Let’s say your thoughts are running to a crisp, aromatic white on a warm spring afternoon. A little Bourboulenc, maybe? Or how about some Picardan? Until recently, your search for wines made from these approved but highly obscure Châteauneuf-du-Pape grape varieties would almost surely have drawn a blank. Not only do many of the appellation’s 13 approved grapes disappear into blends, but in the case of these two, there are precious few rows growing in the entire world.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores of eight top Tablas Creek wines

Tablas Creek Vineyard – California Central Coast’s outpost of the partnership between the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel in the southern Rhône and the Haas family, longtime wine importers in the US – has gone to great lengths to shore up the shortfall. Now you can sip glasses (albeit not many) of the rare wines – as well as many more Tablas-facilitated bottles of other compelling US-grown Rhône varietals and blends. But it wasn’t easy…

Rhône focus

When they began their California search for vineyard land in the mid-1980s, US wine importer Robert Haas and his friends and partners Jean-Pierre and François Perrin (fourth-generation current proprietors of the prominent Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape) harboured no doubt that it was possible for terrific wines to be produced in the state from southern Rhône grape varieties.

All the raw material was in place – dry Mediterranean climate, shallow rocky soils (even limestone, if you looked carefully). What they wondered was, why weren’t more growers planting Grenache, Syrah or Mourvèdre?

The partners combed the state, from Napa Valley to the Sierra Foothills to Paso Robles, where they famously found their spot – a 49ha ranch on the Central Coast, west of Paso Robles proper, 19km as the crow flies from the Pacific ocean, with warm days, cool nights and – the clincher – limestone-rich soils. Fast-forward to 1997, and the team produced its first vintage of Tablas Creek’s Rhône wines. They were modelled on the blends of Beaucastel but crafted among the young vines on the 450m ridges between the town in the valley and the cooling coast. The rest is American wine history.

Tablas Creek is the first name in the sentence, the first search on the wine list, when it comes to domestic Rhône blends – and now-rare, single-variety bottlings. A quarter of a century on, wine styles hover between New World and Old. They’ve introduced a generation of wine lovers to the earthy beauty of wines that revel in California’s unique climate and geology. Wines with a distinct nod to the inspiration and character of their Châteauneuf archetypes.

Trouble in paradise

The seasoned Haas and Perrin brothers were under no misconception that the work required between purchasing promising land and releasing their first bottles would be easy. It took the three years they had expected to get cuttings from Beaucastel through the US quarantine system. Then more years to propagate them in quantities sufficient to plant vineyards.

But they were slightly less prepared for the collective shrug they received from the US market after the first flush of initial-vintage success. For wine lovers only just becoming enamoured of varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir at the time, grapes like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Roussanne and Viognier required a hand-sell to restaurant and retail customers. The inventory didn’t move. As Jason Haas, son of Robert and now partner and general manager of Tablas Creek, says: ‘We overestimated the market’s readiness for what we were doing. We were making wines from grapes that people didn’t know – French names they couldn’t pronounce, from a part of California that didn’t have a reputation.’

But as the younger Haas reports, his late father (Robert Haas passed away aged 90 in 2018) was ever-confident that he could make something happen. Jason Haas came aboard in 2002, having spent several earlier harvests working with the Perrin clan at Beaucastel in France, and together they forged bridges to consumers. They opened a tasting room and started a wine club to sell directly to a growing and excited customer base. They began to support the nascent communities they were part of – including the now-infamous Rhône Rangers, a coterie of US producers that, with tongue firmly in cheek, combined American chutzpah with southern French sensibilities, managing to build a fervent fan base for Rhône varieties and blends.

Brink of extinction

It’s well known that 13 varieties are approved in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In reality, a few of those grapes never show up in bottle because they were nearly lost to phylloxera in the late-1800s. Those already struggling in the vineyard – Picardan, for instance, particularly prone to powdery mildew – were simply never replanted.

