At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Provence, France
- Appellation
- Bandol AOC
- Village
- Le Castellet
- Main grapes
- Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Grenache, Clairette, Carignan
- Signature wine
- Domaine de La Tour du Bon Bandol Rosé
- Defining feature
- 12 hectares of vines on 17 hectares, with biodynamic treatments since 2018
The Producer
Agnès Henry is the current winemaker and owner of Domaine de La Tour du Bon in Le Castellet. The Hocquard family purchased the estate in 1968 and undertook major planting work. Henry moved permanently to the property in 1990, taking over winemaking in the house that had been her family vacation home.
The domaine has embraced organic agriculture and used biodynamic treatments since 2018. Henry aims for wines with the power of Bandol, pure fruit, and the capacity to evolve and age in bottle.
Place
Le Castellet in Var places the domaine inside the Bandol AOC. The estate sits on a limestone plateau, with clay limestone soil and red subsoil in the appellation's hottest region.
The range includes both Bandol rosé and Bandol red, with Mourvèdre present in each style. The place appears on the label through two different colours of wine.
Wines
Domaine de La Tour du Bon Bandol Rosé is a dry rosé. The 2023 vintage blends 50% Mourvèdre, 32% Cinsault, 10% Grenache and 8% Clairette, with 12.5% alcohol.
Tour du Bon Classic is a 2019 Bandol red made from 55% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 15% Cinsault and 5% Carignan. The red wines ferment in open top cement vats for approximately three weeks with occasional pump overs, then age in a mix of foudres and barrels for a minimum of eighteen months. The wines are unfined and unfiltered.
In The Glass
The dry rosé blends 50% Mourvèdre, 32% Cinsault, 10% Grenache and 8% Clairette. The red has a juicy nose, bright crunchy fruit, mouthwatering acidity and peppery verve.
The lower Mourvèdre and higher Grenache proportion in the red translates into a softer feel and almost ethereal weightlessness. Dark fruit and a tannic underscore remain present without becoming excessive.
Final Word
Domaine de La Tour du Bon is Agnès Henry's Bandol domaine, with Mourvèdre in both red and rosé wines, bottle evolution in view, and unfined, unfiltered bottling.
Sources
1. https://www.bandoltourisme.fr/en/producer/Domaine-la-tour-du-bon/ 2. https://www.bowlerwine.com/producer/tour-du-bon 3. https://shop.kermitlynch.com/product/detail/23FTR03/ 4. https://shop.kermitlynch.com/product/detail/19FTR01/