We recently opened this bottle of Bandol, purchased at the Domaine when tasting with Mike T., Nils and Christina, for a meal of pappardelle with lamb sausage and fresh porcini in a red wine reduction sauce.
n: initially a bit closed-in, opening up to show deep fruit and a briery note not unlike a Zin
p: big, rich flavors of plums and blackberries, tannins supple but still present, brawny, great structure and a long finish
My recollection of this wine at the time of purchase (2001) was a beautifully clean but lighter style of Bandol. My, how the times have changed! At this stage, it's big and still fairly unevolved but drinking very well. I can see why Mike T. says that he now prefers this Domaine's wines to those of Gros Noré. It went very well with the lamb dish, which my cousin had concocted as a match for a Bandol (I'm not the only wine geek in the family). On a personal note, I was gratified to see that this wine, which I had traipsed around France and hand carried back to the US, showed no signs of heat damage (one or two others of the
15 bottles I brought back had seepage).
Mark Lipton
p.s. Mike, if you read this: when did the present owner take over at Tour du Bon?