first Bandol rouge I ever tasted back in the 80s, but it has been many years since I have tried one, difficult to find in this country and in any case I'm now far too old to start buying Bandol again! Others I liked were Gros Noré (can be bretty sometimes); Pibarnon: and J-P Gaussen.

I find the regular Tempier offering a little dull compared to the special cuvées - it's not bad though, not at all! La Tourtine and Cabassaou are wines you buy when you are a teenager to drink when you retire!

I've just taken delivery of some Gros'Noré - the 00 and 01 mags of that were, until this last week, the only Bandol is bought since I was 30. There are just so many things to buy out there!

If you will forgive me, I must now disappear. My attempt to battle my demons and revisit here has not been terribly successful, in terms of psychotic experiences. What it has shown is that there are some genuinely lovely people on this forum. Thank you all.

Anon!

 

[Paul Anderson]

I have a soft spot for Ch. Vannières as it was the first Bandol rouge I ever tasted back in the 80s, but it has been many years since I have tried one, difficult to find in this country and in any case I'm now far too old to start buying Bandol again! Others I liked were Gros Noré (can be bretty sometimes); Pibarnon: and J-P Gaussen.

I have a single bottle of Pibarnon (2016 I think) but having visited J-P Gaussen 3 times have quite a few of his. I also liked La Laidiere but it was bought over by Tempier a few years ago, so is becoming more difficult to find. When I first visited La Laidiere in 2016 they still had vintages from the 1980's on sale. They were also very reasonably priced when you compare to prices for 30/35 year old Bordeaux or Burgundy. I bought a bottle of the 1989 and it was sublime a couple of years ago.