I stalk this grape. I stalk Mourvèdre and Petite Verdot because everyone else is out chasing cult cabs and princess-y pinot noirs like they are the blonde square-jawed jocks and privileged prom queens of the wine world. To me, Mourvèdre is the new foreign exchange student. He is swarthy, bold. He looks like he plays the guitar. Probably speaks French and Spanish. Okay I’m getting a little carried away. This is what happens when you drink too much, kids!
This bottle was recommended to me by Steve, the knowledgeable wine dude at the Glendale Whole Foods. He always seems to show up just in time to give me the inside track. He sees he holding a cheap bottle of Malbec and I ask about it. “Ehhh, try this, this is bolder. Do you cook? Do you LIKE to cook?” He explains that this Spanish blend of Monastrell (what they call Mourvèdre in Spain), Cabernet Sauvignon, and a little Tintorera goes perfectly with certain flavors in Spanish cuisine. I know this sounds…very W.C. Fields-ish but I love wine with breakfast on leisurely Sunday mornings. I don’t get TANKED, people. But a nice mouthful or two of nicely paired wine with a breakfast followed by plenty of water is not a cardinal sin. And I should know, after 12 grueling years of Catholic school.
Full Name: Bodegas Castano Solanera 2004 (Yecla)
Technical Details: 65% Monastrell, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Tintorera at 14.5% alcohol.
Interesting Label Stuff: “produced from the oldest vines of the indigenous Monsatrella variety” – “aged in oak for 10 months”
The Occasion: Breakfast. Namely, this frittata:
And? Steve the wine dude from Glendale Whole Foods (STWDFGWF?) advised me to enjoy this tannic and dry red wine with a food item that’s been goosed up with some kind of Spanish flavoring. The onions in the frittata were fried with Spanish smoked paprika which danced well with the tart, dark fruit flavors in the wine. I grated some Iberica Spanish cheese on top (because everything always needs cheese) and that too was a perfect match for the wine, which proves once again the conventional wine wisdom you should sip wines with the native foods made nearby (mmm, I just thought of Santa Maria BBQ tri tip sandwich with a Santa Barbara syrah…) Strangely enough, upon opening, it went perfectly with the fried paprika-spiked frittata and could do battle with the onions, the potatoes and the cheese without being drowned out. Enticing, rich and warm on the nose, a hefty-ish alcohol level, lovely and dark in the glass. And one day later the wine was perfect on its own – it had mellowed out just a bit, and was much less unruly and bold. And fine, if you’re one of those people that insist on knowing, Robert Parker gave this bottling a solid 92 points. At $11 a bottle, I can totally go back to get another one and just have it with tapas – thick ribbons of Serrano ham, hunks of Manchego, some spicy chorizo? Yeah, the good stuff.