Domaine ray-jane bandol rosé – organic
Just a half a mile south of Domaine Tempier lies Domaine Ray-Jane, one of the most traditional producers in the Bandol AOC. Jane and Alain Constant own the estate, which has been in their families since 1288. The winery is certified organic, and their wines are in the same league as Tempier and Pradeaux.
The vineyards spread over 64 acres in the terroirs of Le Castellet and La Cadière. The newly upgraded cellar is equipped with the latest technology (thermoregulated stainless steel tanks for maceration, automatic system for pumping over the red Bandol.
Alain’s father Raymond had a passion for all things used for winemaking (tools for vineyard management, barrel-making, and winemaking) and a small museum lies on the property where a unique collection of over 20,000 tools is displayed.
A third of the vines are 100 years old and planted on Restanques (terraces made of stones carved into the hills to prevent erosion and facilitate the natural distribution of water resources). The work in the vineyard is done without motorized tools (plowing is done with horses and hoe). Harvest is manual. Certified Organic
As Bandol Rose should be, this is a much more powerful and structured wine with gorgeous notes of red berries, flowers, and minerals.
Delicious now, this is a wine that will continue to offer great drinking over the next 5 to 7 years. This is not “just a rosé.” Rather, it is a remarkably serious wine that is built to evolve and improve in a way that many regional, built-for-immediate-consumption peers would surely fail. It’s a wine whose sophistication and objectively topflight quality belies its playful complexion and extremely modest price tag. And of course, that tension, structure, and unrelenting freshness is precisely the backbone that earns this wine a renowned reputation for extended cellar aging. Believe me, when this bottle hits the 3-5 year “sweet spot,” it will blossom into an exotically textured, richly aromatic, and fascinatingly savory second life. But we’d be remiss if I didn’t urge you to drink a few right now: This is so creamy and lifted with high, sonorous notes of ripe citrus fruit, wild strawberry, crushed cherries, redcurrant, grapefruit pith, tangelo peel, and crushed rock. It’s bountifully layered and refreshing to the point where you must constantly remind yourself to slow your pace to truly enjoy each nuance.
Mourvedre 40%, Grenache 30%, Cinsault 30% Judged Best Rosé in the World by Decanter Magazine