While we have this nice discussion on Bandol going… any thoughts on Domaine La Tour du Bon? I’ve yet to have it myself, and the fact that Kermit Lynch imports this certainly vouches for its potential quality… however at 55% Mourvedre and at or nearing 15% ABV in many vintages I’m not nearly as interested. This seems fairly atypical for Bandol, especially given the high levels of Grenache and Cinsault. In my mind Bandol shows best after 10+ years like Bordeaux so I couldn’t possibly begin to judge for myself. Their Saint Ferreol bottling is compelling though at 90% Mourvedre / 10% Carignan.
I love Tour du Bon and have visited with Anges several times. Her 08 Saint Ferreol is my WOTY so far. We poured it blind amongst some stunning wines and it was the hands down fav.
Their style and terroir are a bit different. Tour Du Bon is up higher and a little warmer and I think the wines show well a little earlier (similar to the way Terrebrune feels a little more approachable early). I’ve had the 90 which may have been the first vintage they made the wines and it was great- but have not wines between 1990 and 2004.
As far as ABV, I think if you measured (vs what is on labels) most Bandol from the last 15 or so years is probably near 14.5% (or higher). It is hot, getting hotter, and they’ve had some years with small yields.
I tend to gravitate towards lower ABV with the exception of Bandol. I still think they produce some of the most compelling wines for the $.
Haven’t had Tour du Bon but was also interested when I saw Kermit imported it. Agree on Terrebrune being more approachable early, one of my grocery stores carried the 2014 (until I slowly bought most of it).
Ch. Sainte Anne Bandol rouge have stayed at 13% or lower, at least on the labels on the vintages I’ve had (2016 and very few older ones). In some vintages, they’re at 100% Mourvèdre. Pure and clean expression of the grape. Including the impressive whites, their wines gives the impression of a cool-climate Bandol.
In the US, I’ve really enjoyed their wines on the youngish side. Old ones I’ve had in France were great, but I bought a bunch of early & late 90’s and early 00’s a 5-6 years ago and they did not show well here. I’m assuming it was a transport / storage issue as most were the same vintages that I tried in France. (They are now with a different importer, so I would assume better)
It would be interesting to measure their ABV as there is no “cool-climate” per se in Bandol but they always come off more “fresh”. To me, their wines feel like a more rustic / raw Terrebrune. I usually really dig the rosé as it is a little more refreshing than others.
Brief question since you’re in CA as well Hardy…where are you generally buying your Bandol? I’m assuming older vintages are from auction, but the one problem with being a fan of the region is that retailer seldom carry more than two or three producers at a time. Even large retailers like K&L have a very limited inventory beyond Rose.
All over. Current releases of stuff in the Kermit book I buy mostly from Kermit. If I need to restock or buy more than what is available via KLWM there are a number of retailers in S. CA that seem to get have decent allocations.
Most of my old stuff has been purchased over the last 10yrs on auction and some gems / restocks via Kogod (not inexpensive but always awesome provenance and service). For years ,vineyard designates / special cuvées / large formats would sell for way less than current release. No longer not the case (I think an unnamed WB’r out of the mid-atlantic and I helped ruin that streak)
Though I intend to drink and share them all, in the back of my mind I always hoped they magically “Clos Rougeard” and I’d be Bitcoin’n in Bandol.
If Bandol ever were to get any kind of meaningful attention from rich collectors you know Tempier would be the first to go stratospheric. I mean, is there any other producer that could, arguably, be the first to take off like that? … crap, did I just talk myself into spending more money on Tempier?
