2010 Global Mataro Conference avec Porchetta

I recently put together a tasting of wines in McLaren Vale featuring the grape known as Mataro, aka Mourvedre, or Monastrell depending on where it is grown and who's making it. Technically, Mataro is the Australian name for the grape, Mourvedre the French, and Monastrell the Spanish; however, it's common to see the name thrown around loosely these days, especially in Australia. Producers can by law use any name they please, so long as the wine contains the variety, and perhaps it's their way of saying something about themselves, as well. If the wine is listed as Mataro exclusively on the label, it must be at least 85% by wine law.
I invited 11 wine industry folks, some were winemakers/marketers that make the varietal, one retailer who sells it, and one man who grows it to sample 28 different wines I collected from Australia, Spain, and France. Mataro is notoriously wild, funky smelling and feral in character and usually needs a companion or 2, like grenache and shiraz, to help tame/soften it, but the wines I selected were, as much as possible, all Mataro-all day long.
Everyone chipped in $100 bucks to cover the wines, and afterwards we had a roast porchetta on the spit, apple/celery slaw, and potato gratin with White Rabbit dark ale and different small batch ciders. It was a nice way to spend Anzac day; enjoying the delicious freedoms that the veterans helped protect. Here's what we looked at in the order poured, blind, of course, in flights of 5 or 6 (flights sectioned off below beginning with number in bold). Prices are retail Australian, which is about one for one with the US$ as of today:

• 1. 2008 “Al” Muvedre ‘Joven’, Telmo Rodriguez, Alicante, Spain $25
• 2. 2004 Magpie Estate “The Black Sock” Mourvedre, Rolf Binder, Barossa,SA $20
• 3. 2008 Teusner “Dog Strangler” Mataro, Barossa,SA $25 www.teusner.com.au
• 4. 2006 d’Arenberg “the Twenty Eight Road” Mourvedre, McLaren Vale,SA $36 www.darenberg.com.au
• 5. 2005 “Hecula” Bodegas Castano Monastrell, Yecla, Spain $22
• 6. 2007 Springs Hill Mourvedre, Blewitt Springs,SA $25 www.springshill.com.au
• 7. 2008 Yangarra Mourvedre, McLAren Vale,SA $30 www.yangarra.com
• 8. 2008 Carchelo “C”, Mourv/Temp/CS Blend, Jumilla, Spain $25 www.carchelo.com
• 9. 2007 Muster “M”, Barossa,SA $22 www.musterwineco.com.au
• 10. 2007 Sieber Road Mataro, Barossa,Sa $25 www.sieberwines.com
• 11. 2005 Rudderless Mataro, McLaren Vale,SA $38 www.rudderlesswines.com.au
• 12.2007 Hewitson “Baby Bush” Mourvedre, Barossa,SA $28 www.hewitson.com.au
• 13. 2007 Hewitson “Old Garden” Mourvedre, Rowland Flat, Barossa $65 www.hewitson.com.au
• 14. 2005 Domaine du Gros’ Nore, Bandol, FR $65 www.gros-nore.com
• 15. 2007 Greenstone Vineyard Monastrell, Heathcote,VIC $31 www.greenstoneofheathcote.com
• 16. 2005 “Valcorso Ecologico” Monastrell, La Purisma, Yecla, Spain $23 www.calpyecla.com
• 17. 2002 R.B.J. “Theologicum” Mataro, Barossa,SA $25
• 18. 2006 Turkey Flat Mourvedre, Barossa,SA $39 www.turkeyflat.com.au
• 19. 2006 Deisen Mataro, Barossa,SA $35 www.deisen.com.au
• 20. 2008 Cascabel Monastrell, McLaren Vale,SA $42 www.cascabelwinery.com.au
• 21. 2006 “Trapio” LA Purisma Monastrell, Yecla, Spain $35 www.calpyecla.com
• 22. 2008 “Lust Collides” Mataro- Thomas Block, Some Young Punks, McLaren Vale,SA $34 www.someyoungpunks.com
• 23. 2004 Tardieu-Laurent, Bandol, FR $59
• 24. 2004 Torbreck “The Pict”, Barossa,SA $210 www.torbreck.com
• 25. 2004 “Classique” Domaine Tempier, Bandol, FR $65 www.domainetempier.com
• 26. 2000 Chateau de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape, FR $165 www.beaucastel.com
• 27. 2006 Teusner “Astral Series, Moppa Mataro”, Barossa,SA $101.50 www.teusner.com.au
• 28. 2007 Clarendon Hills “Liandra” Mourvedre, Clarendon,SA $75 www.clarendonhills.com.au

The results were varied, and it was difficult to sense any singular theme. Lighter wines were borne from lighter vintages in Blewitt Springs, while burly wines were made at Rudderless and RBJ in hotter years tipping the 16% alc levels. Two of the Bandols, the French region near Marseilles, the Tardieu Laurent and Gros' Nore were bretty, but I thought the third, the old guard of mourvedre, the 2004 Domaine Tempier Bandol, was the wine of the day: rock solid tannins, pure, a bit coarse, and gamey in a good way. My favorite Aussie wines were the Turkey Flat and "Old Garden" from Hewitson, apparently the Earth's oldest mataro vineyard planted in the 1850's, and Torbreck's $200 "Pict".
Hewitson was bold, brash and wild while the pricey 2004 Torbreck tasted surprisingly Old World. I do feel mataro in Oz should be a full bodied red wine, since it can take the heat like the nose cone of a rocket re-entering the atmosphere and it needs heat to ripen. It is a late ripener due to the time needed to mature the grape's dense seed pack and thick skin. I later learned Torbreck tips their hat to Bandol's Tempier, much like Thorpe Wines tips its hat to Grange. Full tasting notes on each wine would be terribly boring, but it is safe to say the following: Bevan Wilson's dog, Bella, chewed thru many sticks and left a mess on Peter Bolte's verandah. The 2000 Beaucastel, predominately mourvedre, was soaring, and, unfortunately, it wasn't in a magnum, because there wasn't much to go around. I felt it was in a class by itself, even though the 30% mourvedre was cloned from Tempier. Whether we invite the dog back remains to be seen, but the wild quality of mataro was well represented by the masticating canine named Bella. The jury is still out, however, when it comes to blending this variety versus its ability/nobility to fly Han Solo as the reckless mercenary or as George Lucas puts it, as "a loner who realizes the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good." I tend to think, due to its abrasive multiple personalities, that it plays better in blends, or as a talented bit player (think John Cazale as Fredo in "the Godfather") rather than the leading man. Next tasting is Cabernet Sauvignon on Sunday, July 25th at 1pm. Napa and Bordeaux will be in the house that day for sure.