Jacques Perrin, the father of Jean-Pierre and François, assumed the management of Beaucastel during the 1950s, and he rued the omissions. Convinced that he could make wines that more accurately expressed the full terroir of Châteauneuf if he had every variety in his arsenal, he set off to find the ‘lost grapes’ – Vaccarèse, Terret Noir, Bourboulenc, and that Picardan. According to Haas, the elder Perrin felt that the overwhelmingly Grenache-based blends made at the time lacked richness.

As it turned out, it was Mourvèdre that impressed Perrin, who made it the base of his flagship Beaucastel blend, rare to this day in the Grenache-heavy region – and echoed by the Haas family, who chose the site for Tablas thanks to its suitability for late-ripening Mourvèdre.

In the case of Picardan, Perrin was able to find it in a single vineyard, so they planted only a precious couple of rows at Beaucastel. It almost certainly would have gone extinct otherwise.

Today, there is little more than a single hectare of Picardan still planted in France and about 0.2ha (half an acre) at Tablas Creek. The Haas team, too, believed that they could craft the best Rhône blends from their limestone-rich soils if they had every last variety to work with. And to that end, they began the arduous process of shepherding cuttings from the Perrins’ experimental vineyard at Beaucastel through quarantine to propagate in the nursery they established on their property.

The goal was to incorporate the new wines in their cellar and make the cuttings available to American growers across the board. The final varieties have only just come online in the last couple of years, some earning a splash in the current-vintage bottlings of Esprit de Tablas and Esprit de Tablas Blanc, the estate’s flagship blends. But wait, there’s more… !

From its vineyard blocks, Tablas Creek has bottled the rarest of Rhône varieties on their own – likely one-offs in the world. That Picardan and Bourboulenc? They’re available, to the delight of the geekiest of fans.

Environmental pioneers

Starting in the 1950s – well ahead of other producers – Jacques Perrin began moving Château de Beaucastel (and all subsequent vineyards that the family would acquire or control) to organic farming. His belief: that it was the only reliable way to show off the character of the place. Organic, then, was a given from the get-go for Tablas Creek. But that was only the starting point.

As Haas describes it: ‘Take the idea [of organic farming] to its logical conclusion, and it’s not that we should be eliminating [just] chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers. We should be trying to eliminate anything that would have to come from off the property.’

There’s composting, sheep to graze, beneficial insect habitats… the holistic ecosystem of biodynamics, in other words, for an initial experimental swath of the vineyard. The results were beyond Haas’ expectations – immediate rather than long-term. In the first year, blocks from that biodynamic swath, tasted blind, outscored other samples across all varieties. The second year, the same. Despite the apparent quality benefits of that holistic farming, though, Haas admits they struggled to see the advantage of some of the less-scientific elements of biodynamics.

Then came a phone call from the nascent Regenerative Organic Alliance. ‘You’re already farming biodynamically, and you have your own flock of sheep [they have a shepherd on staff] – would you be part of the new certification we’re developing?’

Haas admits a less-than-eager reaction: not another certification! But a little research suggested that the new system – building soil health while focusing on the entire vineyard eco-system – held onto the pieces of biodynamics they thought were essential and left behind the parts that were maybe a distraction.

It included issues such as business practices and climate change that were already top of mind for Haas. ‘Farming in a way that incorporated everything from biodiversity in soil health to reducing the resources you use, how you treat your workers, to animal welfare. It felt like [Regenerative Organic farming] could be a game-changer in agriculture’s relationship to the environment. It wasn’t just, how can your farm be less of the problem? It was, how can agriculture be part of the solution to the big-picture issues of resource scarcity and climate change?’ In 2020, Tablas Creek became the first Regenerative Organic Certified winery worldwide. (More on regenerative viticulture in the next issue of Decanter.)

For its part, Château de Beaucastel has introduced a flock of sheep on one of its properties in Gigondas, and moved away from regular tilling. Recent photos show flowers growing among the vines – something that would have been unimaginable even a few years ago.

