Drinking in Avignon, supermarket wine #6. Grenache is one of my absolute favorite grape varieties, I love it, and I drink more of it than anything else – but Mourvedre fascinates me even more. The issue with it is availability: while well priced and excellent Spanish versions (the gold standard is Castano’s Hecula for me) are in abundance, it’s not that easy to find French versions. Bandol is probably the most well-known example, but it’s mostly expensive, and only a few big names are available outside France. So to find a Bandol for merely 6 Euros in a local supermarket… I had to try it. And it did not disappoint, in fact, turned out to be better than the majority of supermarket Rhone reds I tasted.

A cheapie that’s actually very good! I can’t believe I can get the charms of a Bandol for such a fair price. It’s full of character, has an impact already with the first sniff. Leathery, old school, in a good way. Cherries and a bit of cantaloupe and some balsamic vinegar. Balanced, linear on the palate, the structure is rather like of a traditional claret’s than of a heady Rhone or Languedoc red. It’s not forced, not too ripe, not alcoholic. Just a midweek wine, nothing too complicated, yet it offers so much enjoyment. Lovely!