Domaine Lafran-Veyrolles (Bandol)

the private road to Lafran Veyrolles Chemin de l'Argile, la Cadière d'Azur (Bandol)
The red Bandol of Domaine Lafran-Veyrolles made our day when we tasted it at the Maison des Vins de Bandol, the Bandol tasting-house where you can taste for free among dozens of Bandol wines and buy bottles if you want to at the estate's price. This wine was very beautiful and intense, with tannins already subdued and gentle, if firm and structured, and I wanted to know more about the estate. I went there alone on a hot august day.
Lafran-Veyrolles has always been an independant winery selling its wine directly to the clients. The estate is located a few kilometers from the mediteranean, between le Plan du Castelet and la Cadière d'Azur, along one of the renowned terroirs of the Appellation, the "chemin de l'Argile" (the "clay path"), not far from two Bandol estate named le Gros Noré and Pibarnon. It has about 10 hectares of vineyards, all around the winery, of which 6,5 hectares of Mourvèdre, the rest in Grenache, Cinsault, and some Clairette and Ugni Blanc. It also rents 2 hectares of vineyards, these ones mostly to make rosé. Overall, the estate is red-bandol centered. The white varieties make up 10 % of the whole surface,which is the average proportion in the whole of the Bandol Appellation btw. The estate is known for its reds, and for its long- and very-long-keep reds, says Michel, who works here to help Jean-Marie Castel, the vineyard manager and vintner in the estate. This is one of the oldest Bandol estates, Mr Ferec having in his time overlooked with Mr Peyraud (Domaine Tempier) the setting-up of the Bandol Appellation. The present owner is Mr Ferec's daughter, and there has been a family continuity in the running of this property. The Lafran name comes from the farthest traced owner (1641), Melchion Lafran, with documents of that time designating this property as land, bastide (farm), vineyards, olive trees and walnut trees.
The vinification and vineyard management at Lafran-Veyrolles is done by Jean-Marie Castel, who also sort of inherited this role, his father having also always worked for the the Ferec family. Even though he went to an enology school before joining Lafran-Veyrolles, Mr Castel continued the winemaking work here in the style of the estate, having a more comfortable vatroom and a cold-temperature system added to the previously rustic facility. As the "Chemin de l'Argile" name suggests it, the soil here is densely clayish, quite tough to work, and on the other hands it sort of keeps the vineroots in the cool, and the Mourvèdre ripens very well on the slopes around here making it particularly fit for a vinification in red. This is a terroir for reds, Michel says, explaining why it makes such powerful wines. From Lafran-Veyrolles up to Pibarnon, you find this same Chemin-de-l'Argile soil.

