Now here’s a grape I don’t see a lot of as a stand alone wine. I see a lot of it blended in small amounts into other wines, but rarely do I get one labeled as Mourvedre. I love it though, and tend to squeal with excitement when I see it on a winery’s tasting list! And if I see it and they aren’t pouring, I try hard to make friends with the host so he or she might give me a little taste. I almost always buy some when I see it, so it’s worth it to give me just a little taste….! Tonight I chose the 2005 Navarro Mourvedre. I bought this at the winery on our 2008 CA trip, but it wasn’t on the tasting menu so I didn’t get the price written down. It clocked in at 13.6% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure. I want to say I paid $26 for it, but don’t quote me on that!
On the nose I found smoke, juicy fruit (the gum), mulberry, blackberry, blueberry, pepper, and cedar. Despite all that, I would still describe the nose on the wine as reserved; it took quite some time for the aromas to emerge, and the wine was served at cellar temperature. In the mouth I got blueberry, mulberry, pomegrante, cranberry, sandalwood, anise, and tart red fruit. This wine has great acidity and structure, I’d love to try it with a roast beef or a tri-tip!
Filed under: California, Mourvedre, Navarro Vineyards, Red, Wine |
Wannabe Wino Wine Blog 
Two things…
1) I’m tempted to buy you some stemware. 😉
2) CA Mourvedre seems to have very little in common with Mourvedre from its ancestral home in France. I prefer the tarry, brambly version, but it’s always interesting to hear how new-world versions fare. Cheers!
glad that you highlighted mourvedre, since the public needs to become more aware of the many excellent varieties out there besides the usual culprits that dominate 99% of the market.
Nice coverage. I love getting these little (sadly) obscure grapes in a bottle. Do you know if it’s 100%?
I’m curious if it opens up later/next day. If there’s any left can you do a follow-up?
Also, I’m surprised at how light the color seems. Do you think that was just camera/sun or is it decidedly not deep?
Cheers!
Goodness, I get so much flack about my wine glasses! These came from a winery. I need dishwasher safe wine glasses. My dishwasher refuses to handwash glasses!
I can’t say I’ve ever had it from anywhere else than CA Evan!
Thanks Jeff! I love Mourvedre!
Ryan-I’m not sure. I never could find any info on this wine on the Navarro website. No follow up this time…we drained the wine the first night! It was fairly light, but not nearly as light as it appears in that pic! The sun was shining straight into the glass.