Tasting Notes
Les Restanques is the first level rouge of Pibarnon, a supple yet spice-rich Bandol made from the Estate's younger vine Mourvèdre (70%) and Grenache (30%). The idea here is that the higher levels of Grenache (compared with the Bandol rouge), coupled with the younger vines, will produce an earlier drinking, more open-knit style of Bandol. The juice is naturally fermented in tank before being raised in a mixture of large barrels from the Massif Central in France, Stockinger foudre, and smaller Burgundian pièces. Thanks to the cooler season, this is a suppler and more primary wine than last year's richer example. The tannins are also super fine, giving centre stage to the wines' fruit notes on the palate - blackberry, dark cherry, anise, and dried flowers. It's smoother than the more expensive bottling (from 2012), with terrific finesse and a perfumed finish suggesting the fruit notes listed above but also wild lavender, thyme and bay. All in all, a cracking value Bandol. - Importer Note
Pibarnon's vineyard on La Colline du Télégraphe. This is Bandol's highest vineyard (at 300 metres above the Baie de Bandol) and faces the sea directly. Here the vines enjoy the freshness and cool nights of the altitude as well as the moderating sea breezes. A peculiar soil type predominates, les marnes bleues. This uncommon and highly chalky blue clay, rich in microfossils, is also sometimes seen in the Jura and Pomerol, where it is also prized for its water-retentive properties and its influence on a wine's freshness and structure.
| Product Type | Wine Red Mourvedre Mataro & Monastrell |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence |
| Winemaking Practices | Minimal Intervention |
| Vineyard Practices | Minimal Intervention |