Château Sainte Anne sits above the village of Sainte-Anne-d'Évenos, one of the highest and coolest points in the Bandol appellation, in the hills of Provence. The estate has been in the Dutheil de la Rochère family for generations, first under Françoise Dutheil de la Rochère and now her son Jean-Baptiste, who farms the vineyards organically and works with as little intervention as possible in the cellar. Bandol is Mourvèdre's great French home, and this estate has long been one of its most honest, least showy interpreters, favoring freshness and structure over brawn.

The Cuvée Collection is the estate's top red, built almost entirely from Mourvèdre (95%) with a small dash of Grenache (5%), sourced from vines averaging 70 years old and rooted in limestone and clay soils. The wine ages for 18 months in large old 50-hectoliter oak foudres, a slow, low-oxygen aging regimen that lets the grape's structure soften without picking up new oak character. A quarter-century on, this 2001 has settled into the savory, secondary phase that makes mature Bandol so compelling: the primary black fruit has given way to notes of dried fig, leather, garrigue, and forest floor, carried by a frame that, while considerably softened, still holds its shape.

Why You'll Love It

• A textbook example of what 25 years does to great Mourvèdre: fruit recedes, savory complexity takes over.
• Expect dried fig, leather, dried herbs, and a whisper of forest floor rather than fresh berry fruit.
• The tannins have resolved into something silky rather than gripping, with acidity that still feels lively underneath.
• A long, earthy finish that lingers on garrigue and old-leather notes.
• A genuine library-wine experience at a fraction of what mature Bandol from more famous estates commands.

How To Serve It

• Serve at 60-65°F, slightly below room temperature, to keep the wine from tasting flat.
• Stand the bottle upright for a day or two before opening, then decant gently for about 30 minutes to separate the sediment a wine of this age will have thrown.
• Pour into a Bordeaux-style glass to give the savory aromatics room to unfold.
• Pair with slow-braised lamb shanks with rosemary and garlic, or a rustic dish of wild mushrooms and game to match its earthy, mature character.