2011 Domaine du Gros Nore Bandol

Both of the reds are brilliant and most likely the wines of the vintage, the 2011 Bandol comes from 30-year-old vines and is a blend of 80% Mourvedre, 15% Grenache and 5% Cinsault. Aged 18 months in foudre, it’s a dense, concentrated 2011 that offers notions of black cherry, blackberry, earth and ground herbs on the nose. This flows to a full-bodied, gorgeously put together palate that has considerable structure, superb purity of fruit and a knockout finish. Give it another 2-3 years in the cellar and enjoy it over the following 15 years or more. Created in 1997 (they had previously sold their grapes to other domaines) and covering roughly 16 hectares in the appellation of Bandol, Domaine du Gros Nore is run by brothers Alain and Guy Pascal. I was blown away by the quality here and their wines were easily some of the top releases I was able to taste for this report. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524