Domaine Tempier’s cult following may partly be due to importer Kermit Lynch’s romantic and eloquent story telling of this iconic producer in his book Adventures on the Wine Trail. Or it could have something to do with the historical significance of this producer’s lifelong mission to put Bandol on the map as a world class winemaking region – producing red wines within the larger Provence region.

Once you taste the wine, you know beyond any doubt that the wine, above all else, is the reason.

We bought this bottle at Domaine Tempier on a visit to France in 2022. Reason enough to treasure it, a prized souvenier and all that. But there’s more. We can laugh now but it wasn’t funny at that time.

We decided to drive from the airport in Marseille to Domaine Tempier. Our first time renting a car in a foreign country. Everything was going really well until we decided we had better stop for lunch before arriving for a wine tasting.

There was cute little town, I cannot be sure of the name, but researching in hindsight, I think it was called La Cadiere-d’Azur. I put the center of this little town into my phone map and we followed it. From the highway, you had to navigate through the residential buildings that surround the town to get to the center.

When I say that we ended up driving between buildings that were clearly not meant for cars, I’m not just being dramatic about narrow European streets. It happened so fast, I don’t really know how to even explain it. At the exact time that I realized the map was giving walking directions, we realized that we were pot committed. There was no viable way to back up. We were “walking” to the center of town in our car!

Every turn seemed to be onto a pathway even narrower than the one before it. So narrow that I think the last turn was like a 19-point turn!

With reversing course not being an option, we sweated out the walking directions, truly believing that at any point we would feel building against car and be trapped. The horrors that were running through our minds were endless. The least awful outcome being making the international news for stupidity. The worst awful, ending up in jail and being banned from France for life.

We finally saw an end to the rows of buildings we were stuck between only to realize there were pylons at the end – because cars were definitely not supposed to be here – and thanks to our tiny European car, we were able to fit though. This put us in a parking lot – you know – where you are supposed to leave your car and not drive it onto the tiny little pathway. Luckily the lot did not have cars parked where we needed to pull out or we would not have been able exit.

I don think it is an exaggeration to say that this experience took 10 years off of our lives. We did pass people who lived here as we were pulling between the pylons and let me tell you a look is worth a thousand words even in foreign language lol! We were mortified to have to face witnesses to our stupidity, but we were so relieved. There might have been tears of joy.

We decided this town was bad news for us and aborted our lunch plans here. We ventured on, stopping at a little restaurant – I have no idea where – and having the plat du jour. It was a lovely little spot and we were surrounded by locals which is always feels like a privilege. But you can tell by the look on my husband’s face, he was not quite over the trauma of my poor navigating just yet.

Checking lunch off the list, we drove the remaining few minutes to Domaine Tempier. I don’t think anyone could read Adventures on the Wine Trail and not fall a little bit in love with this producer. Feeling as though I was walking on ground that I had only seen or read about in books, the experience felt surreal from the moment we pulled into the parking lot.

The modern history began in 1936 when Lucie (Lulu) Tempier married Lucien Peyraud. Lucien made it his life’s mission to not only produce great wines, but promote Bandol. Although there were other people involved in this mission, Lucien Tempier is generally considered to be the man who made the region know for serious and age worthy wines. He both founded and led so many organizations dedicated to wines of the region, that there were often “meetings” at the house. Lulu gained a reputation far and wide, as the consummate hostess, and these events became the stuff that legends are made of.

The Domaine only produces 6 wines. Three single vineyard red blends, one flagship red blend, a white and a rose. We were only allowed to purchase two bottles each. This was in accordance with their agreement with Kermit Lynch apparently – because we can order directly from him in the states. We jokingly refer to this as being Kermit Lynch blocked. We purchased our four bottle limit, which included two of the 2017 of the Classic Cuvee, the Le Blanc, and the Le Rose.

The 2017 vintage of the flagship red, commemorates Lulu Peyraud turning 100 years old. The label not only says “for Lulu” but has a raised impression of a swing, because Lulu loved to swing on the property’s swing set, which according to the website she did daily, come rain or shine. Truly a special bottling that we are so lucky to have acquired! It has taken me nearly 2 years to open one of these and I am thinking I will hold on to the other one for quite some time.

The first red blend of this wine was in 1952. In 2020, when Lulu passed away at 103 years old, the name was changed from Cuvee Classique to Lulu et Lucien. The composition for the flagship blend is always Mouvedre dominant, approximately 75%, with Grenache, Cinsault, and sometimes a tiny bit of Syrah and Carignan making up the remainder.

The grapes are hand harvested from the estate vineyards, but also vineyards owned in other nearby areas – included La Cadiere – go figure! The grapes undergo manual selection and de-stemming in the cellar before going into concrete vats for 3-4 weeks where they undergo fermentation with their native yeast. Following fermentation they are moved to large oak vats for 18 months prior to bottling.

Mouvedre is big, bold, rustic and high in tannin. This wine however can be described as nothing short of elegant. Truly.

The tannins are so well integrated, the wine is smooth, velvety and absolutely delicious. The Domaine describes this wine as being the perfect combination of the “discreet power of Bandol with the elegance and finesse specific to Tempier.”

We decanted this wine and it did change so much over the course of the bottle – probably about 3 hours total. I admire people who can decant and walk away. I always have to steal a little sip so that I can compare that right out of the bottle wine to the one that has opened up a bit. Immediately I got chocolate, pastry, blackberry, and a mineral aromas.

All of these carried over to the palate but the meaty – rare meat – dare I say bloody? – note was a show stopper. Just a gorgeous wine that is so well balanced it seemed to float across my tongue, not actually touching it, despite being full bodied. We also got a floral note, and smokiness. The acidity has to be mentioned, so juicy. This wine is everything it is cracked up to be.

These are the moments that lives are made of. The visit. The wine. The tragic comedy of driving through sidewalks. I’m so grateful for all of it.

Cheers!