Mourvèdre / Monastrell

Late-ripening, gamey, dense — Bandol's anchor.

Mourvèdre — Monastrell in Spain, Mataro in older Australian usage — is a thick-skinned, late-ripening grape that demands heat and produces dark, gamey, structured reds. Bandol on the French Mediterranean coast is the prestige reference, with old-vine Mourvèdre that ages 20+ years and develops leather and tobacco complexity. In Spain's Jumilla and Yecla it produces inky, value-priced reds. As the M in GSM blends, it adds tannic structure and a meaty, spicy edge to fruit-forward Grenache and Syrah.