Appellation
Bandol
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedWhiteRosé
Provence · Recognised on 11 November 1941
Key points
- At most 40 hl/ha for all three colours; hand harvest.
- Natural alcohol at least 12% for red, 11.5% for white and rosé.
- Reds released from 1 May of the second year after the harvest.
Grape varieties
Red
Accessory varieties: Carignan, Syrah
Mourvèdre · 50 to 95% of the holding's vines
Carignan · 10% at most of the holding's vines
Syrah · 10% at most of the holding's vines
Blended in the same proportions as the vines
Rosé
Accessory varieties: Bourboulenc, Carignan, Clairette, Syrah, Ugni Blanc (20% at most of the holding's vines)
Mourvèdre · 20 to 95% of the holding's vines
Each accessory grape: at most 10% of the vines
White
ClairetteBourboulencUgni Blanc
Accessory varieties: Marsanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Vermentino (20% at most of the holding's vines)
Clairette · 30 to 95% of the holding's vines
Marsanne, Sauvignon, Sémillon: 10% each at most; Vermentino 20%
Production rules
40
hl/ha
Maximum yield
12
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
4,440
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Reds: 18 months in casks or foudres; whites, rosés: until the next 1 March
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 129 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 79 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 136 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Amphitheatre of slopes, closed north, open to the sea
- Soils: Thin, very stony soils, on "restanques" terraces
- Climate: Sheltered from the mistral; 3,000 h of sun, 650 mm a year
Wine style
- Red
- powerful, firmly built
- tannic
- long-lived
- Rosé
- pale wild-rose colour
- tannic structure
- keeps longer
- White
- pale straw
- floral aromas
- fine and structured
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
11 August 2026
Arrêté du 11 août 2026 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Bandol » (JORF du 15 août 2026 ; BO agri du 20 août 2026), qui remplace le texte homologué par l'arrêté du 14 avril 2025. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 11 novembre 1941.
Labelling terms
- The name of a registered lieu-dit may appear on the label
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Bandol » (BO n° 34 du 20 août 2026)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Official sourceArrêté du 14 avril 2025 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Bandol »— Légifrance — Journal officiel de la République française
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Reference bookWine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours— Allen Lane / Ecco (HarperCollins)
Across eight communes of the Var, in an amphitheatre of slopes open to the Bay of Bandol, near Toulon, the appellation makes reds, rosés and whites on dry-stone terraces called "restanques". Mourvèdre leads the reds: the text in force requires it to make up 50% to 95% of the red wines' vines, and the reds are aged at least eighteen months in casks or foudres. In the rosés it accounts for 20% to 95% of the vines.
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Bandol
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