Natural synergy

Tablas Creek Vineyard was undoubtedly not the first producer to pick up the Rhône mantle in the US. But with its close modelling of its sister, Château de Beaucastel – including climate, soil, farming, cuttings, even the size of the estate – theirs is a partnership that sets up a fascinating study of the respective terroirs. Tasted side by side, according to Haas, the wines’ similarities jump out more than their differences. The climates aren’t identical – California is a little more extreme, with warmer days, cooler nights and a drier summer. ‘You get a primary vibrancy from all of the sun producing a pure expression of fruit, but also the colder shoulder seasons producing more acid.

‘In France, where you don’t have quite that drama of the sun, you get more earth when the wines are young.’ Of course, Haas admits, there are vintages in France that could have been made in California, and vice versa. But in the end, the wines’ flavour profiles edge closer and closer. ‘As they age,’ he says, ‘because of that loamy, earthy component, the fruit comes down and merges in the balance.’

Tablas Creek’s quarter-century journey in Paso Robles has rendered moot the partners’ original question: why aren’t more growers capitalising on this California promise of great Rhônes? They have. In fits and starts, with perhaps too many misplaced plantings of Syrah along the way, vintners have settled in with beautiful, balanced productions that do Châteauneuf proud.

And in building out a foundation that’s even more prominent than its structure, Tablas Creek has played an outsized role.

Sara Schneider’s pick: a taste of Tablas Creek

Related articles

• A brief history of Black winemaking in the US
• Harlan Estate: Secrets behind its vine-by-vine approach
• Exploring Sonoma County’s coolest vineyards plus top wines from each

One of Australia’s most renowned sommeliers, Louella Mathews is currently group sommelier of Trippas White Group, and has previous experience in fine-dining institutions such as Rockpool 1989 and Rockpool Bar & Grill. She is also a wine consultant, writer, judge, event host and influencer (@louthesomm). Mathews won the Australia’s Wine List of the Year 2020 Sommeliers’ Choice Award (for bibo wine bar) and was nominated for Young Sommelier of the Year in 2016.

When I was training as a sommelier, my superiors loved to test me on alternate names for different grape varieties (Tempranillo being particularly tricky, as there are so many!). This was my first glimpse into Mourvèdre. Of course, they asked me the two synonyms for Mataro – as it’s known here in Australia. Most famously from the Barossa Valley, usually blended with Grenache and Shiraz.

Why do I love Mourvèdre so much? As a sommelier, it has massive appeal; like Grenache, it can be something of a chameleon, showcasing different flavour profiles depending on climate and winemaker – and providing myriad food-matching possibilities.

Mourvèdre, its name in the Rhône valley, is most famously one of the permitted varieties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It is usually blended here with Grenache, Syrah and sometimes up to 10 other friends. I find in these blends the Grenache usually dominates, with dried cranberries and cherries, while Mourvèdre’s role is to lend structure and savoury notes, while enhancing ageability. The obvious stylistic exception is Château de Beaucastel, which uses a high portion of Mourvèdre and is known for its structure and power. I love to pair this with a rich seafood paella.

Travel further south in France to Provence, and you’ll find the grape used in high-quality rosés that (deservedly) command high prices – Domaine Tempier is one of the most iconic. The grape is also used in Provence to make reds with backbone, density, the ability to age and a rustic, wild nature to them. Lavender, herbes de Provence, terracotta clay and squid ink are typical aromas and flavours. Heavenly with a lamb and rosemary roast.

For more affordable options, head to Languedoc-Roussillon or even further into Spain. Monastrell – the Spanish version of the grape, hailing from Yecla or Jumilla – is another great standalone expression and perfect for those who like their wine with bolder blueberries and boysenberries, a silky-supple palate and fuller of body. I tend to drink these wines when first released as they are from warmer, arid, continental climates. Finca Bacara’s Time Waits for No One from Jumilla (via Hallgarten Wines in the UK) is a great example of this style, and a surprisingly good match for a refreshing beetroot, rocket and goat’s curd salad.

