Mourvèdre

Mourvèdre is a thick-skinned, late-ripening red grape that thrives in hot, sunny, maritime-influenced climates, where it makes some of the darkest, most structured and savoury wines of the Mediterranean. Known as Monastrell in its native Spain and as Mataro in Australia and California, it is the backbone of France's age-worthy Bandol in Provence and a key partner — the "M" in GSM — alongside Grenache and Syrah in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the wider southern Rhône. The wine is deeply coloured, full-bodied and firmly tannic, with brooding black fruit, meat, game, leather, earth and a wild herbal edge, plus notably high alcohol. It is a powerful, gamey, savoury red built for hearty food and the cellar.