[France] “Petrus of Bandol” Château de Pibarnon

Bandol is an Appellation of Provence. Here it produced some of the Provence’s greatest red wine. The vineyards form a terraced facing the Mediterranean, elevation is up to 1,300 ft. (400m). The climate is hot and sunny in summer and not too cold in winter, and sometimes sea breezes cool down the heat. Bandol is famous for its red wines, which made with high proportion of Mourvèdre, with a minimum of 50% in the blend, and the rest is Grenache. It also produced Rose and White Wine with Cinsault, Syrah, Clairette, Ugni Blanc, Bourboulenc, Marsanne, etc.

One day, I was shopping in a wine shop and I bought this Château de Pibarnon 2004. When I searched some more information from the internet, I found people call Ch de Pibarnon as “Petrus of Bandol”. Probably since the red wine of “Ch de Pibarnon” is made will 90% of Mourvèdre and 10% of Grenache; and Château Petrus is made with a high proportion of Merlot and little Cabernet Franc, so people find the two wine similar. For the main winemaking step, the wine is macerated in a small stainless steel tanks for a minimum of 20 days and aged in oak for 19 months. It will be bottled without filtered and all the grapes are harvested by hands.

My taste note: The wine shows dark purple red color with blackcurrant, cherry, herbs and leather aromas. It is dry and medium bod. The palates have cherry like acid and fine tannins. Overall, this wine has powerful aromas and elegant palate. This is the 1^st time, I tried Bandol wine. I found, it has exotic flavor with strong fruit and herbs aromas.  

Bandol是在Provence(普羅旺斯)內的一個法定產區. 這裡釀造出Provence的最好的紅酒.  在這裡的葡萄園是以梯田型式, 面對地中海, 海拔1,300尺(400m)高. Bandol的氣侯是夏季炎熱和陽光充足, 冬季不是很冷, 比較溫和, 有時會有一些海風來降溫. 這裡出名的紅酒, 是用高比例的Mourvèdre葡萄來釀製,最少會有50%, 其餘的是用Grenache. 除了紅酒, 這裡也有釀造粉紅酒和白酒, 是用以下的葡萄品種Cinsault, Syrah, Clairette, Ugni Blanc, Bourboulenc, Marsanne, 等等.   

有一日我在行街的時候, 在某間紅酒鋪買了Château de Pibarnon 2004. 之後我在網上找了一些有關這枝酒的資料, 有人稱呼Château de Pibarnon為 “Petrus of Bandol”. 大概因為Château de Pibarnon的紅酒是用了90% Mourvèdre 和10% Grenache而Château Petrus用了高比例的Merlot和少少Cabernet Franc, 所以有人這樣稱呼它. 主要的釀酒程序, 葡萄酒會在小型的不銹鋼桶浸皮大約20天和在木桶內19個月來成熟. 當酒釀好和在裝瓶時, 酒是不會過濾. 所有葡萄都是人手採摘.

我的品酒筆記: 這款酒的顏色是紫紅色, 有黑加倫子, 車厘子, 草藥和皮革的香氣. 乾紅酒類型, 中等酒身. 口感有一種好像車厘子的酸和細緻的單寧. 總結這款酒是強勁香氣, 口感優雅. 這是我第一次飲Bandol的紅酒, 我覺得它有異國風味加上強勁的果香和一些草藥香氣.