More leftfield when it comes to Mourvèdre is the USA. The most famous producer of the grape here is Bonny Doon, from the San Francisco Bay region in California. Known for its playful labels and equally playful wines, it has a unique expression of Mourvèdre and blends featuring the variety; all are great with grilled rump steak with peppercorns.

Lastly, my own home country, Australia. Over the last decade we have seen a surge in varietal examples. Championing the bigger, bolder styles, Travis Earth and Torbreck offer Barossa must-trys, while Syrahmi from Heathcote makes a lighter style.

Discover Mourvèdre: Mathews’ two to try

The Somm & the Winemaker, Mourvèdre, New South Wales, Australia 2022 is a collaboration between myself and childhood friend/winemaker Nadja Wallington of ChaLou Wines (@thesommandthewinemaker). It’s made with a light touch, using whole berry and whole bunch fermentation to make an aromatic, medium-bodied style with flavours of mulberry, cloves and a juicy moreish mid-palate. It really is the ultimate pizza wine – pepperoni topping preferred.

The red Domaine du Gros’Noré, Bandol, Provence, France 2018 (gros-nore.com) is a great example of the backbone that Mourvèdre provides. From old vines grown on rich clay soils, the wine has a rustic flair, with a dash of Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault to soften, flesh and refresh the palate. Delicious now, but also built to age.

Related articles

• The sommelier suggests… Furmint by Klearhos Kanellakis
• The sommelier suggests… Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec blends by Stefan Neumann MS
• The sommelier suggests… Roussanne by Evan Goldstein MS

For most of the world’s wine regions, the majority of their exported bottles sell for less than £50 ($64/€58) in the retail market.

Not so California, where for many of its wines, even a producer’s most affordable, you’ll get little change from that outlay.

Such is the region’s reputation for big wines – in style and price – that the trade body which represents California in the UK felt the need to host an event, Essential California, where only wines costing £50 or under were on show.

This was a canny move as there’s plenty on offer in the £20-£50 bracket and the tasting of more than 500 wines was a great way to shine a light on the value that this great state can deliver.

Cabernet Sauvignon remains king in California, and while plenty of Cabs and Bordeaux blends can be found in the below £50 / $50 range, many of the most interesting wines in this price bracket come from Rhône Valley varieties.

‘Rhône Rangers’ is the tag given to Californian reds based around the classic varieties of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, and it’s this trio of grapes – alongside the peppery Counoise – which produced some of the most exciting wines of the tasting.

Expressive, bright, often floral and rarely overblown, these approachable reds share the same characteristic ripeness of fruit, lingering spice and inherent savouriness as their French counterparts.

There’s a burgeoning white Rhône scene in California too, where Viognier, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc lead the charge and are capable of producing racy, supple wines.

Decanter Premium – Californian Rhône-style reds

California Rhône wines to try under £50 / $50

You might also like…

California’s Bonny Doon Vineyard sold

What’s the difference between Syrah and Shiraz?

When in 1992 Antinori decided not to produce its flagship Solaia, Tignanello, nor its ‘riserva’ of Chianti Classico due to the terrible harvest in Tuscany, Guado al Tasso was vinified anyway.

There was continued enthusiasm after the first vintage ever produced in 1990, as well as pressure after the 1991 vintage produced too little wine to be bottled. 1992 – despite being labelled as a ‘piccola annata’ (small vintage) – was made possible thanks to Bolgheri’s climate. ‘It’s warmer and more Mediterranean compared to other sub-regions within Tuscany and mostly stabilised by the sea just 5km away,’ explains Renzo Cotarella, CEO of Marchesi Antinori.

This signature effect was demonstrated during two vertical tastings of Guado al Tasso and the extremely rare Matarocchio at the end of August among celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Bolgheri DOC, commemorated with an exceptional dinner for 750 guests along the tree-lined ‘Viale dei Cipressi’, a Unesco heritage site.

