Mourvèdre - Rideau Vineyard

Mourvèdre is a late ripening red wine grape native to Spain and Southern France. It is most typically used as a blending component along with Grenache and Syrah, but it can produce compelling single varietal wines in the right hands. It tends to produce wines that are angular and tannic with a unique earthy red fruit profile. It requires plenty of heat and sunshine to properly ripen and is often considered a difficult grape to grow.

Pictured here are some large Mourvèdre clusters from the Rideau Estate Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara. This fruit is nearly ready to harvest and is among the last on the property still hanging on the vine. Thanks to ample sunshine and the long California growing season these grapes have been able to achieve complete ripeness. After being harvested and vinified on its own, this fruit will likely make it into one of Rideau's fantastic GSM blends.