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Mourvedre? Monastrell? Estrangle-Chien (Dog Strangler)? It May Need To Breath More.

I have had Mourvedre wine only as a blend. In either a Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhone blend or Lebanese wine, like Chateau Ksara. I love these wines but I have never had a wine that is 100% of this type of grape.

(Note: I have recently heard that Bandol wine is a great way to taste this grape and it is required to be at least 50% of these wines. Gotta love anything from the South of France.)

This is a bold grape, that is very tannic. I think you pick that up from the French name for it. Estrangle-chien or dog strangler.

It needs to be blended, normally with Grenache, to drink young, or allowed to age for a long time. I know the Chateau Ksara that I had most recently was 10 years old. It was a great red wine, but needed to breath for about 2 hours.

Blends of this may range from bold to mellow, depending on the amount of this black grape and the age of the wine. Think chocolate and berries on the nose, as well as the finish. It goes well with gamey and spicy foods. Sometimes this wine is very spicy and it can be too much for lightly flavored foods. Also, I have had a blend that was super smoky at the start but mellowed to licorice after a while. I guess the lesson with these wines is:

-If at first you don't like it, come back in an hour!

Now how about an actual bottle. While we normally hear about this grape as a Cotes Du Rhone, here we are drinking it as a Spanish wine from Yecla. This Monastrell, is definitely interesting but see what the Two Crazy Red Headz think about it.

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