Provence. The eyes pop and the mouth waters. Make no mistake about it, Provence is not considered one of France’s fine wine regions. But there are exceptions, Bandol AOC is often considered a fine appellation, especially the red. The annual production is about 5 million bottles on 2700 acres (1100 hectares). The major grape is Mourvedre that the Romans first cultivated some 2500 years ago. This particular wine comes from a hillside vineyard with very deep gravelly soil and only organic fertilizer. You can read about the producer in the marketing materials below. This is our second Bandol review. After two years I just couldn’t wait to try another one.

Bandol comes from an area between La Ciotat and Toulon. La Ciotat is a city of some 30 thousand on the Mediterranean about halfway between Marseille and Toulon. Among its attractions are an artificial beach downtown and its municipal park, the Parc du Mugel, classified as one of the Notable Gardens of France by the French Ministry of Culture. Toulon is a harbor city of about 170 thousand whose old town has been recently restored. There are several beautiful fountains to admire and several museums to visit. You may enjoy sandy beaches nearby and take a cable car up Mont Faron.

Before reviewing the Bandol wine, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Cade de Toulon (Baked Chickpea Flour Pancakes). For your second course savor Lapin a la Provencale (Rabbit Provence Style). And as dessert indulge yourself with Chichi Fregi (Provence Fritters.)

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Domaine de la Bastide Blanche Bandol AOC 2006 14.5% alcohol about $22

We start by quoting the marketing materials. 92 points Wine Spectator: “A powerful red, with intense red and dark fruit flavors, including fig, dark plum and raspberry. Formidable tannins and acidity support the finish, which is infused with notes of baker’s chocolate and black olive. Best from 2011 through 2015.” (12/09) In the early ’70s Michel and Louis Bronzo acquired the property of the Bastide Blanche, with the goal of producing top Bandol wines to rival their more famous cousins in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Their painstaking efforts were rewarded in 1993 when vintage conditions created the benchmark year that put both Bandol and Domaine de la Bastide-Blanche on the map. The brothers Bronzo have several cuvees, depending on the vintage, however, they always use a minimum of 75% mourvedre. Yields are kept very low, and never exceed more than 34 or 35 hl/ha. And now for my review.

When I first tried this wine without any food I tasted tobacco. The wine was very round and dark with great balance. The first meal included London Broil meat, potato patties, and green beans that were all slow cooked together. The taste of chocolate came to the fore. The Bandol was very powerful and almost chewy. The wine had great balance between its acidity and tannins. Take my advice, don’t drink this Bandol with a sole poached in fine herbs.

The next meal was broiled merguez, a spicy, fatty North African lamb sausage accompanied by potato patties and a salsa-salad. With the meat I tasted chocolate and plums. It was quite powerful and refreshing. The Bandol seemed to get even longer when I doused lots of Louisiana cayenne pepper sauce on the meat. The potato patties seemed to have little or no effect on the wine. The Matabucha salad took away the fruit.

My final meal centered on slow cooked beef ribs with a side of potatoes roasted in chicken fat. When facing the meat this wine brimmed with dark cherries and tobacco. It was powerful and mouthfilling and had fine length. Yet its alcohol level didn’t seem excessive. This wine simply rolled over the potatoes. With a Turkish salad composed of sweet pimentos, tomato paste, hot peppers (very little) and garlic the Bandol was muted.

I started my last tasting with some Matjes herring. The wine remained long with oak and light tannins. I noted chocolate. Who would believe that chocolate and herring go together? They did. When paired with a Swiss cheese, it tasted of cherries but lost its power. Then I tried a goat’s milk cheese including roasted garlic. With each sip the Bandol picked up some cherries; it just wasn’t as good with the cheese as it was with the meat.

Final verdict. I would definitely buy this wine again. But I am tempted to try other Bandols, red Bandols. I still remember going to buy a more expensive rose Bandol and getting talked out of it by a liquor store employee who had recently tasted what he said was a pedestrian product.

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and spend time with his wife and family. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Among his many web sites he is particularly proud of his Italian travel site with a special focus on regional food and wine at http://www.travelitalytravel.com. Check out his global wine website at http://www.theworldwidewine.com with his weekly column reviewing $10 wines and his new sections writing about (theory) and tasting (practice) organic and kosher wines, and now upscale wines.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger