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Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre (French pronunciation: [muʁvɛdʁ] ⓘ; also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world. It is found in the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla denominaciones de origen (DOs) of Spain, as well as the Balearic Islands, California and Washington and the Australian regions of South Australia and New South Wales, plus South Africa. In addition to making red varietal wines, Mourvèdre is a prominent component in "GSM" (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blends. The variety is also used to make rosé and port-style fortified wines.
Mourvèdre tends to produce tannic wines that can be high in alcohol. The style of wine produced from the grapes varies greatly according to where it is produced, but according to wine expert Jancis Robinson Mourvèdre wines often have wild game, or earthy notes to them, with soft red fruit flavors. According to wine expert Oz Clarke, young Mourvèdre can come across as faulted due to the reductive, sulfur notes and "farmyard-y" flavors that some wines can exhibit before those flavors mellow with age.
The variety can be a difficult grape to grow, preferring "its face in the hot sun and its feet in the water" meaning that it needs very warm weather, a low leaf-to-fruit ratio but adequate water or irrigation to produce intensely flavored fruit that is not overly jammy or herbaceous. The vines' susceptibility to many viticultural hazards such as powdery and downy mildew as well as overly vigorous foliage can present additional problems for vine growers.
Most wine historians agree that Mourvèdre is likely to be Spanish in origin, though its exact history is difficult to pinpoint. The variety was probably introduced to Valencia by the Phoenicians around 500 BC. The French-adapted name Mourvèdre probably came from Murviedro (Morvedre in Valencian, nowadays Sagunt) near Valencia while the name Mataro is thought to have come from Mataró, Catalonia near the modern-day city of Barcelona.
Despite this close association with Murviedro and Mataró, the grape became known in Spain as Monastrell for reasons that are still unknown though Oz Clarke speculates that a "neutral" name may have been chosen so as not to offend the local pride of both regions.
Mourvèdre had a well-established presence in Roussillon region of France by at least the 16th century when still part of Spain (until 1659) where it spread eastwards towards Provence and the Rhone. There it had a well established foothold until the phylloxera epidemic of the mid to late 19th century decimated plantings. As the French and other European wine regions recovered from the phylloxera scourge by grafting Vitis vinifera varieties to American rootstock, it was discovered that Mourvèdre vines did not take well to the grafting and many vineyards were replanted with other varieties.
Mourvèdre arrived in California in the 1860s as part of the Pellier collection. The variety, known as Mataro, was used primarily for bulk produced jug wines. In the 1980s and 90s, interest in Mourvèdre as a premium grape variety picked up as the Rhone Rangers began seeking out old-vine plantings of the variety in the eastern part of Contra Costa County. In the 1990s, critically acclaimed bottlings from Bonny Doon Vineyard and Cline Cellars Winery promoted demand in the variety and by the mid-2000s, plantings of Mourvèdre in California had risen to 260 ha (650 acres).
In Australia, the variety (known there as Mataro) has had a long history in the country with plantings dating back to the mid-19th century. In the 1980s, many of these old vine plantings were uprooted in a government sponsored vine pulling scheme but some still survive and are producing today. While historically the variety was used mainly as an anonymous blending grape in fortified wines, the variety saw a rise in interest in the 1990s as producers started receiving acclaim for GSM (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blends (many from the surviving, low yield old vine plantings). With a slight increase in planting there were more than 1000 ha of Mataro in Australia by the mid-2000s.
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Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre (French pronunciation: [muʁvɛdʁ] ⓘ; also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world. It is found in the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla denominaciones de origen (DOs) of Spain, as well as the Balearic Islands, California and Washington and the Australian regions of South Australia and New South Wales, plus South Africa. In addition to making red varietal wines, Mourvèdre is a prominent component in "GSM" (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blends. The variety is also used to make rosé and port-style fortified wines.
Mourvèdre tends to produce tannic wines that can be high in alcohol. The style of wine produced from the grapes varies greatly according to where it is produced, but according to wine expert Jancis Robinson Mourvèdre wines often have wild game, or earthy notes to them, with soft red fruit flavors. According to wine expert Oz Clarke, young Mourvèdre can come across as faulted due to the reductive, sulfur notes and "farmyard-y" flavors that some wines can exhibit before those flavors mellow with age.
The variety can be a difficult grape to grow, preferring "its face in the hot sun and its feet in the water" meaning that it needs very warm weather, a low leaf-to-fruit ratio but adequate water or irrigation to produce intensely flavored fruit that is not overly jammy or herbaceous. The vines' susceptibility to many viticultural hazards such as powdery and downy mildew as well as overly vigorous foliage can present additional problems for vine growers.
Most wine historians agree that Mourvèdre is likely to be Spanish in origin, though its exact history is difficult to pinpoint. The variety was probably introduced to Valencia by the Phoenicians around 500 BC. The French-adapted name Mourvèdre probably came from Murviedro (Morvedre in Valencian, nowadays Sagunt) near Valencia while the name Mataro is thought to have come from Mataró, Catalonia near the modern-day city of Barcelona.
Despite this close association with Murviedro and Mataró, the grape became known in Spain as Monastrell for reasons that are still unknown though Oz Clarke speculates that a "neutral" name may have been chosen so as not to offend the local pride of both regions.
Mourvèdre had a well-established presence in Roussillon region of France by at least the 16th century when still part of Spain (until 1659) where it spread eastwards towards Provence and the Rhone. There it had a well established foothold until the phylloxera epidemic of the mid to late 19th century decimated plantings. As the French and other European wine regions recovered from the phylloxera scourge by grafting Vitis vinifera varieties to American rootstock, it was discovered that Mourvèdre vines did not take well to the grafting and many vineyards were replanted with other varieties.
Mourvèdre arrived in California in the 1860s as part of the Pellier collection. The variety, known as Mataro, was used primarily for bulk produced jug wines. In the 1980s and 90s, interest in Mourvèdre as a premium grape variety picked up as the Rhone Rangers began seeking out old-vine plantings of the variety in the eastern part of Contra Costa County. In the 1990s, critically acclaimed bottlings from Bonny Doon Vineyard and Cline Cellars Winery promoted demand in the variety and by the mid-2000s, plantings of Mourvèdre in California had risen to 260 ha (650 acres).
In Australia, the variety (known there as Mataro) has had a long history in the country with plantings dating back to the mid-19th century. In the 1980s, many of these old vine plantings were uprooted in a government sponsored vine pulling scheme but some still survive and are producing today. While historically the variety was used mainly as an anonymous blending grape in fortified wines, the variety saw a rise in interest in the 1990s as producers started receiving acclaim for GSM (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blends (many from the surviving, low yield old vine plantings). With a slight increase in planting there were more than 1000 ha of Mataro in Australia by the mid-2000s.