It’s my second time drinking Domain Tempier Rouge - this time a 2018, and, much like my first experience, I don’t love it. Tons of game, a bit of deep dark cherry in the middle, and an overload of salt and bitterness on the finish. I feel like there’s a lot more that should be coming out of this (it’s closed), and the salt & bitterness are way too much. I’m not having it with food which is certainly part of the problem, but in its current state, I can’t imagine anything that would really make it perfect. Similarly, decanting would help, but in my opinion, I don’t think any amount of decanting would open it up to where I presume it should be. I’m thinking it needs a lot more time and that I opened it too young. That being said, while I certainly know Bandols and Tempier can age, I haven’t really heard serious caution against drinking Bandols/Tempiers young the way many would caution against drinking, say, a classic Barolo before 10-20 years of age.
I know Tempier is the flagship Bandol producer and much loved and admired. So, I’m curious, what experience have you had with Tempier rouge? And what’s a good minimum age where one can start drinking it? And please feel free to disagree with my assessment - what’s been your experience with young Tempier rouge?
While I’m still looking for the sweet spot, I don’t even think about opening Tempier (or Pradeaux or Pibarnon) before 10-12 years post-vintage. I opened a 2010 Tempier Classique recently and while quite good, I think I’d like it more in another 5+ years.
I have little to no experience with these wines, but based on the few bottles I have had. These are wines that I wouldn’t open until they are at least 20+ years post vintage. I bought a few 2019’s but do not plan on opening them until sometime in the 2040’s.
Depending on the vintage: I ve never enjoyed the basic cuvee before age 13 … and the special cuvees before age 20+ …
going to open a 1997 Tourtine today.
I used to drink them quite often but not so much lately. With provencal cuisine (grilled lamb,garlicy stuffed vegetables, not fatty fish with aioli), I liked them cool and 5-6 years old. They have come together but still have a lot of energy. I could say that about a lot of wine.
Pre-2000 reds…really fun, cool, old-school Bandol. 2000 and later reds, big, jammier, riper, less animale…wines that could be made anywhere. You can age them, but they won’t be the same as the older wines.
I’d say a 2018 Tempier is not going to show well, but also will say it depends on vintage too. Some will show better than others at a youthful age, but generally I like these after 12 or more years of age.
Marshall can answer for himself, but really, specifics of what? WB is not a law court. He’s reporting on what he tasted, and, about that, he’s fairly specific. He may have no idea what caused the change and there’s no obligation he should. If you disagree, based on your own tastings, by all means register your disagreement. But cross-examining him doesn’t get us anywhere.
I actually think the 2018 is drinking pretty well. Depending on the vintage I feel pretty free to drink these whenever with a healthy decant and usually hold a few bottles back to see what they’re like in a couple decades (one of the best wines I had last year was a bottle of '89). That said - for me the basic Tempier is the quintessential drink this with people you like in whatever setting wine - could see feeling differently if I thought about the wine itself differently (if that makes sense). I put the special cuvees somewhere where I won’t think about them for ten years.
Maybe someone can weigh in, but I believe there was a winemaker change sometime around 2002-2003. I remember reading an article sometime around 2006-2008 about how the wines starting showing as more modern, “cleaner” and less interesting/funky starting somewhere in that time frame.
—Update: Found out on WineSpectator that Daniel Ravier took over as winemaker in 2000, but made the most changes in the 2001-2005 window:
"Perhaps Ravier’s biggest changes at Tempier occurred in the cellar, where old foudres (large wooden casks used for aging wines) were either cleaned or replaced after 2001 and then the oldest part of the winery was renovated with new cement vats added in 2007 for fermentation. . . . The most dramatic changes in the wines here occurred with the 2004 and 2005 vintages, which blazed with a newfound purity, showcasing vivid, nearly electric notes of cassis-soaked rosemary sprigs and minerality. “The cellar,” said Ravier plainly when I asked him what kick-started the new profile. “The vineyards have always been what they are, but cleaning the cellars was certainly a change.”
