Grape Variety: Monastrell

Colour: Red

Monastrell, Mourvèdre, Mataró is variety of wine grape used to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés. It is an international variety grown in many regions around the world.

It produces tannic wines that can be high in alcohol, and is most successful in Rhone-style blends. It has a particular affinity for Grenache, softening it and giving it structure. Its taste varies greatly according to area, but often has a wild, gamey or earthy flavour, with soft red fruit flavours

Monastrell based wines haven’t acquired the iconic status of the Tempranillo based wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero or the Garnacha wines of Penedés. 

Monastrell is grown in several parts of Spain and in France. While its true origin is not known, it first became established in Cataluña where it took on the names Mourvèdre (after Muviedro, the Moorish name for the city of Sagunto, near Valencia) Monastrell is a thick-skinned, black grape high in tannins and late to ripen. It’s a difficult grape to grow with a tendency to produce good yields one year and small yields the next, and growers have to wait as long as ten years for new vines to produce commercial quantities of fruit. It grows best in hot climates with long growing seasons, like one finds in the Spanish comunidad autónoma (i.e., regional government) of Murcia, home to the Denominaciones de Origen (DO’s) of Jumilla, Yecla, and Bullas. The high altitudes of most the vineyards in these DO’s ensure cool nighttime temperatures and large diurnal temperature variations that ensure acidity in the wines.

Monastrell presents several challenges to the winemaker. First and foremost, because of the region’s high temperatures, care must be taken in the vineyard to harvest fruit that is optimally ripe phenolically but not overly ripe and jammy. Secondly, because Monastrell produces hard tannic wines there is need to reduce harsh tannin extraction by handling fruit as gently as possible, carefully controlling the temperature and speed of fermentation, and mascerating grapes with skins. In addition, because Monastrell is highly reductive, winemakers need to do more frequent pumpovers and racking during fermentation and barrel aging. Also, the better winemakers of Murcia are quickly learning how to tame the wild character of the grape through blending and other means in order to produce more fruit forward and accessible wines while still retaining some of the earthy characteristics that make Monastrell wines unique.

Bodega Balcona make an excellent Monastrell blend in Bullas called Partal grown at high altitude on poor soils. Medium dark ruby in color with dark cherry, earth, and violets on the nose. In the mouth, it shows vanilla, dark fruit, earth notes, and a touch of minerality. A well-balanced, easy-drinking wine with a soft attack and nicely integrated flavours.