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Marvelous Mourvèdre It's not a grape for those who want fruit, fruit and nothing but fruit in their wine. But if you enjoy both blackberry fruit and a delicious blend of spice, herbal and earthy flavors that may evoke "tree bark" and the forest floor along with nuances of grilled meat or game in a complex, tart, often tannic and ageworthy wine that makes you stop and think, "Hey, what's that?" then you might want to give Mourvèdre a try. Growing best in warmer climates, Mourvèdre makes its natural home along the Mediterranean and in hotter New World regions. Curiously, it probably takes its name from the Spanish village of Murviedro, where it may have originated; but that name has migrated to France. The Spanish, who grow it extensively, usually call it Monastrell, while English-speaking Californians and Australians dub it with the Spanish-sounding Mataro. This is one of those tricky complications that makes wine appreciation a constant learning process, but it's worth taking the time to get to know this one. It's often blended with other grapes, where its aggressively earthy qualities are muted in combination with Grenache, Carignan and other Mediterranean varieties, but it's also found as a 100 percent varietal. Bandol produces some of the best, where such brands as Domaine Tempier and Pibarnon have become quite pricey; Bandol from the tiny producer Domaine Ste. Anne is also well worth seeking out. Ridge, the renowned California producer of great Zinfandel and the top-rank Monte Bello Cabernet, makes an excellent Mataro, and you'll find plenty of affordable examples of Spanish Monastrell and Languedoc Mourvèdre, like the excellent item I report below. What's your opinion about Mourvèdre? Join in an active online discussion on this topic on our Wine Lovers' Discussion Group at http://www.wineloverspage.com/cgi-bin/sb/index.cgi?fn=1&tid=11442 or send me E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com. I regret that the growing circulation of the "Wine Advisor" makes it difficult for me to reply individually to every note, and my travels this month will also limit my ability to respond; but I'll answer as many as I can; and please be assured that all your input helps me do a better job of writing about wine. We hope you'll invite your wine-loving friends to register for their own free weekly copy at http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor.
Excellent value Mourvèdre 
Chateau La Roque 1998 Pic Saint Loup Cuvee Les Vieilles Vignes de Mourvèdre Coteaux de Languedoc ($9.99) This all-Mourvèdre wine from a top producer in one of the Languedoc's most exciting regions stands out as the best $10 value I have found in a long, long time. It is a very dark ruby color, almost opaque, full and ripe, full of earthy and complex Mourvèdre notes, "tree bark" and "forest floor," prompting my wife to liken it to "a walk in the woods on a rainy autumn day." But there's fresh fruit there, too, raspberry and black-cherry, with lemony acidity to give it structure. This vintage has been around for a while, but the 1999, coming on the market now, is also reported to be very fine. U.S. importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif. (Jan. 16, 2001)
FOOD MATCH: Delicious with a Provence dish crafted to match: Lamb chunks stewed with aromatic flavors of orange peel, fennel, bay leaf, black pepper and thyme.
How much do you spend for a bottle of wine? I hope you'll drop by the Wine Lovers' Voting Booth, http://www.wineloverspage.com/votebooth, and tell us what you think. At the end of this survey, we'll report how your answers differed from those in January 1998.
Burgundy Wine Company
Winetasting.com Winetasting.com is an online cooperative of California’s leading wineries selling directly to wine lovers. This gives customers like you unique access to limited-release wines not available outside the tasting room. For full information, visit http://www.Winetasting.com/hub/landing.asp?wlpgid=WLPG001LA. I have known these folks for a long time and can confidently recommend them.
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