Mourvedre Wines Will Move You

by Frank Mangio

Mourvedre is one of those wines that wind up in the back of a country’s list of popular wines with maybe a couple of paragraphs. Like Aglianico in the Campania District of Italy, Mourvedre tends to get lost and labeled as a blending grape with its more-well-known companion in the south of France, Grenache.

Although Grenache would be my first choice for a world wide break-out, lip-smacking, sultry Mourvedre (pronounced more-vehd-ruh) with its rich, visceral taste, could very well be the next big thing in the southern Rhone Valley .

Talk to Ted Plemons, a partner at Cass Vineyard and Winery in the Paso Robles district in the Central Coast of California, and he will underline that prediction. “We bottled the 2008 Mourvedre in January of last year and it surprised us how fast it sold out at $38. a bottle,” he said. At the recent Family Winemakers of California event in Del Mar, he unveiled a large box container with a faucet that was filled with a blend called Flying Nymph.

This sultry combination is the essence of southern Rhone, with Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache. The vintage is 2009 so it’s still flying around with ripe cherry, strawberry and currants.

Ted Plemons of Cass Winery in Paso Robles uses the Mourvedre Grape as a blend in his oversized box wine called Flying Nymph.

A 750 ML bottle is $12.50 and the box, which is 18 liters of wine, goes for $100. That means with a 4 ounce pour, you could get 124 pours. The fruit is all estate and made by the Cass winemaker.

Just to set the record straight, Mourvedre is really native to Spain where it is called Monastrell and 2nd to Granache ( Garnacha in Spain) in importance. It was brought to the south of France in the 19th century and shortly after, found its way to California where there is now about 400 acres grown. Mourvedre seems to balance out at 15% alcohol. It is a late-ripening varietal that loves heat and produces high sugar. Tablas Creek is another Paso Robles vineyard that focuses on Mourvedre and the Chateauneuf-du-Pape southern French style of winemaking.

Their version has very thick skins and dark-as-night coloration, typically picked in November. Their club member price is $28. Find out more about Cass at www.casswines.com. The Tablas Creek website is www.tablascreek.com.

Firefly Revisited

Jim Barrasso, the cordial restaurateur of Firefly, that anchors the string of comfortable wine bar-restaurants along the El Camino Real Corridor in Encinitas, recently introduced his new chef with a Ferrari-Carano paired wine dinner. Paul Rinaudo, now creating entrees for Firefly, came from the Gaslamp San Diego, J-Six Restaurant. On this night, his main course was a Roast Pork Prime Rib that matched up with one of my Top Ten Wines from last year, the

A recent Firefly Encinitas gathering included: left to right, Taste of Wine columnist Frank Mangio, Ferrari-Carano rep Michael Hurst, Chef Paul Rinaudo and owner Jim Barrasso.

Ferrari-Carano Tresor 2007 Bordeaux style blend from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma ( $58.) Firefly’s next event is the Tolosa Winery dinner on Wednesday April 20. Check out others as well at www.fireflygrillandwinebar.com, or call 760-635-1066.

Wine Bytes

Bacchus Wine Market in the Gaslamp Downtown San Diego has all new releases Fri. March 25 from 4-8:30pm. Try 7 for $15. Details at 619-236-0005.

Meritage Wine Market has a lineup of “tooth-stainin’ reds for you to try Fri. March 25 from 4 to 7pm for $20. RSVP at 760-479-2500.

Vigilucci’s Seafood and Steakhouse in Carlsbad at the beach has an Antinori Italian Foie Gras Wine Dinner Fri. March 25 at 6:30pm. Wines include the prestigious Bolgheri Super Tuscan 2007 and the Tuscan Brunello Di Montalcino 2005. Don’t miss this. $120. pp. Reserve now at 760-434-2580.

San Diego Wine Company has a Saturday tasting on March 26 from 11 to 4:30pm. It’s all Italian wines. $10. ea. Contact them at 858-586-9463.

San Diego’s newest winery is Lenora Winery in Ramona. Every Sat. and Sun. 5 wines are poured from 10 to 6pm, including a souvenir wine glass. The phone is 760-788-1388.