The Boisseaux family's Mourvèdre-led Bandol red and rosé, and Clairette white, from clay and limestone at La Cadière-d'Azur.
Bandol's vineyards climb from the Mediterranean towards the Massif de la Sainte-Baume on restanques, terraces held up by dry-stone walls. The soils are mostly stony limestone, with sandy marls and sandstone in places, and Mourvèdre must make up at least half of each estate's red plantings.
Vannières sits at La Cadière-d'Azur on clay and limestone soils near the sea, sheltered from the Mistral by the ring of hills, and has five centuries of history. Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault go into the red and rosé, Clairette and Bourboulenc into the white.
Eric Boisseaux's grandfather Lucien Boudot acquired Vannières, and the family's roots are in Burgundy. Eric adapted Burgundian winemaking to Bandol's drier conditions, farms without chemical or synthetic products, and is passing the estate to his son Charles-Eric.
Reds ferment for 30 to 35 days with daily punch-downs, then age 22 months in foudres and French oak barrels. The château lists Bandol Rouge vintages back to 1982, and gives the wine 4 to 40 years.