Poetic Cellars

Mourvedre is an animal: it smells like something gamey and dusty, like a troop of wild boars cavorting in dusty earth and making mayhem. There is something almost dangerously mysterious about Mourvedre, beginning with the name, which evokes dark secrets. The Italians call it Mataro, but whatever you call it, there is no denying its earthy, dusted-fruit aromas that remind one of a roadside cacophony of bramble bushes baking in the midday sun. This example, from winemaker Katy Lovell’s Livermore vineyards, sends out rich aromas of baked Roma tomatoes and basil, along with baked ham, pastrami and the overarching impression of earthy, warm clay and berry bushes. Picked at 24.5° Brix, this wine spent 14 months in barrel, 80% French, 20% American, with approx. 40% new. It is perfect example of Katy’s deft winemaking art. When tasted in the barrel two years ago, it was tight, tannic and ready for a fist-fight. Now, it’s well-behaved and very appealing in every dimension.

The palate is surprisingly clean and deft: you’d expect something more smoky and particulate, but instead it’s a lovely pas de deux of cherries and cherry tomatoes, of elderberries and chives, of pizza and pastrami. The best pair would be either a Gorgonzola, basil and pinenut pizza, or a beet, arugula, chopped romaine, heirloom cherry tomato and goat cheese salad with blood orange vinaigrette, topped with orange mint.

Reviewed June 10, 2008 by Laura Ness.