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<p>You say mourvèdre, I say mataro. Whether labelled using the French or the Australianised term – local winemakers are effectively split down the middle – this is a grape that deserves far more respect than it is commonly afforded. Most often seen as the ‘M’ in GSM, 100% varietal mataro is every bit as complex and delicious as its blended form.

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/c/red-wine/mataro-mouvedre

Swinney Farvie Mourvedre 2022

This is just the second release of Farvie Mourvèdre, a wine crafted from a draconian selection of dry-grown bush vine Mourvèdre on the same kidney-shaped patch of dirt as the vines for the Farvie Grenache in the Wilson’s Pool vineyard. The vines here face northeast on leaner topsoil and with a higher percentage of coarse lateritic gravel; the roots have now made it down into the clay beneath. Meticulous fruit-thinning and selective hand-harvesting over multiple passes ensured Swinney achieved fruit as close to perfect as possible. 

Last year’s release fermented entirely as whole bunches. This year, the bunches and berries were smaller, requiring Mann to tweak the percentage (66%) to achieve the perfect balance. According to Mann, the Farvie Mourvèdre loves bunches: “It helps to balance the wildness, gaminess and rustiness of the fruit while accentuating the spice element of the wine.” Regarding the process, the wine spent 11 days on skins before being pressed to large, fine-grained, seasoned French oak vessels, where it matured for 11 months. 

As if last year’s wine didn’t set the bar high enough! “It might be my favourite wine I’ve ever made from Swinney,” says Rob Mann. “It’s so pretty; there’s a lovely natural balance and vitality that’s sometimes hard to capture. It’s pretty close to being a very, very good wine.” 

John Duval Annexus Mataro 2021

First planted in Barossa in the 1850’s, the region is today a rich source of old vine Mataro, including the oldest known vineyards in the world. Our relationships with local grape growing families provide privileged access to many exceptional old Mataro vineyards from which we produce wine for our Plexus Red blend. Encouraged by the response to our initial bottlings of small parcels of Grenache under the Annexus label, we extended the idea of presenting the best of the varietal components of Plexus to Mataro with the first release from the highly praised 2016 vintage.

d'Arenberg The Twenty Eight Road Mourvedre 2019

Twenty Eight Road acts as the eastern boundary of the Osborn vineyard and the d'Arenberg winery. Most of the grapes for this wine are sourced from a 3.6 acre block of bush vine mourvedre that runs parallel with the road. The vineyard was planted in 1918 by the first and second generations of the Osborn family.

Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Mourvedre 2021

A vibrant, translucent ruby colour. The nose has notes of rose petals, musk and lavender with cranberry, redcurrant, morello cherry, pastrami, sweet spices and terracotta. Though complex, the nose presents as pretty and compact with underlying stoniness, which precisely mimics the first impression in the mouth. There’s small red-berry brightness to the medium-bodied palate, and gradually those charcuterie and dry-earth notes emerge with iodine and graphite. Musky, petally perfumes waft over terracotta on a pin-point finish with powdery tannins. An understated wine with real intrigue. 

Langmeil Resurrection Mataro 2021

Hiding under the Mourvédre alias, Mataro has too often been relegated to the rank of a ‘blends only’ varietal. The time for a Resurrection is now. Driven by the new generation of Barossa winemakers, Mataro is once again taking its place as a single varietal of regional significance. Having utilized Mataro for over a decade as a great blending varietal, we have come to appreciate it in its own right. A great food wine with blue fruits, spicy characters and subtle earthiness. This complex wine takes its rightful place as a single varietal of note.

Salomon The Verve Mourvedre Shiraz Touriga 2021

Pushing the boundaries of convention with the aim to make a red wine with minimal sulphur, but retain the purity and expression of the grapes and the land. This is a wine from Finniss River, located 50 kilometres south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula. A 'slow wine' with a perfect balance in tannin structure and fruit.

Mataro Mouvedre Wine

Swinney

John Duval

d'Arenberg

Frankland Estate

Langmeil

Salomon Estate