Jean-Marie Castel, Lafran-Veyrolles chai master White grapes (Clairette and Ugni Blanc) are crushed and pressed, then ferment under temperature control in metal vats. The repartition between Clairette and Ugni Blanc is about 70%-30% here. The rosé is made with the same varieties as the red, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault. Part of the rosés here are press-rosés, meaning that they are crushed, pressed and put to ferment in vats, while another, smaller batch is made with bled-rosés. For the reds, the grapes are crushed, partly destemmed and poured in vats for the fermentation. The Cuvée-Tradition grapes go through a 80% destemming while the Cuvée Spéciale gets something between 20% and 40 % destemming, a percentage varying along with the millesime. This last cuvée is a long keep wine, and it will show more astringence in the early years. The Mourvèdre share will also vary between the two cuvées, the Tradition and the Spéciale, the first having 70 % of Mourvèdre (the rest being Grenache, Cinsault and some old Carignan), while the Spéciale has some 95 % of Mourvèdre, the remaining 5% being mostly Grenache. The Mourvèdre of this high-end cuvée is also made with the oldest vines of the estate, with grapes that are smaller in size on these clusters and give well-extracted wines. The high proportion of whole clusters doesn't bring too much astringency on the Cuvée Spéciale because they waited for a perfect "aoûtement de la rafle" before harvesting, an expression which can be translated by "wood ripening" or "stem ripening". The unwelcome astringency in wines, and particularly in some young Bandol reds often comes from stems being too green. The Mourvèdre, if tannic, is not by itself so astringent and a large part of the herbaceous mouth comes from these green stems that have been kept in the juice during the vinification. And when I consider the relative young age of this Cuvée Spéciale that surpised us at the Maison des Vins de Bandol, the high proportion of stems is really a surprise : this wine had a very civilized mouth, tannic but smooth at the same time, with the complex aromas coming up by waves.The scenic beauty of the Chemin de l'Argile While the harvest begins early september for other varieties in Bandol, the Mourvèdre is harvested later in the month, at the end of septembre. All the work in the vineyard is manual except for the plowing and they dont use any weedkillers, just some suphur or copper if necessary. They didn't ask for the organic label but keep working like they always did, on a conservative way, low key on chemicals. Mr Castel, the vineyard manager and vintner at Lafran told me later that they could have asked for the organic label 40 years ago but that they didn't really take time to do it. Btw the Bandol climate is such that if there's a region where chemicals can be bypassed, this is it, I think. As we speak, two student-looking guys walk in the winery, they've made last year's harvest here and come to be sure that they are listed on the 12-people harvest team for this season too. The harvest is manual for the whole of Bandol Appellation and the pickers at Lafran-Veyrolles are usually local youngs with a few older people from the nearest villages. They eat together at noon, the meal used to be prepared by the winery but now each picker brings his meal along, but the tradition endures in the way that there's free wine (Bandol !) for everyone (good mood guaranteed)...Jean-Marie Castel in the foudre cellarAt this point of my visit, Jean-Marie Castel walks in, and he explains his work on the wines here.
As I point to the fact that their Bandol Cuvée Spéciale 2005 is already so nice in the mouth, without that astringent side that often comes with young Mourvèdre, Jean-Marie Castel explains that the wines here are relatively strong and robust at the end of the vinification stage, but that the tannins become elegant quite fast during the elevage, and he says that this is something recurrent on the estate. In his opinion, it comes from the soil which is very rich in oligo-elements, and from the work on the soil. About the stems, he tempers the proportion of stem being kept for the vinification. He says that these past 4 to 5 years have been drought years (even for Bandol which is rather dry region) and that it made the "aoutement" (wood ripening) of the stem more arduous, so they tend to take in less whole clusters. They check plot by plot before the harvest each time, to decide which part will go whole-clustered and which part will be destemmed. There's only the old vines, the small-grape Mourvèdres for example which are used for the Cuvée Spéciale, that ripen well in these conditions and that always go for sure whole-clustered. In 2005 for example (the nice Bandol Cuvée Spéciale that we tasted at the Maison des Vins was a 2005) they kept 40 % of stems, and in 2006 and 2007 something between 40 % and 60 %.Foudres line at Lafran-VeyrollesJean Marie says that he gives a