Château Pradeaux

The Château Pradeaux is situated on the outskirts of the town of Saint Cyr-sur-Mer that lies directly on the Mediterranean Ocean between Toulon and Marseilles. The estate has been in the hands of the Portalis family since before the French Revolution. In fact, Jean-Marie-Etienne Portalis, who inherited the estate in 1752, helped draft the Napoleonic Code and assisted at the negotiation of the Concordat under Napoleon the First. The estate was devastated during the French Revolution and suffered the effects of the phylloxera epidemic in the 19th century. Suzanne Portalis and her daughter, Arlette, retreated to the domaine during World War II and undertook to revive the domaine. The domaine is currently under the direction of Cyrille Portalis, the sole direct descendant of Suzanne and Arlette. He continues to maintain the great traditions of this estate and is assisted by his wife, Magali, and now his two sons, Etienne and Edouard.

The estate produces the most idiosyncratic and compelling wines of the Bandol appellation along with a miniscule amount of a rather special extra virgin olive oil which we are importing for the first time in 2019 from the crop harvested in the fall of 2018.  The vineyards and the olive trees are cultivated in as natural a manner as possible with reliance on organic methods. In fact, for many years during the spring months sheep grazed the property thereby eliminating any need to use herbicides and at the same time providing a natural compost.

The olive oil is every bit as remarkable as the wines of Pradeaux are.  It is difficult to comprehend, perhaps, but the olives are the progeny of 500 year-old trees.  These ancient trees, gnarled and noble, produce small amounts of highly concentrated and flavorful olives from an ancient Provençale variety known simply as “BRUN”.