Dupéré Barrera Bandol India 2001

[Thraz]

I brought it back from the old country, but I saw it for $24 on wineaccess at a store in California. Black cherry, wonderful length, dusty tannins - a perfect bandol. 100% mourvedre. Highly recommended. Dupere Barrera is a small negociant house based in the south of France, and they also own a small vineyard in Provence. They buy grapes and vinify in their own facilities. They specialize in wines from the south of France (coteaux du Languedoc, Cotes de Provence) and the Rhone (CDP, CDR, Costieres de Nimes). Great stuff. They have now been discovered (winemakers of the year in a well-known French publication), so they can be difficult to find - but they do have an importer in the US, so if you see any of their bottlings I recommend them all.

Incidentally on Bandol, the Dupere Barrera people (actually, a young couple) say that 2000 and 2001 were the last available great years. 2002 and 2003 are not as good, but they say 2004 will prove to be a great year for Bandol.