Domaine de La Begude Bandol Rouge 2017

It’s been too long, Bandol! We are bouncing off the walls with excitement about this small parcel that just hit the warehouse from the newest rockstar (since 1996) in Bandol, La Begude. THIS PRICE! We had to redo the math several times too, to make sure, but luckily, it’s right! An incredible buy on a wine that is VERY rare to see in our inventory and in the USA for that matter -- please don’t miss it!!

This was a new discovery from one of our favorite importers, Kysela Pere et Fils, owned and operated by Master Sommelier, Fran Kysela, who always delivers amazing finds. But, this one could top the list!

The property that is now La Begude dates back, staggeringly, to the 7th century, and incredibly old fermentation vessels have been discovered in the ancient cellar walls! Cool! These days, Guillaume and Soledad Tari run the estate and act as ambassadors to help elevate the Bandol appellation.

This is Mourvedre from one of the great terroirs in the world to grow it -- this vintage is almost 100% (a little Grenache and Cinsault is blended in). The wine is absolutely stunning -- powerful, creamy, fine-grained tannins, but also clean and quite polished for Bandol, which can be a little bit rough and tumble at times. Serious and also pleasing, this wine literally has it ALL, and we bought every single bottle that Fran imported. We've been so excited to unleash this beauty, and today is the day!

PAIRING IDEAS: Bandol begs for big food and hard cheeses. Do a beef carpaccio with tons of aged parm shaved on top, and/or your favorite meat grilled how you like it. Pepper steak, anyone?

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Big! Big sound, big personality...how about some QUEEN? We recently re-watched "Bohemian Rhapsody" - what a great movie to watch while drinking this bad boy!