Opening Our Treasure Trove of Bandols

For many a bébé boomer, Provence’s Domaine Tempier, and Lulu and Lucien Peyraud, opened a door to what food should be: full-flavored, true, beautiful, not fussy, seasonal, and full of life.

We were shown a way. Preparing for next week’s dinners and the release of our little treasure trove of old Tempier red Bandols, we’ve been going through a tasting of bottles from select vintages. It’s been an honor and an adventure.

We’ve tasted many extraordinary bottles and a few “interesting” ones-the lesser ones having aged, alas, for too long, or some in which Brett yeast cells have run amok. Unfortunately, there’s little accurate information on what to expect as each vintage ages-even from the experts at Kermit Lynch. We’re rather enjoying performing the task of looking into each to determine the effects of time. (We must keep in mind that bottles might even vary within each vintage, creating yet another problem in making them available to you.) But we know we will be offering many spectacular aged Tempier Bandols at good prices, along with some merely good ones. Yesterday, we opened a ’79 and last rites were performed; then, an ’87, and it blew us away, and today it is still very much alive, with interesting character.

Here’s what we are working with.

1979	Mourvédre, “Speciale La Miguoa,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Cuvée
1981	Mourvédre, “Speciale La Miguoa,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Cuvée
1982	Bandol Cuvée Speciale, Domaine Tempier
1982	Cinsaut-Grenache-Mourvédre, “La Tourtine,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Rouge Cuvée
1985	Mourvédre, “Speciale La Miguoa,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Cuvée
1985	Cinsaut-Grenache-Mourvédre, “La Tourtine,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Rouge Cuvée
1987	Mourvédre, “Cabassaou,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Rouge Cuvée
1988	Grenache-Syrah-Mouvédre, “Speciale La Louffe,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Cuvée
1988	Mourvédre, “Cabassaou,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Rouge Cuvée
1989	Mourvédre, “Speciale La Miguoa,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Cuvée
1989	Cinsaut-Grenache-Mourvédre, “La Tourtine,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Rouge Cuvée
1989	Mourvédre, “Cabassaou,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Rouge Cuvée
1999	Mourvédre, “Cabassaou,” Domaine Tempier, Bandol Rouge Cuvée