Mourvèdre (also known as Mataró or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety that is grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla denominaciones de origen of Spain, California and Washington State and the Australian regions of South Australia and New South Wales, as well as South Africa. In addition to making red varietal wines, Mourvèdre is a prominent component in "GSM" (Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) blends.

Mourvèdre is a funky grape name to pronounce. It’s French, and if a French person says it slowly, it would sound like mohr-VED-dra, or more-VEH-drha.

Mourvèdre tends to produce tannic wines that can be high in alcohol. The style of wine produced from the grapes varies greatly according to where it is produced, but according to wine expert Jancis Robinson Mourvèdre wines often have wild game, or earthy notes to them, with soft red fruit flavors.

The history of Mourvèdre is shrouded in mystery (there are vague references to it going back four centuries), but it would seem to have come to us from Spain. It is thought to have links with the Mataro grape, which is widely grown there, especially in Catalonia. Its French name may derive from the village of Murviedro, located in the province of Valance. The only thing we know for certain is that it was always grown in the south/south-east of France, and it was far more widely cultivated before the phylloxera crisis. To see it growing in the Rhone vineyards, you would do well to go to the Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Beaumes de Venise areas…