It is here in Bolgheri that the Antinori family spends their summer holidays, an idyllic place that birthed an important part of the contemporary history of SuperTuscans. In the 1970s Piero Antinori stood alongside his cousin Niccolò Incisa della Rocchetta handing out Sassicaia, once a mere ‘vino da tavola’ yet of outstanding quality.

In the ‘80s Piero and his brother Lodovico decided to divide the two different properties which left Guado al Tasso to play the role of the big family estate. Here Antinori planted 320 hectares of vines becoming the biggest estate of the DOC.

Bolgheri’s great potential over the last 25 years is due to two predominant facts: first of all, the majority of the vineyards within the appellation are managed by 3-4 of the most important players of the region. They were able to stick to their guns in poorer vintages steering clear of the temptation of lower prices. Secondly, the definition of SuperTuscan for these wines was useful at the beginning of a such a young DOC, but today the category is becoming slightly too broad for the wines from Bolgheri to be understood property.

The terroir here defines its own identity, turning out Mediterranean-style Bordeaux blends. Vineyards were planted in 1988 with international grape varieties. ‘We came from the production of anemic wines in Tuscany when the market was looking for muscle wines, it was easy to decide on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc,’ explains Cotarella.

Possibly it was easy, certainly it was a revolution for Tuscan wines. If today Bolgheri is one of the more consistent brands in Italy, the basis can be found here. Antinori has always been a constant advocate of fine wines intended as wines with personality and longevity, expressing their soil, grape variety and vintage.

Producers are obsessed by the finesse of the tannins. ‘It’s better to drink a bottle of wine one year too soon, than one hour too late,’ says Cotarella.

Surely if one is searching to find a limit to these wines it may be that they appear too groomed in certain vintages. Guado al Tasso is otherwise a perfect example of balance; from its origins as a ‘hermitagée’ blend in 2001 made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, to its newfound love with Cabernet Franc in 2007 which led to the addition of this grape in the blend.

Matarocchio was launched in 2007 and today Cabernet Franc is becoming one of the flagship grape varieties of Bolgheri due to its fresh ripeness. Guado al Tasso and Matarocchio share a similar refinement in their structure; arguably Guado al Tasso delivers more consistency, while Matarocchio is the more fashionable of the two.

Both show surprisingly great character in the rustic 2011 vintage, a powerful yet emotional year. However, the former seems to be favoured by cooler vintages due to the presence of Merlot in the blend, while the latter is more confident with warmer vintages considering its young vines.

Aldo Fiordelli’s top Guado al Tasso & Matarocchio wines

Wendouree, Shiraz 1990 is a legend because…

Tony Brady has been crafting intensely flavoured wines from Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Mourvedre (Mataro) since 1974, when he took over running this small Clare Valley property. He has been aided in his project by carefully preserved Shiraz bush vines planted gradually between 1893 and 1920. These vines are still alive. (The property was planted by Alfred Percy Birks, a gentleman farmer, who named the estate after the aboriginal name for ‘place of water’.) As is the case with centenarian vines everywhere, the production is low and generally self-regulating, and yields rarely exceed 30 hectolitres per hectare. This legendary 1990 Shiraz is made from the original Shiraz bush vines (block 24B) and was released only in magnum. Australian critic James Halliday has described Wendouree as a ‘living treasure’.

Looking back

In the 1920s and ’30s about half the wine from Wendouree was based on Muscat of Alexandria and fortified, the remainder being red. It was mostly sold locally to restaurants. Birks’ son Roly had become the winemaker in 1917, and remained active until 1983. He bottled very little wine, but sold grapes to other wineries. This continued into the 1950s and ’60s, although more of the wine was being sent to WJ Seabrook, a Melbourne merchant, where its reputation grew. In 1970 Birks, then in his late 70s, retired. He found a purchaser, but the new owners went bankrupt and the vineyards were all but abandoned, having shrunk from 25ha to 12ha. Then in 1974 businessman Max Liberman bought the decrepit property and entrusted it to his son-in-law, Tony Brady. This saved Wendouree from likely extinction. Brady was a lawyer by training, with no experience of winemaking. Fortunately, his wife Lolita took courses, although it was some years before Wendouree could give up bulk sales and focus on bottling its own wines.

