Mourvèdre, double-blind

My friend prepared the samples in the morning, and we conducted the tasting late afternoon. The samples were prepared straight from bottle, without aeration or decanting. I tasted the wines double blind, without being told the grape varietal, the region or the age of the wines. After the tasting, my friend revealed the wines, and I had a chance to retaste them with dinner, and on each of the following two days.

• 1998 Bodegas Castaño Monastrell Yecla Hécula 86 Points

  Spain, Murcia, Yecla

  Wine 1 of 5: Medium garnet colour, orange-brown towards the edges, watery rim. Dried red and dark fruit, intense spice notes, light chocolate, light coffee, cedar, tobacco, and some old age sweetness. The acidity is slightly pronounced, and the tannin lightly drying, and the wine shows the rusticity typically associated with Mourvèdre. Finishes quickly and abruptly. Seems to fall apart in the glass as it breathes, but was still drinkable on day two (plummy, earthy and mature, but not satisfactory) and on day three (cedary and dry, still short, but quite balanced). Drink now. 13.5% ABV.

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• 2014 Oude Compagnies Post Mourvèdre 88 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Tulbagh

  Wine 2 of 5: Medium garnet colour. Slightly artificial red and blue fruit, cherry, light earth, light tobacco, and light ethereal notes, with medium-minus acidity, round, partly resolved tannin, and good length. Smooth, lightly creamy texture. Well-balanced. More mature profile when I retasted the wine at dinner a few hours later. Red fruit-driven and very integrated but also more tightly wound on day two. Broader, tobacco-driven on day three. Drank well, and paired well with filet of lamb on day one. Drink now. 13% ABV.

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• 1999 Stift Klosterneuburg Chorus 87 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Thermenregion

  Wine 3 of 5: Medium garnet colour. Stinky (cow manure) nose. Dried fruit, light chocolate, tobacco, spice notes, balsamic notes, and some old-age sweetness, with medium-level acidity, partly resolved tannin, and average to good length. Very mature, with pronounced acidity, by dinner time. More red fruit driven and improved on day two to my surprise. Herbaceous, leathery and balsamic, with pronounced acidity on day three. Drink now. 13.5% ABV.

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• 2016 Saronsberg Mourvèdre 91 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Tulbagh

  Wine 4 of 5: Good red fruit, raspberry, red cherry, and spices, with fresh, medium-level acidity, medium-level tannin, and very good length. Medium-bodied. At the tasting, the tannin was still very present, and lightly chewy on the finish, demanding food. By dinner time, the tannin had softened and integrated well, and the wine had become well-balanced and quite elegant. Red fruit-driven, balanced, and energetic by day two, and on day three. This wine is enjoyable now with aeration, and will last for another decade. All things considered, this was my favourite wine of the tasting even if I scored the La Migoua 2004 higher for its structure and concentration, because this Saronsberg Mourvèdre provided more drinking pleasure. 14.5% ABV. 91(+)

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• 2004 Domaine Tempier Bandol La Migoua 93 Points

  France, Provence, Bandol

  Wine 5 of 5: Reserved nose. Plum, red fruit, herbaceous notes, rosemary, thyme, spices, light ethereal and light balsamic notes, with medium-level acidity, fine, partly resolved and well-integrated tannin, and superb length. Well-structured and very persistent, with good concentration. Consistent on days two and three; red fruit driven and herbaceous, with spice and liquorice notes, and a lightly creamy texture. The most structured and concentrated of the five wines even if I preferred the Saronsberg Mourvèdre for its drinking pleasure. 14.5% ABV.

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All wines, maybe with the exception of wine number three, improved from tasting to dinner. I was amazed by how much the wines changed from day to day, and that they did not go down but through phases from day to day. To no surprise, Tempier's structured and concentrated cuvée La Migoua 2004 earned the highest score, but my winner of the tasting is the energetic and very drinkable Saronsberg Mourvèdre 2016 (which also happens to cost less than one fourth of the La Migoua).