MONASTRELL GRAPE VARIETY

Monastrell, Murviedro, Mataró... so many names for only one meaning: a variety born in the “Camp de Morrvedre” region in Valencia and later on exported to France (Mouvedre). Nowadays, you can even find it in Australia and US (Mataro).

The Monastrell origin is coming from the latin roots “Monastriellu”, as did the friars living in monasteries spread and disseminate the Monastrell grape varietey around the World. Of course, we couldn’t betray the work of those friars and Bodegas Los Frailes has bet for the Monastrell.

About the Monastrell variety has been commented during many years that it was not an interesting variety whether the Cabernet Sauvignon seemed the unique good variety in the World. However it can be very easy to defend it. The Monastrell is very adaptable to soil very poor and is able to produce excellent quality even in the worst climatology conditions ( long dry periods). It s unique character and personality is expressed at maximum if this extreme climatology is accompanied by the breezes from the Mediterranean Sea . The proximity to the Mediterranean Sea gives the fresh air and acidity required to balance and round perfectly the Monastrell variety. These ideal conditions are unique of our valley, “Els Alforins”

The Monastrell is a late harvesting variety. Depending on the ripen period of the harvesting, the monastrell grape can result in a young wine with very soft and sweet tanin and very aromatic. It can also become an aged and very complex wine, rich in aromas, complying perfectly with the condition to be matured in oak barrels. The late harvesting makes this variety perfect to provide a sweet wine of top quality.

In conclusion, the Monastrell variety is an indigenous grape of Mediterranean character which provides to the wine a unique personality.