Domaine de la Bégude was purchased in 1996 by seventh-generation winemaker Guillaume Tari, who was raised at Château Giscours in Margaux which his grandfather acquired in 1954. Once a stopover for travellers seeking shelter and sustenance – ‘beguda’ means ‘drink’ or ‘the place to drink’ in Provençal – the estate was abandoned and overgrown when Guillaume discovered it. He and his wife set about replanting the old terraces and restoring the buildings. The estate totals 500 hectares, of which thirty have been replanted, predominantly with Mourvèdre. Guillaume’s fascination with Mourvèdre’s capacity to evolve in bottle partly inspired his creation of the world’s largest collection of Mourvèdre clones, now comprising 116. Guillaume recently sold the estate to the Rouleau family, owners of Chateau Dauzac in Margaux, who share Guillaume’s vision for the estate and the wines.

Split into eighty different parcels, the vineyard’s diverse clay and limestone soils are described as a ‘mosaic’ with two unifying characteristics: good water retention and suitability for Mourvèdre. At an average of 410 metres above sea level, the vineyards are Bandol’s highest point. The combination of limestone subsoils, high altitude and sea breezes brings freshness to the wines and tempers the intense sunshine. To improve the vines’ drought resistance, Guillaume has implemented an old grafting technique when replanting. The rootstock is planted first and given two years to establish before the scion is grafted by hand. Guillaume’s wish to create an environment in harmony with its surroundings led him to introduce organic and biodynamic methods in 1996 and achieve organic certification in 2006.

The Domaine’s focus remains to produce wines that truly reflect their origins. All the grapes are harvested manually, sorted twice, destemmed and fermented with natural yeasts. The Bandol classification requires red wines to be sourced from vines with a minimum of eight years of age, contain at least 50% Mourvèdre and undergo 18 months oak ageing whereas the Rosé must include a minimum of 20% Mourvèdre. The Cadet rouge and rosé are an equal blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault and are produced from the youngest vines at the estate, which have an average age of 10 years. The range is therefore classified as IGP Méditerranée instead of Bandol AOC. Both the Cadet rosé and the Bandol rosé undergo slow pressing and cold settling before fermentation in stainless steel. The Bandol rosé is kept on fine lees for additional complexity and freshness, which balances the higher percentage of Mourvèdre. ‘Thyrsus’ is 100% Mourvèdre and is bottled without sulphur. The grapes are fermented for 10 days in amphorae with regular manual punch downs for phenolic extraction. Aged for a further six months in amphorae, the resulting wine displays layers of pure black fruit punctuated by notes of thyme and cinnamon and supported by firm tannins. The Bandol Rouge is a blend of 90% Mourvèdre and 10% Grenache which is aged for 20 months in a combination of 600-litre demi-muids and 300 and 400-litre used oak foudres. The structured palate is balanced by concentrated red and black fruit with lifted notes of violet and garrigue and a persistent finish.