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2012 Bandol Rouge

Domaine de la Tour du Bon
Discount Eligible $36.00
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Clients often come into the shop looking for the perfect wine to go with an extravagant dish. We find ourselves enjoying the challenge and are eager to suggest the perfect pairing. It leads me to ask myself, “What would be my absolute ideal feast with the ideal wine”? Well, picture this . . .

    On a lovely summer day, you stroll into the village of Le Brûlat in Bandol. As the salty wind envelops you, you amble along the garrigue-scented hills with aromas of lavender and thyme flowing in the air. You happen to stumble upon the picturesque Domaine de la Tour du Bon—a magical place that shelters a small farmhouse bed-and-breakfast where you feel like you immediately belong.

    As the night creeps in and it starts to cool off, why not enjoy a glass or bottle of the classic Tour du Bon Bandol rouge—one of my favorite Bandols in the shop and a steal at this moderate price. This Bandol captures the essence of the Mediterranean. It has lush fruit with hints of rosemary, squid ink, and peppery meaty flavors. Why not pair it with its perfect counterpoint, spicy Moroccan lamb sausages, or a traditional Provençal dish like bouillabaisse? –Bryant Vallejo

Technical Information
Wine Type: red
Vintage: 2012
Bottle Size: 750mL
Blend: 55% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 5% Carignan
Appellation: Bandol
Country: France
Region: Provence
Producer: Domaine de la Tour du Bon
Winemaker: Hocquard-Henry Family
Soil: Clay, Limestone, Silt, Sandstone
Aging: Wines age in foudres for 18 months before bottling
Alcohol: 14.5%

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About The Region

Provence

map of Provence

Perhaps there is no region more closely aligned with the history to Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant than Provence. Provence is where Richard Olney, an American ex-pat and friend of Alice Waters, lived, and introduced Kermit to the great producers of Provence, most importantly Domaine Tempier of Bandol. Kermit also spends upwards of half his year at his home in a small town just outside of Bandol.

Vitis vinifera first arrived in France via Provence, landing in the modern day port city of Marseille in the 6th century BC. The influence of terroir on Provençal wines goes well beyond soil types. The herbs from the pervasive scrubland, often referred to as garrigue, as well as the mistral—a cold, drying wind from the northwest that helps keep the vines free of disease—play a significant role in the final quality of the grapes. Two more elements—the seemingly ever-present sun and cooling saline breezes from the Mediterranean—lend their hand in creating a long growing season that result in grapes that are ripe but with good acidity.

Rosé is arguably the most well known type of wine from Provence, but the red wines, particularly from Bandol, possess a great depth of character and ability to age. The white wines of Cassis and Bandol offer complexity and ideal pairings for the sea-influenced cuisine. Mourvèdre reigns king for red grapes, and similar to the Languedoc and Rhône, Grenache, Cinsault, Marsanne, Clairette, Rolle, Ugni Blanc among many other grape varieties are planted.

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Old wine bottles

Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.

Inspiring Thirst, page 236