Mourvèdre Wine Guide: Grapes, Regions, and Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre is a black grape variety known as Monastrell in Spain and Mataro in the United States and Australia. A popular blending grape, Mourvèdre is famous for its role in the French red blends of Côtes du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Bandol. Often mixed with Syrah, Cinsault, and Grenache, Mourvèdre is also available as a varietal wine.

The Monastrell grape likely originated in Spain, where it has grown for thousands of years. The grape arrived in Provence, France, in the Middle Ages, where it first became known as Mourvèdre (likely after the Spanish town of Murviedro).

Mourvèdre dominated Provence until the 1860s, when phylloxera, a root-eating aphid, plagued wine grapes all over Europe. In France, Mourvèdre was largely replaced by other varieties that could be grafted onto phylloxera-free rootstock. Mourvèdre-compatible rootstocks weren’t discovered until after World War II, and in the 1970s a movement to replant the grape emerged in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Around the time that phylloxera caused the decline of Mourvèdre in France, the grape was brought from France to California and Australia, where it became known as Mataro, after a town in the province of Barcelona. Mostly used for bulk wines, Mataro experienced a comeback in the 1990s when winemakers discovered it was the same grape as the famous French Mourvèdre.

Spain’s major Monastrell producers, like Jumilla, escaped phylloxera in the nineteenth century only to face the pest in 1989. Its vines are now staging a comeback, and Spain remains the world's largest producer of Monastrell.

Mourvèdre is a late-ripening variety, so it is better suited to warm climates.

1. 1. Spain: Spain is the largest grower of Monastrell, which dominates the wines of Alicante, Jumilla, Valencia, Yecla, and the sparkling pink wine Cava Rosé. Monastrell is the fourth most planted red wine grape in Spain.
2. 2. France: France is the second-largest grower of Mourvèdre. The grape is most famous in Bandol, Provence, where wines must be at least 50 percent Mourvèdre. Bandol winemakers like Domaine Tempier have received international recognition for their Mourvèdre-dominant wines. It’s also becoming more popular in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône, where Mourvèdre typically makes up about 10 percent of the region’s Grenache-dominant blends. Mourvèdre is also planted in appellations along the Languedoc-Roussillon region on the Mediterranean coast.
3. 3. The United States: Mataro first arrived in California in the 1860s. When it became clear in the 1990s that Mataro was the same as Mourvèdre, hundred-year-old vines in the sandy soils of Contra Costa county received new attention and new plantings were made in Sonoma with high-quality clones imported by Tablas Creek in Paso Robles (a project of Château de Beaucastel in the Rhône Valley). The grape’s success in California spread Mourvèdre as far north as Washington state.
4. 4. South Australia: With a similar story to California’s, South Australia’s Barossa Valley is home to 170-year-old ungrafted vines, but the grape wasn’t respected until the Mourvèdre connection was discovered. Australia is the main producer of GSM, a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blend inspired by Rhône-style wines and also popular in California.
5. 5. South Africa: South Africa also grows some Mourvèdre grapes, mostly for use in red blends.

Mourvèdre grapes are small with black skin, producing a dark purple wine. Mourvèdre buds and ripens late, so a warmer climate is essential to its success. It’s a sought-after blending partner for its ability to add body to lighter varieties. One of the biggest winemaking challenges with Mourvèdre wines, however, is excess reduction during the aging process, which can cause a sulfur-like scent.

The flavor of a red wine made with the Mourvèdre grape depends on where it was grown: Mourvèdre from southern France is known for its blackberry flavor, while California versions may have red fruit notes. Generally, Mourvèdre is high in alcohol and tannins, with a somewhat meaty, gamey flavor when young. Aging can mellow the tannins, and some say Spanish Monastrell is less tannic. If you enjoy the tannic, full-bodied flavor of Cabernet Sauvignon, you’ll probably enjoy wines made with Mourvèdre.

To balance the wine’s tannins, Mourvèdre-dominant wines go well with rich, savory food pairings like pork butt, short ribs, polenta, and hearty lentil dishes like dal makhani or mujadara.

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