The vintage

After a wet spring, summer was cool in South Australia. But it remained dry, causing some stress, although ancient vines such as those at Wendouree were largely immune. Yields were average and quality high.

The terroir

The vineyards occupy 12ha. They are planted on reddish-brown loam soils over a limestone subsoil and are dry-farmed. This wine was made from the original bush-vine Shiraz vineyard of 0.75ha with a total of 952 vines.

The wine

During harvest the grapes are taken to the stone winery, which was completed in 1903, making it of roughly the same vintage as the venerable vineyard. The grapes are vinified in open-top fermenters of moderate size, and during fermentation it is usual for some of the alcohol to evaporate. An ancient basket press, dating from 1898, is still in use. Malolactic fermentation generally takes place in tanks, while the finished wine is aged in 300-litre barrels, of which no more than 25% are new. This 1990 was released in 900 magnums in 1995 to mark the centenary of the property. (There is another 1990, released in 750ml bottles, but it was made from 1919 trellised Shiraz.) The label, designed in 1900, has been unaltered ever since.

The reaction

Andrew Caillard MW of auction house Langton’s, which classifies Wendouree Shiraz as one of the 21 ‘exceptional’ wines in its Classification of Australian Wine, tasted the 1990 in magnum in 1991. He noted: ‘Very complex, ethereal prune/raspberry and slightly salty/rusty aromas. The palate is strongly flavoured and immensely tannic with developed blackberry/raspberry fruit and rusty leather nuances, massive concentration and lock-jawing, iron-like tannins. Needless to say it finishes extremely firm. Will it soften out?’ Caillard says Wendouree Shiraz ‘offers wine drinkers a window into Australia’s colonial past’. In 1992, noted Australian wine writer and Decanter contributor Huon Hooke was impressed: ‘Loaded with vanilla/cherry tastes and huge tannins but also huge flavour to match. It’s a wine to keep for at least five years and drink for 20 thereafter.’

The facts

Number of bottles produced 900 magnums

Composition of blend 100% Shiraz

Yield (hl/ha) 19hl/ha

Alcohol content 13.8%

Release price AU$100 (about £45 at the time)

Price today £121.60

This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for Australian Red Rhône Varietals under £15 went to Kilikanoon, Killerman's Run Grenache-Shiraz-Mataro, Clare Valley, South Australia 2012 (14.5%)

Tasted against:

• No other Golds in this category

Profile:

Kilikanoon’s recent story began in 1997 when Kevin Mitchell purchased the property on which his father had looked after vines for more than four decades. ‘Growing up in a grape-growing family, I’ve always been around vines,’ Mitchell explains. ‘But not until I completed degrees in winemaking and viticulture did my passion shift. After spending a few years working as a winemaker for other companies, I started Kilikanoon as a small, boutique wine business.’

This is Kilkanoon’s second Regional Trophy, showing off its dexterity in both Bordeaux and Rhône varieties. Some 3,000 cases were made of this wine, a blend of 51% Grenache, 39% Shiraz and 10% Mataro.

‘Clare has a Mediterranean climate,’ says Mitchell, ‘which along with its unique landscape and elevation, contributes to fruit that ripens slowly and evenly through the cooler part of the harvest. Despite the valley having a diversity of soils and microclimates, careful site selection allows high quality fruit to be grown.

‘Our winemaking philosophy is centred on traditional methods: small batches, focus on single vineyards and a passionate interest in terroir.’

Written by Decanter

In Bandol a new generation of winemakers is producing great wines from Mourvèdre, writes JAMES LAWTHER MW who investigates Bandol wine.

