Chateau de Pibarnon Bandol Rouge 2016
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Robert -
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#75 of Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2020
Aromas suggest licorice, cinnamon and Provençal garrigue. Complexly flavored and richly textured, with structured tannins; black fruits and baking spices.
Pairs well with beef short ribs with soy glaze and pork sausages withherbs.
Blend: 90% Mourvèdre and 10% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mocha, cola, earth and caramel notes appear on the nose of the 2016 Bandol, a blend of 90% Mourvèdre and 10% Grenache. This is all dark fruit and savory nuance, full-bodied, richly concentrated, creamy and lush, yet it's chewy and tannic on the long, spicy finish. It can be consumed now with rare beef or lamb to help with the tannins, or be aged for up to 15 years.
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Wine Spectator
A whiff of white pepper and bay leaf gives way to bright raspberry and currant flavors backed by tangy acidity, along with details of game, anise and tea that add depth and interest. Powerful but inviting. Mourvèdre and Grenache
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The source of the refinement and elegance of Chateau de Pibarnon's wines lies in the estate's captivating vineyards, which overlook the Mediterranean Sea in the appellation of Bandol, in Provence.
A thick-skinned black grape, Mourvèdre has found its favourite soils in the sunny Bandol appellation. Some 3,000 hours of sunshine a year perfectly suit this slow-ripening grape. Rarely found in other cooler French vineyards, Mourvèdre brings harmony, elegance and an amazing ageing capacity to the red and rosé wines of sunny Bandol.
The Bandol region was essentially undiscovered when Catherine and Henri de Saint Victor purchased Pibarnon in the late 1970s. Recognizing the region’s potential, this visionary couple worked tirelessly for some 30 years, landscaping and crafting ever better wines.
By the 1990s, Pibarnon was making the region’s top red and rosé wines, a status today maintained under their son, Eric de Saint Victor, today the estate's winemaker.
Full of ripe fruit, and robust, earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance, where it still goes by the name Monastrell or Mataro. It is better associated however, with the Red Blends of the Rhône, namely Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Mourvèdre shines on its own in Bandol and is popular both as a single varietal wine in blends in the New World regions of Australia, California and Washington. Somm Secret—While Mourvèdre has been in California for many years, it didn’t gain momentum until the 1980s when a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley finally began to renew a focus on it.
Provence’s leader in concentrated and age-worthy red wines, Bandol is home to the dense, deep and earthy Mourvèdre grape. Like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Bandol produces characterful reds that, while approachable in their youth, are typically designed for the cellar.
Given its coastal, Provencal situation, Bandol also naturally produces an assortment of charming, aromatic rosés made of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault.