Château de Pibarnon is situated at an altitude of 300 metres, in a vast amphitheatre facing the sea, and produces 5 cuvées, 2 of which are Bandol reds: the Domaine Pibarnon cuvée, made from 92% Mourvèdre and 8% Grenache, and designed for ageing, and the Les Restanques du Château de Pibarnon cuvée, which is available younger, made from young vines with 70% Mourvèdre and 30% Grenache. Château de Pibarnon also offers 2 other Bandol rosé wines. The Domaine Pibarnon rosé is made from 65% Mourvèdre and 35% Cinsault, and is sold from the beginning of the summer following the vintage. This is a fresh rosé that should be drunk over 2 to 4 years. In 2014, Domaine Pibarnon decided to produce an additional top-of-the-range, long-keeping Rosé, called Cuvée Nuances de Pibarnon, which is kept in the cellar until the following winter. The Nuances cuvée is much more concentrated and structured, and is 95% Mourvèdre. Yields are deliberately limited here to 35 hl/Ha, and beneath its apparent finesse, this noble rosé reveals strong notes of red fruit, liquorice and spices such as saffron. On the palate, its structure is broad, ample, crisp and powerful, with a long, savoury finish. Château Pibarnon's Bandol blanc is made from 55% Clairette and 30% Bourboulenc, plus 15% various grape varieties such as Ugni blanc and Marsanne. This singular, southern white rivals the freshness of some wines from further north, thanks to its elegant bitterness and above all its sapid finish, which is linked to the soil and its slow ripening on the north side. Its structure is surprisingly voluminous, but its delicate, floral elegance makes it precise and pure, crystal-clear, ideal with fish or scampi. Château de Pibarnon, renowned for its reds which are excellent spokespersons for Bandol wines and their ageing potential, has now returned to its best. It has to be said that by selecting plots at the heart of his terroir, Éric de Saint Victor has been able to give flesh and breadth to his wines, which are silky and concentrated, with a balance between wood and highly civilised expression of the fruit. Time has paid tribute to them in the great vintages of 1985, 1990, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010. Pibarnon is still one of Bandol's great reputed estates, to be discovered or rediscovered for its great ageing wines.
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