Maison Tardieu Laurent - Bandol

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Weather conditions were almost perfect for Mourvèdre to turn glorious : warmth, plus scattered light rains. In the unanimous opinion, a sure value in the long term. Deserves to be put in your Cellar !
The vintage

2015 - Vintages in « 5 », vintages which bring good luck. Often…

Spell of the years in « 5 » ? The fact is that, in recent decades, Vintages ending in « 5 » - 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015 - , carry success stories, in Vallée du Rhône, but also, more generally, in the whole of the Vineyards of France. It must be said that 2015 put the odds on its side, with almost optimal climatic conditions for each and every season of the year! Thus, winter is rainy, allowing vines to benefit from good water reserves. Spring awakening is somewhat late - 3 weeks delay, compared to 2014, yet, the weather gradually settles, and flowering takes place in excellent conditions: the output of grapes is quite simply outstanding. The summer period arrives then quickly, with extremely hot months of June, July and August. Nevertheless, one cannot speak of heat wave, as the nights remain cool. Consequently, thermal amplitudes are absolutely phenomenal. No pressure from pests and diseases, the vineyard and the winemaker breathe freely. Everything is looking fine before the start of the harvest…
Ripe, but not too much. Summer and the month of September are punctuated by rains, avoiding the suffering of the vines, a key element during the summer period. The grapes mature slowly. Unfortunately, the rain that falls around September 20th is the "too much” rain... Pity, we were right next to a huge Vintage… But, well, no worry, the Style of the Vintage remains more than charming, with full, juicy, and silkiest Wines !



Terroir

Le Castellet.

Type of soil

Limestone-clay soils.

Ageing

24 months in one vintage old barrels. Allier and Tronçais.

Winemaking

100% destemmed.

Serving

14°C
Decant 2 hours before you serve.

Alcohol content

14%

Bottling

Without fining and filtration.

Cépages

Mourvèdre : 95 %
Grenache : 5 %

Purplish crimson. Not as expressive on the nose as the southern Rhône wines. It’s all tarry and buried… Very sweet start and then it really dries out the inside of the mouth. Quite a different build! It could do with a little more juice. Not very expressive on the palate either at this stage.

Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson , 16/20 , 2016-10-14