Variety show: Mourvèdre

A snapshot of this Mediterranean-hugging red wine grape.

2021 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Mourvèdre from Western Australia

Mourvèdre was born in Spain, the country that to this day has the most extensive plantings of this late-ripening black grape. In its homeland they call it Monastrell, and not surprisingly this sun-loving variety lives mostly by the coast. The regions of Jumilla and Yecla, in the autonomous community of Murcia in southern Spain, grow its motherland’s most-admired single-varietal Monastrell wines.

France boasts the second-largest plantings of Mourvèdre, and it’s on the up here. As in Spain, it’s generally planted within 50 miles of the Mediterranean, where winters are mild and summers generally long and hot. The southern Rhône - where Grenache leads the blends and Châteauneuf-du-Pape rules them all - is the northernmost point where it fully ripens. From here all the way to the Spanish border, Mourvèdre plays an important role in blends, where it is fancied for its blackberry flavours, fleshiness and tannin structure.

Many would say that Mourvèdre reaches its zenith in Provence’s most famous red wine, Bandol. Here, it must make up 50-95% of the blend. In Roussillon, at the opposite end of France’s Mediterranean coast, Mourvèdre is commonly known as Mataro, named after a town just north of Barcelona.

Under this same name, it took root in the so-called New World - most notably in California and South Australia. High-quality GSMs based on Grenache and Shiraz have long been a thing in warm areas such as the Barossa. In recent years, as Mourvèdre’s stocks have risen in France and the perception has shifted away from the drying, dusty, rustic results of those old Mataro plantings, it has found renewed appreciation in Australia under its French name.

While Mourvèdre/Monastrell/Mataro may travel under many guises, it never forgets to pack its personality.