We have been tasting lots of Mouvedre lately - from barrels produced from the same vineyard as ours to older bottles from our cellar.

Last Saturday we tried a 1998 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape and a 2001 Domain Tempier from Bandol. The wines are very different - different blends, different terroir and different years. Despite the difference, the similar characteristics of the Mourvèdre was prevalent. Both wines were very enjoyable!

Night One - when poured strait from the bottle (no air time), the earthy characteristic was the focus. The older Beaucastel was much smoother as expected. After a few hours of decanting, there was a detectable strawberry aroma.

Night Two - the earthy characteristic was diminished and the spring fruit aromas were clearer.

It will be interesting to see how our Mourvèdre blend ends up in a few years.

Both bottles were enjoyable.