Domaine des Trois Filles

La Cadière-d’Azur, Bandol

Bandol's Latest Female Star.

Lyle Railsback, France+Western Importer: "Audrey Arlon was the assistant winemaker at Domaine du Gros 'Noré until leaving in 2013 to take over her family's vines in La Cadière-d’Azur. Her parents founded the winery as "Domaine des Trois Filles," named after Audrey and her two sisters, Leonie and Justine. They now farm a modest 9 hectares of old gobelet vineyards which they co-planted with rye, fava beans, clover, and radish sprouts in between the rows. In the spring, they fold it into the earth to protect the soil while keeping humidity and maintaining a low temperature in the increasingly hot weather of Southern France. Giving natural aeration to the roots, and better development of earthworms, they seek to limit the spread of weeds, create greater biodiversity, and promote microbial life in the soil. All of this work in the vines shows in the extreme deliciousness of the wines.

As you would expect in Bandol at this level, Audrey and her sisters use native, wild yeasts in fermentation, use only gravity in the cellar to move the wines, then age in large wooden foudres (giving their Rouge an additional year beyond most Bandol producers), before bottling without any fining or filtration. Bandol Chez Arlon is classic, old-style, but with a graceful refinement that offers immediate pleasure."

Wines available:
Bandol Rosé
Bandol Rouge