lot of attention to the elevage stage in order to have a readily drinkable wine without having to wait too many years. First, they harvest with a good maturity, so the tannins usually have a good maturity. On the elevage side, they have now a new foudre, a few new casks too, along with the old foudres (pic above), and this helps make the wine more round. People want wines that are drinkable early, he says, not only the export market but also the french one and the restaurants. So they try to vinify in such a way that shortly after the 18-months elevage, which is compulsory for Bandol-AOC, the wines can be drunk without suffering from excessive tannin-astringency. That's where the subtile use of olf foudres/new foudres/new casks plays a role. But they wanted to satisfy the demanding amateur who wants to drink Bandol after a long keep, that's why they make these two cuvées, the "Tradition" with about 70% Mourvèdre, and the "Spéciale" with nearly 100% mourvèdre. He says that in spite of the silky tannins of their young Bandols, these wines age well. Recently a long-time customer told him that he opened a Lafran-Veyrolles 1988 and the wine was great and had not peaked. Mr Castel says that while in his opinion 20 years seem a bit too much to wait for a Bandol, when he thinks back to these years (1988, 1989, 1990), there was lots of concentration. They had more old vines back then, and they had a larger whole-clusters proportion. he says that these days they the 1998 (Cuvée Spéciale) begin to taste well, also the 1997 which are a bit more concentrated, while the 1996 & 1995 are lighter. So in his opinion the right potential for the Cuvée Spéciale is 10 years for an optimum pleasure, you can always wait more but it is not necessarily wise to wait too much just for the sake of drinking an old Bandol.
Speaking of old Bandol, here is a proof that this estate bottled its wine already in 1947 [pic on left], I would like to taste a Lafran-Veyrolles this old, assuming it would have been stored in proper conditions...Jean-Marie Castel near a Mourvèdre vineNow, everyone knows that Mourvèdre plays a central role in the aging capabilities of Bandol, and that the Bandol rosé itself can age quite well, but imagine my surprise when I spotted this bottle [pic on right - click to enlarge ] along the wall, a Domaine-Ferec rosé 1942 (Domaine Ferec was the previous name of the estate, Ferec being the family name of the owners) : there are so many flashes and images that come across your mind when you look at such a bottle, even if the bottle is just there as a decoration now, and that there isn't probably any other such bottle around to try a tasting from it. The label reads : "Grand Vin Rosé, Nouastre Vin (the cuvée name I suppose, means "our wine" in the provencal idiom) Louis Ferec, propriètaire viticulteur". This bottle also speaks by itself about the fact that this estate already bottled its wine at a time it was still relatively rare across France, but also about the fact that in the region, rosé wine was already enough respected as a wine to be bottled as such. The rosé was a hype-free, local wine to be drunk with friends as a refreshment. 1942, for the information was under the german occupation (which lasted from 1940 to 1944) and the Bandol Appellation was just one year old (it was created in 1941). The label doesn't state the Bandol Appellation yet, maybe the labels were printed before the war. I imagine how the area looked then, people around Bandol having a bottle of rosé in this then-still-pristine region, there were few cars then, only small narrow roads (mostly dirt roads), no Autoroute (toll divided highway) and not this present overbuilding epidemic and encroachment which deprived the fishers village from their natural beauty. Mr Castel says that Louis Ferec was a teacher at the Fine Arts Institute in Toulon then, and managed the estate, which was inherited by his wife as a side-occupation passion. He developped the estate and the wine business with love. See the Lafran-Veyrolles page (in French) on the estate on the Maison des Vins de Bandol's website. Like all of the website, it is a mine of information on Bandol wines and estates, whose author is Pascal Perier, the Bandol passionate who receives you and pours the wines at the Maison des Vins. He knows every terroir of the Appellation and spends lots of time with the vintners, using much of his free time to travel up and down the Bandol scenic vineyards.The Vat Room Jean-Marie Castel remembers that when he began to work here in the early 80s', the facility was rustic, with old balloon cement vats outside of the building where the juice and must were subjected to erratic temperature variations and where heavy and unecessary manual work was needed to unload the grapes and pomace. They made big investments in 1985 with a new convenient vatroom in the place of the many small rooms that they had before. They chose enamelled vats (they didn' wish stainless steel) which