Chateau Sainte Anne

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Founded in the 1960s, Château Sainte Anne is a five-generation, family owned winery located in the small region of Bandol at the edge of Sainte Anne d'Evenos. A pioneering force in the Bandol appellation, the Dutheil family have forever been uncompromisingly diligent to low intervention winemaking. When other vineyards in the region adopted chemically-dependent farming styles that became popular in the decades following World War II, the Dutheil's resisted. Successfully certifying the estate as organic in 1976, Chateau Sainte Anne gained cult status during the late 1970s when François Dutheil worked with a handful of like-minded growers, including Thierry Puzelat, Pierre Overnoy, and Gramenon, to establish the first natural wine growers association in France: the Association de Vins Naturels. Today, Chateau Sainte Anne is managed by Françoise Dutheil and her son Jean-Baptiste.

Bandol has a special place among the wines of Provence. The proximity to the sea, along with strong winds between the steep hills, facilitates a unique micro climate that moderates the punishing summer heat to allow grapes to reach full ripeness while maintiaining relatively low alcohol levels. Château Sainte Anne's vineyards range from 35-85 years old, grown in chalky limestone soil with a southeastern exposition. As in the vineyard, in the cellar, Françoise and Jean-Baptiste work as naturally as possible. Each variety is harvested by hand at full ripeness, destemmed, and fermented and vinified without temperature manipulation. Fermentation, including malolactic, occurs naturally and the wines are bottles without fining or filtration and with minimal SO2 added only a bottling.

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Wine Terroirs: Chateau Sainte Anne