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Rustic Beauty – Rafael Cambra Casabosca 2017, Valencia
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I’m still in love with Spanish Mourvedre, or Monastrell as it’s called down there. Real personality combined with great value, what more could one wish for.
Name the top Mourvedre wines in the World! Either you include blends, which have it as a dominant player or count only pure varietal wines (well, ones that are claimed to be), the list probably won’t be a long one. Produced by highly regarded Languedoc estate La Peira en Damaisela – and having a hefty price tag -, Matissat is a contender to be on that list.
From time to time some extraordinary value appears in supermarket chain Lidl, in the form of Spanish and Italian reds from warmer, less famous wine regions. They don’t pretend to taste like expensive wines, and that’s an advantage – they are pure and honest, and as they are well crafted too, I often find more pleasure in such bottles than in many reds that cost considerably more. Like in this case. Continue reading
Mourvedre (a.k.a. Monastrell) is one of my absolute favorite grape variety. This Spanish version rocks when young. Continue reading
Mourvedre is one of my favorite grapes, and I have fond memories of the wine Borie de Maurel made from it in 2010. That was one of the best examples I tried outside Bandol. Current vintage seems to be the 2015, which I was able to order from an online shop (which delivers to Hungary, but many merchants in France do these days), and I just added one of their less expensive cuvées as well. Continue reading