are better for the vinification. Of course, the vinification has changed compared to his yoth time : he remembers having seen the "comporte en bois" and the manual crusher in the vineyard (like you can see here on one of my stories in the Loire). A comporte is an open cask where the crushed grapes are poured. While traditional and rustic, it is hazardous for the future wine, especiially under temperatures like the ones at Bandol. Jean-Marie Castel says that he saw this practice during 5 years, between 1980 and 1985. There wasn't even a press, the rosé was a bled rosé, and the old ways had survived well into the 80ss until investments were made. Now they have these temp-controlled vats, a press, not a pneumatic one but anyway they still do bled wine for the rosé and most of Lafran-Veyrolles wine is red. The harvest is manual (like it is the rule on Bandol) with small boxes. The big difference compared to the old days is that grapes arrive in perfect condition at the facility. They also use carbonic ice if needed to cool the grapes. Speaking about the malolactic fermentations, they usually let the nature work : the malolactic fermentation starts by itself, or it doesn't, or it stops at mid-course. For the whites which are often low on malic acid, it often starts then stops, so they usually block the malo by lowering the temperature, which allows to keep some freshness and a full-mouth feel. He notes that in the last few years, the malolactic fermentation has a hard time to get done. He says that the malo helps get wine get through interesting tasting stages along the years but as they have a small production of rosé in this estate and that their customers drink it very early, there's no need for such a vinification here. On the reds it is much easier and goes faster. the reason is the lactic yeast is on the grape's skin and as they rack the must for the whites and rosés, there's much lactic yeasts left, while in a red-wine vinification the skins exchange quietly with the juice. For the alcoholic fermentation to start, for the whites and rosés, they add yeasts because with the cold temperature the wild yeasts would be too weak. They use local (Bandol) yeast selections for that. For reds they usually don't add any external yeasts. The light and breeze of Bandol...(shot at Lafran) The wines :
__Lafran-Veyrolles white Bandol 2007. 70% Clairette 30% Ugni Blanc. Lychees, fresh white fruits. 13 Euro (tax included).
__Lafran-Veyrolles Bandol rosé 2007. 65% Mourvèdre, the rest in Grenache & Cinsault. On the market in march (folowing the harvest). Nice richness in the mouth with grapefruit aromas. 12,5 Euro
__Lafran-Veyrolles Bandol red "Tradition" 2005. We taste from 50cl sample bottles designed for the tasting. 65% Mourvèdre, the rest divided between Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan. Ah, Bandol reds, here you are again, unmistakably powerful and intense... Nose : some chocolate, Zan, clove. Nice mouth, with already refined tannins. Bottled in may after 18 months of foudre/cask elevage. 80% destemming here. 15 Euro.
__Lafran-Veyrolles Bandol (red) "Cuvée Spéciale" 2005. The one that took my attention at the Maison des Vins. Very beautiful and complex, black ripe fruits, concentrated aromas that last on the palate, and again, very gentle and thin tannins. A pleasure. 95% Mourvèdre, 20% of it destemmed. Bottled a few months after the Tradition. Yields : 35-36 hectoliter/hectare (maximum authorized by the AOC rules is 40 ho/ha). 19 Euro.
Lafran-Veyrolles will take part to the big independent wineries fair in Paris (this page is outdated and lists 2007) next november and you will have the possibility to taste their wines there, and probably to speak to Mr Castel (check the wineries list on the wall when entering the fair). This huge Paris wine fair takes place twice a year and is a unique opportunity to taste thousands of wine for a single 6-Euro fee. Domaine Lafran Veyrolles2115 route de l'argile83740 La Cadière d'Azurphone +33 4 94 90 13 37fax +33 4 94 90 11 18email : contact at lafran-veyrolles.comlafran-veyrolles.com

Comments

[Tom C.]

Nice post, and beuatiful photos. I have a warm place in my heart for vignerons from Bandol, owing to how nice many of them were when I visited several wineries there in 1985. And also owing to how great the wines of Bandol are! Too bad so few of them make it to the U.S.

[Brian]

I just want to express my appreciation again for your wonderful blog. While I live in the heart of California wine country, I confess that I love French wines, and this blog really brings them home to me!

[Michael M]

Indeed, great post! I'm instantly transported by the great photos and of course the knowledge of how beautiful these Bandol wines are...

By any chance is Mr. Castel related to another Bandol producer: Castell-Reynoard? and do you know this producer or have you visited?

[M. Messenie]

Lefran-Veyrolles will be available in New York through Savio Soares Selections in May 09