2025 Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol Rosé

The 2025 Bandol Rosé is potent, inward and very structured. Hallmark Bandol power is present in spades, but the 2025 is very coiled and compact through the mid-palate today. That said, revisiting the wine two hours later, it has begun to relax its shoulders and express itself. Dense, oily and laden with grippy phenolics, the Terrebrune Rosé leaves behind a long echo of apricot, graphite, chalk, mint and white pepper. (BN) 92+

There is rosé, and then there is Bandol Rosé. Among the great estates of the appellation—a group that includes Tempier and Pibarnon—Terrebrune keeps the very best company. Mourvèdre dominates here, setting Bandol apart from greater Provence, where Grenache and Cinsault tend to drive the blends. It is what makes these wines so distinctive. Mourvèdre can produce rich, full-bodied and deeply structured reds, but as a rosé, it takes on an almost ephemeral quality. It is elegant yet textured, intense yet nuanced and graceful. The new vintage of Terrebrune is one of the best rosés of the season. That may sound like hyperbole, especially when you’ve heard me talk about favorites like Pradeaux and Domaine du Bagnol Cassis Rosé, but this ranks right alongside them. It captures everything I look for in great Bandol Rosé. Expressive notes of ruby red grapefruit and wild strawberry are accented by more subtle tones of wet stone, anise and bay leaf. Fuller-bodied but never heavy, it carries remarkable freshness and a bright, vibrant finish. Bandol Rosé as a category transcends what we typically think of as Provence rosé, and Terrebrune is proof in the glass. This is superb to drink now, but it has the structure and depth to continue developing beautifully for several years to come.