It loves heat, hates drought and is named after an old Latin word - Monastrell is an indigenous Spanish red grape, taking its name from the word monasteriellu, which means monastery.

It's easy to see how the name Monastrell grew from there and today the grape is also known as Mourvédre in southern France and Mataro in Australia. It has a long and fascinating history and makes delicious deeply coloured red wines, such as the cult Bandol red from Tempier, which arrived in store last week - 2017 Domaine Tempier Cuvée Classique Bandol.

Cuvée Classique Bandol from Tempier...

This is the estate's best known red and is a blend of grapes from around the winery and also La Cadiére, Sainte Anne d'Evenos and Ollioules. It grows on sandy marl, limestone greseux and rudist limestone as well as acolluvions. Sun and wind exposure vary widely on the different sites.

This wine is a blend of 75% Mourvédre with Grenache and Cinsault with smaller proportions of Carignan and Syrah. Average vine age is 35 to 40 years. All grapes are hand picked then destemmed, crushed and fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts for three to four weeks. The wine is then matured in large oak for 18  months before bottling.

All about Domaine Tempier...

The Tempier team sources grapes for its wines from a 60 hectare patchwork of plots spreading over a geologically diverse area in the Bandol appellation in southern France. 

All about Monastrell... 

Monastrell is an indigenous Spanish grape that was originally cultivated by monks in a place called Sagunto in the Camp de Morvedre region in Valencia, in Eastern Spain. It was the main grape variety there until phylloxera arrived in the early 20th Century. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson writes about it in her seminal book, Wine Grapes, co-authored by fellow Master of Wine Julia Harding and grape geneticist José Vouillamoz.

"Morvedre (Spanish Murviedro) was until 1868 the Catalan name for the town of Sagunto, an important wine port north of Valencia from the fifteenth century onwards. Outside Spain, Monastrell is often known as Mataro (or Mataro), a name also derived from a town on the Mediterranean coast, between Barcelona and Valencia."

Monastrell makes some of our favourite Spanish wines, big juicy dark red wines that we stock here at Regional Wines & Spirits. It originates in Spain but also thrives in the south of France where it’s known as Mourvedre. And if you’re anything like us, you’ll either be a fan or want to become better acquainted with Domaine Tempier’s wines, made from this grape…

* We have a small allocation of 2017 Domaine Tempier Bandol and 2017 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé. Come in to buy these great collectible French wines from the heat loving Mourvédre / Monastrell grape.