In 1985 wine producers in Bandol took a big step towards improving the quality of the appellation’s red wines – they decided to change three salient points in the decree governing production. The minimum permitted amount of Mourvèdre was increased from 20 to 50%, yields were held to a maximum 40hl/ha (hectolitres per hectare), and in future the vine had to have reached its seventh year before the fruit was permitted in the wine. With the ground rules set, a new generation has been further refining this exciting and undervalued wine. Bandol wine comes in three shades: red, pink and a tiny amount of white. The rosé provides the volume and has a strong following on the Provençal coast but it’s the red that holds the most interest. The Mourvèdre grape grown in this Mediterranean location offers an originality worth underscoring. Dark fruits with a refreshing herbal nuance of the local thyme- and rosemary-strewn garrigue moving to truffle and leather with age, and a steely tannic structure, are the wine’s hallmarks. Reserved in youth, Bandol needs seven or eight years to mellow and has the potential to age at least 20 years. A little over halfway between Marseille and Toulon, the vineyards of Bandol form a terraced amphitheatre overlooking the Mediterranean. A rocky terrain of parcelled vineyards, olive trees and fire-scorched pines meets the eye, rising in elevation to just over 400m at the highest point. Beyond lies the mountainous Massif de la Ste Baume. The fishing port-cum-holiday resort of Bandol lends its name to the appellation but inland the hilltop communes of La Cadière-d’Azur and Le Castellet provide the focal point. Both the climate and soils make this a prime site for grape cultivation, in particular for Mourvèdre. An average 3,000 hours’ sunshine per year helps ripening while sea breezes temper the heat, and the drying Mistral acts as a foil to rot. In recent years 2000 and 1998 were outstanding, 1999 and 1997 more than respectable and 1996 a little severe. Soils are basically clay-limestone, poor in fertility and excessively stony in certain parcels.

https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/france/decanter-travel-guide-cassis-bandol-provence-30388/

The History

Greeks from Phocaea introduced the vine into the area around 600 BC. Fast forwarding, the patronage of Louis XV and the construction of the port of Bandol in the 18th century reinforced an already established reputation. Phylloxera in 1870 put paid to this success and there followed a morose period where the vineyard was slowly rebuilt. Grenache, Carignan and Cinsaut were the main varieties, supplemented by various hybrids, the Mourvèdre sadly all but ignored. Bandol’s modern history stems from the creation of the appellation in 1941 and the arrival of Lucien Peyraud at Domaine Tempier at roughly the same time. His insistence on replanting Mourvèdre was crucial to the gradual resurgence of the region. In this he was aided by, among others, the Portalis family at Château Pradeaux, and at a later date by newcomers like the Bunan family and Henri de Saint-Victor at Château de Pibarnon. Since 1990 a new generation has been taking over the reins, convinced of the attributes of Mourvèdre and the need for quality. At the most dynamic of the cooperatives, La Roque, for instance, the youthful conseil d’administration has gradually been ringing the changes. These include analysis of all the parcels of land of the 135 members to help facilitate the harvest, remuneration based on a charter of quality, greater selection and the introduction of new oak vats for fermentation.Cultivation at the better domaines remains traditional, reflecting the appellation’s earthy viticultural base. Soils are worked, insecticides and chemical fertilisers eschewed, the Grenache and Mourvèdre pruned en gobelet with minimal trellising, and harvesting is done by hand. Red Bandol now represents 50% of production at these estates with the percentage of Mourvèdre in regular or special cuvées as much as 90–100%. Yields more often than not fall below the maximum 40hl/ha. ‘A great wine is above all a question of terroir and yields,’ says Alain Pascal of the relatively new Domaine du Gros’ Noré. At the leading properties, like Domaines Bunan (Moulin des Costes, Mas de la Rouvière) and Château de Pibarnon, the transition from one generation to the next has been fairly smooth. Following studies in oenology and practical work experience in California, Laurent Bunan has taken over from father Paul and uncle Pierre, while at Pibarnon Henri’s son Eric has steadily slipped into the driving seat over the last 10 years. Fine tuning is more the optic here. ‘We’re aiming for wines with a little more volume and structure now,’ says Eric. With the retirement of Lucien Peyraud’s sons François and Jean-Marie, Domaine Tempier has had to go beyond the family circle to ensure continuity for the estate. Since 2000 Daniel Ravier, previously at Domaine Ott and Domaine de Souviou, has taken over the winemaking and management. Ravier’s task is to maintain an established quality and style. ‘The main aim is to keep the trademark balance in the Tempier wines,’ he explains.

