Mourvedre in Spain?

2003 Bodegas Castano Monastrell
Yecia, Spain
$6.99
Jen’s Notes

For you Rhone geeks out there, Monastrell is known as Mourvedre in France and is one of the varietals used to make the powerhouse reds of the Rhone region. You don’t often see it as a single varietal wine so we were a bit skeptical.

We decanted this one, not only because of its youth, but also because there was some rather unpleasant gunk in the neck of the bottle, and the wine displayed a funky aroma. Fortunately, decanting took care of both.

The wine definitely evolved in the glass as well. At its peak, it showed interesting herbal and floral notes on the nose and palate. The wine was surprisingly intense mid-palate, bursting with a concentrated, tart fruit. The finish was long and boasted a shower of spices. This was not a very complex wine, but it definitely packed a wallop. We really enjoyed it.