Tempier Bandol 'La Tourtine' 2004

When Lucie ‘Lulu’ Tempier married Lucien Peyraud in 1936, her father gave them Domaine Tempier. Over the following decades, the couple were instrumental in establishing the Bandol appellation, and with Tempier as its quintessential example. It is now one of France’s greatest wine estates.

Lucien was a master of long-lived, savoury reds majoring on the grape Mourvèdre, as well as an iconic rosé and a rare Bandol Blanc. Lulu was the genius in their kitchen, at least partly responsible for introducing the world to Provençal cooking, alongside food writer Richard Olney and chef Alice Waters, her friends.

Tempier’s flagship Bandol Rouge is the reference point for the style. Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault, and Carignan are sourced from an amphitheatre of 40-year-old biodynamic vineyards and then aged in oak foudres for up to 20 months. Still just a fraction of the price of many of France’s other cult bottles, it is essential drinking among artisanal wine lovers.

The single vineyard versions are even better - powerful, long-lived reds that are some of the ultimate expressions of Bandol. The ‘world’s greatest rosé’ (Robert Parker) remains an ageworthy classic.