Bandol

[Dan_Kravitz]

Vannieres has already been mentioned. Excellent wines across the board.
Domaine de la Vivonne has not been mentioned. They have a cellar of beautifully aged wines at reasonable prices. It is 15 minutes from the center of town. There are few if any places where you can get well-aged Bandol and that alone makes it worth a stop.

Dan Kravitz

[Mark_Golodetz]

@Otto_Forsberg

My 1st tier Bandols are:

• Pibarnon
• Pradeaux
• Tempier
• Vannières

And 2nd tier:

• La Bastide Blanche
• Bunan
• Gros 'Noré
• Ray-Jane

1st tiers definitely worth visiting, 2nd tiers all worthwhile to check out if there is enough time.

I would put Bastide Blanc in the first tier. But Tempier should be in its own category, it so much better than anything else in the appellation.

[Otto_Forsberg]

@Mark_Golodetz

I would put Bastide Blanc in the first tier. But Tempier should be in its own category, it so much better than anything else in the appellation.

I am happy with Bastide Blanche in either first or second tier. Have had only once one of their single vineyard bottlings, so don’t have a full picture, but always thought their regular Bandol is great.

Agree with your point on Tempier.

[Al_Osterheld]

So many wines mentioned in this thread that I love, including Chateau Simone and Clos Cibonne along with the Bandol producers (haven’t had Ray-Jane, though). Pradeaux is notable for being in the same family since before the French Revolution.

-Al

[Ben_M_a_n_d_l_e_r]

Plenty of good recs in here already but I’ll throw out Lafran-Veyrolles, which I don’t think gets enough love.

[IlkkaL]

@Otto_Forsberg

@Kaushik_B

I don’t know how far out Chateau Simone is. I love their rose’. I hear that their whites are quite interesting/unique (I have never had one); and the location is supposedly very scenic.

Their rosé is superb (and remarkably long-lived - I’ve had an excellent 1996) but I think their red and whites are even better! Their whites can be a tad fat at times, but they make up with character and complexity what they might be lacking in freshness, and their reds are somewhat similar to the reds of Bandol, but still with a distinctive - perhaps slightly less burly - identity. An excellent producer by all accounts and definitely worth a visit, based on the quality of their wines.

However according to some accounts it is a particularly unwelcoming place to visit

[Jayson_Cohen]

Chateau Ste Anne Cuvee Collection is first-tier red for me. And they make a nice Côtes de Provence that is widely available and very well priced in restaurants, e.g., in the town of Bandol. The Marc is really good too but you won’t find it outside the domaine.

There is a street parallel to and up the hill from the main street in Bandol that has a number of smaller better local restaurants.