Golden Grove Mourvédre 2009

On 2nd February, I had the pleasure of joining James McIlwain of Southern Cross Wines on 4BCs Wine Time segment.  Wine Time is a fortnightly segment on 4BC Commercial Radio that James hosts.  On this particular show, James and I spoke about Project Mataro and the Swirl, Sniff, Spit tasting group I am part of.  We tasted two wines on air that evening, the Flaxman Wines 2009 Mataro and this, the Golden Grove Mourvédre 2009 from Queensland's Granite Belt.  This is a guest post from James.

My recent introduction to the joy of a good Mourvèdre via Project Mataro was coupled with a very impressive visit to the Granite Belt recently. The joys of the Strange Bird varieties produced by a passionate number of wineries in our own backyard cool climate region has really opened up some new experiences for me.

One such winery is the 4.5 James Halliday rated Golden Grove. With vines planted in the 1970’s, the Italian heritage of the Costanzo family shines through with a range of European favourites (e.g. Durif, Barbera, Vermentino et al).  But I was out to track down the 2009 Mourvedre. 

In a recent tasting with another Australian example (labelled Mataro,) this wine held true to it flavour profile. Lighter in style than its Barossa cousin it still displayed deep purple in the glass with a fine dark rim, the earthy nose reminded me of the funkiness I like in good French Pinots (and miss in some Australian ones).

Savoury black fruit, spice and pepper were backed up by strong tannins that had been subtly tamed by the new French oak.  A hint of molasses in the finish.
This wine could only improve with a few years in the cellar.

Source: Cellar Door

Price: $28

Alcohol: 14%

Closure: Screwcap

Website: http://www.goldengroveestate.com.au

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