Château Canadel is a small, family-owned estate with 137 acres of prime vineyards on a unique terroir, located in the hamlet of Le Plan du Castellet, within the famed terraces of Bandol. The property consists of a small village of historic houses, built around a chapel and ancient water canals, dating back to the 13th century. These canals gave the estate its name, which evolved over time: Canal d’eau became Canadeau, and finally Canadel. Château Canadel’s unique vineyards are planted on a geological anomaly with an inversion of soil layers from the birth of the Alps, known as the Renversement du Beausset. This resulted in the Triassic layer being flipped on top of the Cretaceous layer due to the subduction of a tectonic plate which has surfaced the oldest rock outcroppings in the whole of the appellation. Throughout the 20th century, the grapes from this estate were sold to Domaines Ott. In 2007, it was purchased by Jacques and Caroline de Chateauvieux, beginning the revitalization of the unique history of the property and terroir. Since 2009, the winery has been run by their daughter Laure Benoist, agricultural engineer, and her husband Vianney Benoist, agronomist and enologist. Laure and Vianney practice organic viticulture and use biodynamic principles in their vineyard work, with all work being done by hand on the terraces. Finally, after 5 years of diligent work in their vineyards, the first vintage was made in 2014 and the resulting wines already show incredible depth and terroir expression. With their unique soil and position within Bandol in Le Plan du Castellet, Laure and Vianney are focused on making long-lived reds from the local mourvèdre as well as small amounts of elegantly structured Bandol rosé and blanc. The young, hard-working spirit behind this estate is poised to claim a place among the greats of Bandol.