Since Daniel Ravier took over winemaking at Tempier in 2000, he’s cleaned the old barrels and moved the winery from organic farming toward biodynamics, but otherwise his style holds firmly to the one Lucian Peyraud...
Since Daniel Ravier took over winemaking at Tempier in 2000, he’s cleaned the old barrels and moved the winery from organic farming toward biodynamics, but otherwise his style holds firmly to the one Lucian Peyraud established after acquiring the estate in 1940. He blends Tempier’s basic Bandol from various terroirs within the estate’s 98 acres, adding a little grenache, cinsault and carignan to the mourvèdre that makes up three-quarters of the wine. The 2014 is dark and earthy, with chocolate density to the plummy fruit and pleasantly gravelly tannins. As it takes on air, notes of garrigue and roasted meat appear, as well as an acidity that recalls plum skin in its firmness and crunch. If you open it now, decant it an hour before serving; it should age well over the next five to ten years.