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WORDS PHILIP HARRIS PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MONASTRELL
MONASTRELL SPAIN’S GLOBETROTTING GRAPE
For years I laboured under the misapprehension that Monastrell was the Spanish equivalent of the French grape Mourvѐdre. Was it because my earliest encounters with it were French, or the fact that France enjoyed a dominant status not afforded to other countries? It should of course have been the other way around. SCENE-SETTING The first historical recording of Monastrell appeared in Spain about two centuries before it was taken to France. The grape also gives its name to a New World favourite – Mataro. Jancis Robinson MW wrote back in 1986 in Vines, Grapes and Wines that a definite link had yet to be established. Her 2012 book, Wine Grapes reveals its true history and that much has changed over 25 years. First mentioned in Catalonian Empordà in 1381, it is thought its name derives from Monastriellu, the diminutive for monastery. However, most of the vineyards surround the Levant regions of Jumilla, Yecla, Bullas, as well as Alicante. One thought is that it originated from Sagunto in Valencia, whose Catalan name is Camp de Mourvѐdre.
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From there it was introduced to France, namely Provence. Another is that it came from the Catalan town of Mataró, from where it was subsequently planted in the southern French region of Roussillon. Either way, one can see where the differing names spring from. The vine was introduced to Australia from Roussillon by James Busby in 1832 and was later planted in California in the 1860s as part of the Pellier Collection. In both countries it bears the name Mataro, although more recent offerings in California are now likely to be called Mourvѐdre.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Monastrell is a hardy varietal, not particularly fussy about soil, although it thrives on sand and limestone. Many of the Jumilla vineyards survived the
