Bandol borders the Mediterranean Sea and Tour du Bon is tucked a half a mile away on a hillside near a tiny village called Le Castellet. The terroir here is a clay-limestone mix with a red subsoil. The 12 hectare of vines form a natural amphitheatre overlooking the sea, and with the abundant Provencal sunshine and very little rain, it's the hottest area in the appellation. Agnes Henry is the current winemaker and owner of Domaine de la Tour du Bon. Her parents bought the estate in 1968 and it took them two years to dig into the rocky earth and get vines planted. Agnes has been making the wines full time for the last 25 years. She is one of the original winemakers in the "natural" movement, although, she does not advertise this info at all. When asked about it she says that she isn't interested in being a missionary or spokesperson for the natural movement. She practices organic agriculture and is hands off on the cellar because it makes the best wines (period). She's not certified because it's too much paperwork. Agnes now has a dyanmizer for preparing biodynamic treatments, but hesitates to call herself biodynamic. Fermentations take place in open top cement vats and normally last about three weeks. She pumps over occasionally to get oxygen to the yeasts. Following Bandol's requirements the reds are aged in wood (a mix of foudres and barrels) for a minimum of eighteen months. The wines are not fined or filtered. The final expression is traditional and unmanipulated wines that truly express Bandol’s unique terroir.
