93pts Wine Advocate

Another success at this address, the 2025 Bandol Rosé is superb, revealing aromas of ripe orchard fruits, guava, red berries, flowers and confit citrus. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and layered, it possesses notable depth at the core, framed by racy acidity that brings both energy and definition. The finish is long and gently ethereal. 

Winery Notes

Bandol is a small appellation on the Mediterranean, granted AOC status in 1941. For centuries it has produced some of the longest-lived wines in France, using primarily the Mourvedre grape. Wines from this region have unique aromatic properties which many claim come from the dry Provencal herbs which cover the hillsides: thyme, savory, rosemary, wild mint and fennel.

Tempier’s flagship Bandol rouge is a sophisticated wine, but it never hides its country roots. It is as equally suited to ribeyes for a special occasion as it is to homemade pizza on a Thursday night. You can even enjoy it as Lulu Peyraud did, and just put a slight chill on it before popping the cork on a warm summer evening. A cool glass of Tempier rouge, sweating in a small tumbler, can be more refreshing than any burly red has a right to be. But no matter how you enjoy Tempier rouge, beneath the pure dark fruit, the intense depth of flavor, the energy, the enticing Provençal aromatics, lurks a wildness—perhaps owing to the large percentage of Mourvèdre—that is never tamed.