Mourvèdre

Mourvèdre, monastrell in Spain and mataro in Australia and California, is Spanish in origin, probably from the area around Sagunto and Murviedro in Valencia, which is where the French name comes from. It is one of the last grapes to ripen anywhere it grows and needs serious heat, which is why it sits so far south.

It gives a dark, tannic, meaty wine with blackberry, black pepper, dried herbs and an animal, gamey quality that people either seek out or dislike. It is prone to reduction, which means it can smell of struck match or worse if the winemaker does not manage oxygen, and it oxidises quickly in the other direction if handled roughly. It is a demanding grape to make well.

Bandol, on the Mediterranean coast near Toulon, is its finest expression: mostly mourvèdre, aged eighteen months in old oak, and long-lived. It is the M in the GSM blend with grenache and syrah, where it supplies the structure and savour the other two lack. Spain grows far more of it than France does, mostly in Jumilla, Yecla and Alicante, where it is often unblended and very good value.