Domaines Bunan
One of the better-known vineyards of Bandol, Domaines Bunan, combines commercial expertise with the personal touch. On arrival, visitors are immediately put at ease with the relaxed surroundings and welcomed into the cave with very generous pours for degustation. An array of artwork adorns the walls and although this is clearly an estate geared up to large groups of visitors, the family feeling of the vineyard still manages to permeate throughout.
This is continued into the 50-year old cool cellar, where the large oak barrels suspended at about 2 metres in height each have a name of one of the children carved into a wooden plaque labelling the grape and vintage. It is here in the vast hall where weddings and special events are celebrated with tables set out beneath and between the giant casks,
Our enthusiastic host, Jo, who was full of information and anecdotes, led us through the tasting of the Moulin des Costes 2017, which he rightly described as, “fireworks to the mouth”, The grapes in this pour were medium on the mourvèdre at 50% with 25% grenache and 25% cincault.
This rosé was a well-deserved gold winner with a soft taste to the front and a back-end more sweet and fruity compared with others we had tasted in the Bandol AOC.
The second rosé we tried was the pale Château La Rouvière 2017 which was a tad pungent by comparison to the first and reading our reactions, Jo mentioned the “distinct bouquet”. Although perhaps more complex, with vegetable undertones, it simply was not as impressive as the first.
Tried, tasted and purchased Bunan Bandol 2017, Moulin des Costes at €16.50/bottle.
Destination, drop in or drive-by? Don’t miss this one out - firmly a destination.
338 BIS CHEMIN DE FONTANIEU