2016 Domaine de Terrebrune Rouge Bandol

Winemaker Notes: Reynald Delille’s magical blanc does a lot of things well. Let’s start with the aroma: Imagine yourself strolling down a dirt path alongside one of his vineyards on a beautiful sunny day. Inhale deeply, and you might notice whispers of wild fennel, fresh pine, or salty sea air. It is all there in the bouquet of this charming wine, and if you pay close attention you’ll find even more. In its various shades of color, Terrebrune is first and foremost a wine of refreshment, and a wine of great elegance. The white is, of course, no exception. Even better, if you lay it down for five to ten years, it will ripen until it smells of golden mirabelle plums, and the flavors of Triassic limestone will become ever more pronounced in its distinctive finish. The Clairette grape should get a lot more attention than it does. It brings freshness and acidity to southern blends, it drinks up its surroundings and imparts them with beautiful clarity, and its anti-oxidative qualities lend themselves to long life in bottle.

Blend: Blend: 85% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache, 5% Cinsault

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Wine & Spirits - "Reynald Delille tends 74 acres in the hills of Ollioulles, where limestone underlines the clay soils, and breezes off the Mediterranean refresh the vines. He favors a high percentage of mourvèdre in his red Bandol—85 percent—which he lets mellow in foudres for 18 months. The 2016 is dark and spicy, the tannins and acidity giving the plummy fruit an impressive sense of size and strength without any rough edges. It’s stony and savory, elegant enough to drink now, although it is sure to reveal more detail with another decade in the cellar"