Avery’s Project Winemaker Mourvèdre, South Africa
Mourvedre is a grape rarely seen on labels as a single variety, as it is often parts of a southern Rhone blend, or Rhone-style blend from the new world. This Mourvedre is also interesting because it is part of the ‘Project Winemaker’ series from Avery’s, where members of their team – in this case wine buyer Emma Roberts – travel to the wine regions to select vineyard plots and oversee the whole production of the wine in tandem with some very good winemakers. The aromas here are classically meaty and deep, with plenty of dark bramble fruit but some spices, leather, old polished wood and little floral nuances too in a quite complex profile. The palate delivers a big, substantially meaty and full mouthful, with a stripe of grippy tannin and a little softening edge from ageing in large oak barrels. Robust, chewy, but not without sweet fruit ripeness and charm, it’s a lovely wine priced at £8.99 from Avery’s