More on the succession and Bandol wine

A number of other well-established, quality-oriented domaines have confirmed the succession. Domaines Le Galantin and Terrebrune were both created in the 1960s with the guiding hand of Lucien Peyraud. Terrebrune is the most southerly estate in Bandol and the founder, Georges Delille, has gradually given way to his son Reynold. At Le Galantin the change is more recent, Jérôme Pascal and his sister Céline taking over the 25ha family estate in the 1990s after work experience in Germany and South Africa respectively. Here and at Terrebrune the grapes are now partially destemmed, an important innovation in recent years. The wines are gradually gaining a more refined style and are deceptively long-ageing.The move towards destemming can be seen at two other notable estates where the next generation is waiting in the wings. Châteaux Jean-Pierre Gaussen and Ste Anne are different in style but both destem 100%. Jean-Pierre Gaussen is one of the stalwarts of the appellation and now has his daughter Mireille at his side. The wines are full bodied and generous. In contrast the wines of Ste Anne are fine and wonderfully expressive. The property has been in the same family for five generations and is currently run by Françoise Dutheil de la Rochère, assisted by her daughter Marie. The present tendencies in Bandol are perhaps best contrasted at the newer estates. In an appellation that stipulates a minimum of 18 months’ ageing in cask for red wines the use of new oak barrels is probably the most thorny subject. Nearly everyone is experimenting and ready to express a point of view. In 1996 Cédric Gravier took over his grandparents’ 45ha vineyard, withdrew from the cooperative and created Domaine de la Suffrène. He invested in a new vathouse and cellars but has remained faithful to the traditional oak foudres. ‘The aromas from Mourvèdre are very special so why destroy them by using new oak barrels,’ he says.

The 1996 vintage was also the first for Guillaume Tari at Domaine de la Bégude. This splendid estate sits at the highest point in the appellation with a panoramic view of the ocean down as far as Toulon. Owned by the Tari family, formerly producers of Château Giscours in Margaux, the winemaking is modern Bordeaux in concept, including the use of new oak barrels. ‘Mourvèdre needs a controlled exchange of oxygen when ageing and this is better accomplished with oak barrels,’ argues Guillaume Tari.The overall benefits of experimentation with new oak will probably be less the adoption of barriques than the gradual renewal of the stock of older foudres. One of the most savvy of the new producers is Alain Pascal of the Domaine du Gros’ Noré. Having sold grapes to Domaines Ott and Château de Pibarnon, he set up his own domaine in 1997, naming it after his father, Honoré, a man of singular weight and frame. Yields can be as low as 25hl/ha and all aspects of production have been carefully studied. ‘I didn’t like the dry, oaky effect of barriques but have bought in new foudres as the old ones weren’t giving the results I wanted,’ he explains. Beyond the oak barrel debate the new generation is providing plenty of energy and food for thought. ‘I’m really the first generation so am putting everything into it,’ says Agnès Henry of the Domaine de la Tour de Bon. Yields are held to 30hl/ha and the wine given an extended period of two to three weeks’ maceration with pigeage and remontage. The white wine is made from Clairette, Ugni Blanc and a percentage of Rolle or Vermentino, a grape variety soon to be given official approval.

https://www.decanter.com/decanter-best/white-wines-for-summer-everyday-97358/

Bandol is still essentially a vin de vigneron which happily hasn’t changed with the new generation. If anything the role of Mourvèdre has been heightened, but with a search for flavour and ripeness. ‘Bandol is just beginning to arrive at a mature stage of its modern form,’ observes Eric de Saint-Victor.

James Lawther MW is a contributing editor to Decanter, based in France.