- Region
- Bandol
- Producer
- Domaine Tempier
- Vintage
- 2018
- Grape varieties
- 80% Mourvèdre / Monastrell
- 10% Cinsault
- 10% Grenache / Garnacha
- Bottle size
- 75 cl
- Alcohol
- 14.5%
- Special characteristic
- Contains sulphites
- Rare bottle
- Net item
Manual harvest. Destemming followed by traditional wild-yeast fermentation in stainless steel as well as concrete. Subsequent gentle pressing and transfer into 25- to 75-hectolitre oak vessels, with maturation (including malolactic fermentation) for a further 18 to 20 months. No fining or filtering.
'La Tourtine' is a muscular, savoury wine laden with notes of ripe blackberry, blackcurrant, cracked pepper, graphite, and freshly cut herbs. Thanks to vines aged in excess of 40 years, this is a powerful, structured wine with assertive tannins and natural acidity.
La Tourtine is situated on the Castellet hillside, where the vines grow on the Bandol appellation's archetypal calcareous loam terroir that dates back 250 million years. The soft clay topsoil dries up to such an extent in summer that it shrinks and develops cracks that are as wide enough to fit a hand down. This is surprising maybe, but it illustrates how deep into the ground the vines in this lieu-dit have to send their roots in order to find sufficient moisture.