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 and / or earthy notes to them, with soft red fruit flavors.

While in Bandol, it is common to ferment Mourvèdre with the stems, the grapes usually go through a crusher / destemmer in New World regions such as a California due to the harsher, green tannins that are more typical of the stems in those regions.

The Grenache grape is required to be present at not less than 50 %, with 20 % Syrah and / or Mourvèdre.

In the red wines the Grenache grape must be present at not less than 50 %, with 20 % Syrah and / or Mourvèdre.

There are around 12 square kilometres of Mourvèdre in Australia, where it is also known as Mataro though more producers have begun adopting the French name Mourvèdre.

As the French and other European wine regions recovered from the phylloxera scourge by grafting Vitis vinifera varieties to American rootstock, it was discovered that Mourvèdre vines did not take well to the grafting and many vineyards were replanted to other varieties.

In Spain, Mourvèdre ( where the grape is known as Monastrell ) was the fourth most widely planted red wine grape variety at the turn of the 21st century with around 63, 000 hectares ( 155, 000 acres ) in 2004.

In California, Mourvèdre was first planted in the United State when it arrived in the 1860s as part of the Pellier collection and was likely first planted in Santa Clara County.

Like many grape varieties, Mourvèdre was first introduced to Australia as part of James Busby's collection of cuttings from his European travels in the 1830s.

Today Grenache is most widely planted in the Languedoc-Roussillon region where it is widely blended with Carignan, Cinsaut, Syrah and Mourvèdre.

But the spark of interest and international investment in the Languedoc saw planting sharply increase and by 2000 there were over 7, 600 ha of Mourvèdre planted throughout Southern France.

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 denominación de origens of Spain, California and Washington State and the Australian regions of South Australia and New South Wales.

In the United States, Mourvèdre is found primarily in California and Washington State with some limited plantings in Virginia.

Wines of this appellation must have at least fifty percent Mourvèdre grapes, though most have considerably more.

While it likely arrived earlier, Mourvèdre had a well establish presence in Roussillon region of France by at least the 16th century where it spread eastwards towards Provence and the Rhone.

A red Bandol wine from Provence made from at least 50 % Mourvèdre.

While Bandol is the AOC region that most prominent features Mourvèdre ( by law all red Bandols must contain at least 50 % Mourvèdre ), other Appellation d ' origine contrôlée ( AOC ) s that has Mourvèdre as a permitted variety include Cassis, Collioure, Corbières, Costières de Nîmes, Coteaux d ' Aix-en-Provence, Coteaux du Languedoc, Coteaux de Pierrevert, Coteaux Varois, Côtes du Luberon, Coteaux du Tricastin, Côtes de Provence, Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages, Côtes du Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Côtes du Ventoux, Faugères, Fitou, Palette, Saint-Chinian, Gigondas, Lirac, Minervois and Vacqueyras.

On the heels of some critically acclaimed varietal and Rhone-style blends ( as well as the introduction of better quality clones ) featuring Mourvèdre plantings in California risen slightly from 260 ha ( 650 acres ) at the turn of the 21st century to 900 acres in 2010.

The small, thick-skin berries of Mourvèdre are high in phenolic compounds that have the potential to produce a deeply colored, very tannic wine with significant alcohol levels if harvested at high sugar levels.

In winemaking, wines made from Mourvèdre are prone to both oxidation and reductive flavors ( such as hydrogen sulfide ) if care is not taken at the winery.

Red, rosé and a few white wines are produced-the reds from Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsaut grapes ; the white are made from a blend of from Grenache blanc and Grenache gris.

Red wines which comprise 95 % of the total production, are made from the principal varieties of Grenache Noir and Syrah ( 10 % minimum ), with secondary varieties of Cinsault, Mourvèdre Carignan.

Red and rosé wines are made from, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, and Carignan ( maximum 30 %).

Red wines are made from Grenache Noir ( minimum 40 %), Syrah and Mourvèdre ( minimum of 25 % together ), Cinsault, and Carignan ( maximum 10 %).

Red and rosé wines are made from Grenache Noir, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignane, Counoise and Mourvèdre grapes varieties.

Red wines are made from Grenache Noir and Syrah, 60 %, ( of which Syrah minimum 10 %), Cinsault maximum 20 %, Mourvèdre Carignan, maximum 20 % other accepted varieties are: Counoise, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir

In the 1990s, critically acclaimed bottlings from Bonny Doon Vineyard and Cline Cellars Winery promoted increase demand in the variety and by the mid-2000s, plantings of Mourvèdre in California had risen to 260 ha ( 650 acres ).

* Syrah as a minor blending component for Grenache and Mourvèdre.

In the Languedoc, the grape is often blended with Cinsaut, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre and Merlot.

In Australia it is typically blended in " GSM " blends with Syrah and Mourvèdre.

In Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenache noir is the most common variety of the 13 permitted varieties, although some producers in recent years have been using a higher proportion of Mourvèdre.

Syrah is typically blended to provide color and spice, while Mourvèdre can add elegance and structure to the wine.

Depending on the specific AOC rules, grapes blended into southern Rhône reds may include Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault.

Other red grapes include Cinsault, Counoise, Mourvèdre, Muscardin, Syrah, Terret Noir, and Vaccarèse.

In recent years, the trend has been to include fewer ( or even none ) of the allowed white varieties and rely heavily ( or solely ) upon the Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah.

The red wine, which is the best known is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, and Mourvèdre grapes in varying amounts each year.

In addition to making red varietal wines, Mourvèdre is a prominent component in " GSM " blends where it is blended with Grenache and Syrah.

Mourvèdre tends to produce tannic wines that can be high in alcohol.

According to wine expert Oz Clarke, young Mourvèdre can come across as faulted due to the reductive, sulfur notes and " farmyard-y " flavors that some wines can exhibit before those flavors mellow with age.

The phylloxera louse that devastated European vineyards in the mid-19th century greatly reduced the number of plantings of Mourvèdre as the vine didn't take well to grafting to phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks.

Most wine historians agree that Mourvèdre is likely Spanish in origin though its exact history is difficult to pinpoint.

The French-adapted name Mourvèdre likely came from Murviedro ( Morvedre in Catalan, nowadays Sagunt ) near Valencia while the Spanish name Mataró likely came from Mataró, Cataluña near the modern-day city of Barcelona.

Mourvèdre arrived in California in the 1860s as part of the Pellier collection.

In the late 20th century, interest in Mourvèdre as a premium grape variety picked up as the Rhone Rangers began seeking out old vine plantings of the variety in vineyards Contra Costa County.

According to ampelographer Pierre Galet Mourvèdre thrives in warm climates as the variety has a tendency to both bud and ripen very late.

In addition to a warm climate, Mourvèdre also does best in a dry climate with sufficient wind to protect it from the viticultural hazards of powdery mildew and downy mildew.