Mourvedre/Monastrell

This is a very modern, big take on Spanish wine.  A blend of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is also delicious.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, plums, cassis, smoke and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, the red fruits come thru with a base of charred wood.  Long finish.  This is still young and likely to continue to improve for another five to ten years.  It should drink for twelve to fifteen more after that.  Right now it will over power most foods and drinks better on its own.  With some bottle age it will work well with

This wine was made as an homage to Lucien Peyraud, the legendary winemaker for Domaine Tempier who helped establish the Bandol AOC.

This is 100% Mourvedre according to the back label.  Gorgeous wine but I am very partial to Mourvedre wines.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, slight plums, spice, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this needs some air to open fully.  Lots of black raspberry fruit over and earthy and smoky base.  Great liveliness.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  Long finish.  This may still improve a bit but no harm drinking now and over the next twelve to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this would work well with Indian foods or most stews.  

A friend of mine stopped by with a bottle.  My first reaction was that it was too young, so I was going to open an older bottle and then accidently opened this.  Glad I did.  While this will probably shut down, it was great.  Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is  clean with black cherry fruit along with roasted meats, smoke/char and a slight floral note.  Full bodied.  On the pallet, this is drinking great.  Delicious.  Black raspberry fruit over char.  Clean (how long has it been since this was an issue at Beaucastel?).  Nice finish.  Obviously young with silky tanni

This is a blend of 77% Mourvedre, 19% Grenache and 4% Counoise.

This is another project from Elaine and Manfred Krankl.  Very impressive wine.   It is a blend of 53% Mourvèdre, 16% Syrah, 14% Grenache, 9% Petit Sirah, 6% Graciano and 2% Viognier.  It comes in a very cool shaped bottle and label, which by the way lists the alcohol at 15.8%.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, some char, plums and mint.  What a wonderful texture.  Its is big yet dances on the palate with energy.  Delicious.  The black fruits come thru to the palate but there is an ash quality  that is very interesting too.  A long finish.  This is drink

This is drinking very well these days.  It is a blend of 82% Syrah and 18% Mourvèdre.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with black raspberries, roasted meats, slight violets and a bit of earthiness.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has a lush structure.  Juicy black raspberry fruit over a bit of smoke and earth.  Nice energy.  Long finish.  This may still improve a bit.  It will make great drinking over the next ten to twelve years.  A nice match for ribs on the grill or roasted veggies.  

During this period of "Stay Home", it helps to every once in a while open something really good.  Even during the middle of the week (to the extent I can keep track of what day it is).  The 2011 Saxum's are drinking beautifully.  That vintage seems to be maturing a bit faster than most.  This is a blend of 58% Syran, 27% Grenache and 5% Mourvedre.  inky purple in color with a thin magenta line at the rim.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, roasted meats, dried floral notes and slight chocolate.  On the palate, this has a lovely texture.  Rich but not overblown.  Smoo

I really like this wineries whites and I have liked some reds, but this wine was not at all to my liking.  Now, your mileage may vary.  And, it did taste better on day 2, so perhaps it just needs more time.

Another great wine from Denner.  It is a blend of 55% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% Counoise, 5% Cinsault and 5% Tannat.