Winemaker Notes
It is not packed with jam, but it is jam-packed with goodies. Suffice to say: classic Bandol flavors, unfiltered. Those who like such flavors - you know if you fit the bill - will be in heaven.
Blend: 80% Mourvedre, 15% Grenache, 5% Cinsault
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This has a dark leathery frame but remains sleek and pure overall, with a dense core of currant preserves, steeped plum and lightly mulled blackberry fruit. Best from 2017 through 2025.
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.