All it takes is a quick look in Kermit’s cellar to see the importance that Domaine Tempier plays in his life and, in turn, in the history of this company. We have been importing this benchmark producer from the Bandol appellation since the late 1970s, and each passing vintage confirms Tempier’s legendary status. It all started in 1936, when Lulu Tempier married Lucien Peyraud. As a wedding gift, Lulu’s father gave the young couple a farm near le Plan du Castellet, just north of the fishing village Bandol. After extensive research on the history of viticulture in the region, Lucien replanted the family’s holdings with the noble Mourvèdre grape that formerly thrived in the area’s clay and limestone soils. Thanks to his hard work, Bandol was awarded its own AOC, and the area became one of Provence’s greatest terroirs for producing long-lived red wines.
    I have fond memories of growing up in Provence, when my family was often invited to dine with Lulu and Lucien before his death in 1996. Just as Lucien is known as the Godfather of Bandol wine, Lulu excelled in the kitchen when it came to Provençal delicacies. We were often greeted with little garlic toasts with cured anchovies, or a plate of vegetables surrounding a mortar filled with freshly made aïoli. The main course often consisted of bouillabaisse from the day’s catch, or a slow-cooked gigot d’agneau smothered with garlic and herbes de Provence. Either dish called for some Bandol rouge, and I recall sitting in boredom as my father and Lucien babbled on and on about vintages, cuvées, terroirs . . .
    Now that I am old enough to have an idea what they might have been talking about, it is my turn to carry on such discourse as I gratefully announce the arrival of the 2011 vintage of Bandol rouge from Domaine Tempier. Daniel Ravier, Tempier’s winemaker for the past several years, likens this vintage to 2007 and 2009 with its ripeness and sun-induced amplitude on the palate. He adds that 2011 has additional freshness to distinguish it from those great years, “making it even more interesting.” Any amount of Tempier that you get for your dinner table or cellar will give you an idea of why we hold this producer in such high regard. These wines are not just the quintessential Provençal wines, but also the quintessential KLWM wines. It is not only our hope but our duty to pass on the values that define Tempier, the wine as well as the family: generosity, soul, and pure joie de vivre.—Anthony Lynch