Winemaker Notes
This bottling is named in honor of the much-loved and greatly missed founders of the estate, who not only built up Tempier from ruins during tumultuous and trying times, but also helped to bring the luster back to the long-neglected Bandol region as a whole. Tempier says this is their signature Bandol; it's a blend of dark fruit and vibrant stony minerality—a classic expression of what they do best.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A burst of fragrant violet and dried lavender introduces this layered, fresh red. Shows textural complexity, with finely hewn tannins that will go the distance in the cellar; try to resist the urge to drink this now. There’s beautiful purity to the fruit, de- tailed with singed sage, thyme and rosemary. Mourvè- dre, Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan.
Full of ripe fruit, and robust, earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance, where it still goes by the name Monastrell or Mataro. It is better associated however, with the Red Blends of the Rhône, namely Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Mourvèdre shines on its own in Bandol and is popular both as a single varietal wine in blends in the New World regions of Australia, California and Washington. Somm Secret—While Mourvèdre has been in California for many years, it didn’t gain momentum until the 1980s when a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley finally began to renew a focus on it.
Provence’s leader in concentrated and age-worthy red wines, Bandol is home to the dense, deep and earthy Mourvèdre grape. Like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Bandol produces characterful reds that, while approachable in their youth, are typically designed for the cellar.
Given its coastal, Provencal situation, Bandol also naturally produces an assortment of charming, aromatic rosés made of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault.