Mourvèdre is a red grape that originated in Spain where it goes under the name Monastrell. It then traveled to France from the Spanish town Morvedre which is probably how it got its french name.

Mourvèdre grapes have thick skins and can withstand drought and heat which makes them perfect for hot climates. The grape clusters are tight with small, dark colored berries. It is regarded as a high quality grape because of the tannins and body it brings to wines. This is why it is great as a blending grape, adding structure but also color to wines. It often blended with Grenache and Syrah as part of the Rhône blend (GSM) but also Merlot, Cabernet, Carignan and Cinsaut.

It is not as common to have varietal wines from 100% Mourvèdre but there are a couple of places like Bandol and Languedoc which produce some of these wines. Such wines benefit from aging which softens the tannins and makes the flavors more pronounced.

Today Mourvèdre is an important grape for Southern Rhône and Provence (Bandol) where it is not only used in their classic red blends but also added to their rosés. In fact Bandol rosés are some of the best, fuller bodied and tannic due to the Mourvèdre added to the blend.

In Spain, Monastrell was heavily hit by phylloxera back in the 19th century which destroyed most of the vines. Places like France, especially Bandol, were not as badly affected because of the sandy soils in which phylloxera cannot survive as opposed to the clay soils of Spain in which it thrives. Because of this, today you can find wonderful Monastrell wines from Spain that are half the price of the French wines.

Mourvèdre is also planted in the New world, especially in USA and Australia, where it is commonly named Mataro.

Main Regions

---