the ancient Spanish grape that was built to last

Patrick Schmitt MW addressed the drinks trade in Manchester to explain why Monastrell, one of Spain’s most ancient grapes, is still deserving of praise today.

ON MONDAY 13 October, Patrick Schmitt MW, db editor-in-chief, led a masterclass which aimed to answer one key question: why is it time to talk about Monastrell?

Hosted at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, the masterclass aimed to give the UK wine trade a taste of one of Spain’s most planted grapes, but one which is deserving of more attention. The session was hosted in collaboration with Monastrell Spain, a non-profit association created in 2019 by five regulatory councils from the southeast of Spain, from the Designations of Origin Alicante, Almansa, Bullas, Jumilla and Yecla. In essence, these regions have joined forces to make Monastrell better-known at a national and international level. Schmitt described Monastrell – first mentioned, according to Wine Grapes, by Francesc Eiximenis in Empordà, Catalunya, in 1381 – as a “seriously ancient” grape variety.

Despite its old roots, the grape is not that well-known. “It’s not actually one of those massively mainstream grapes, even though it’s been around for centuries,” Schmitt said, calling it “one of those slightly lesser grapes in terms of awareness, if not in terms of quality”. Indeed, Schmitt believes Monastrell is “deserving of greater fame and greater awareness”.

Within Europe, it is typically planted within 50 miles of the Mediterranean – where winters are mild, summers long and hot. Spain is by far the biggest planter of Monastrell, home to 83.62% of its global hectarage.

With small to medium berries and blue-black skin of medium thickness, Monastrell is the fourth most important red wine variety in Spain.

“It’s got thick skins, so it’s resistant to rot,” Schmitt explained to the audience. “That’s great because, if you’re harvesting something really late, even in a Mediterranean climate, you do leave yourself at risk of rainfall during harvesting, which can either cause rot or dilute the grapes.”

Monastrell also buds late, meaning it avoids spring frosts. “It does very well in the sort of setting which, let’s face it, Cabernet would struggle horribly,” Schmitt said.

He went on to note the variety’s preference for being planted in bush vines. “The idea of trying to produce a really productive vineyard with lots of trellis-trained vines with the perfect appearance; that’s not really what Monastrell is about,” he said.

“If you did grow it like that, you probably could produce something productive, but it would probably need irrigation to do best in that sort of high-yielding setting, and it would probably show a lot less character. What you get with those bush vines is something that balances itself naturally, and therefore you get naturally low yields and concentration of flavours.”

RICH FLAVOURS

Monastrell produces wines which are extremely rich in colour and flavour. “It can handle the oxidative winemaking processes and ageing that comes with putting it in a barrel or barrique, and [that] actually benefits the wine in many cases,” Schmitt told the room. And while none of the wines tasted on the day were reductive in style, he described Monastrell as a “naturally reductive grape” – much like some other red grape varieties, including Pinot Noir and Syrah.

The question of: “Why talk about Monastrell now?” can be answered by looking at the numbers. While Spain was home to more than 63,000 hectares of Monastrell in 2008, by 2015 that had fallen to 45,000ha. Today, only 38,000ha remain, highlighting how important it is to promote the grape to prevent plantings from falling even further.

“The hectarage of Monastrell in southern Europe, particularly Spain, is declining, and it’s declined a lot in the last 10 years. I think that’s a real concern,” said Schmitt. In the case of Monastrell, this means the loss of “a lot of relic vineyards”.

Many Monastrell wines are pie franco – a Spanish term referring to wines that are made from ungrafted (old, pre-phylloxera) vines. The term “pie franco” translates to “free foot” and signifies that the vines were planted directly into the soil and were not grafted onto rootstock, making them particularly old and resilient.

“Monastrell, in this part of Spain, is such a survivor,” Schmitt said. Planting vines on their own roots, rather than being grafted, is partly to thank for its survival.

FUTURE AT RISK

Even so, its future could be at risk if not enough is done to protect the vines and promote the wines. Schmitt stressed that a drop in the number of Monastrell vineyards results in “losing pie franco vines which have been in the ground for more than 100 years from sites where nothing else will grow”. He added: “I think that is a travesty.”

But there is hope for this ancient grape in its original soils. Having visited a number of the regions represented by Monastrell Spain, Schmitt has observed that the winemakers coming up now are the ones seeing value in older vines. “It’s the younger generation who are the ones that have really shown respect for these ancient vineyards,” he said.

And more focus is falling on site specification. Schmitt explained: “We’re in an area which is developing fame and moving upmarket. Twenty years ago, the way of promoting high-end wines was quite often heavy bottles, lots of new oak and big, blockbuster wines.

“Now, it’s more nuanced. If you want to go the fine wine route, you tend to go more site-specific. Something I did notice in this part of Spain was that they’re starting to produce block, single-vineyard, specialist site expressions. Why is that important? Because it’s a way of increasing awareness and focus on these special vineyards.”

Schmitt was careful not to disregard wines blended from across a broad area, which can benefit “complexity, and guarantee quality and quantity”. But producing single-vineyard expressions is also likely to benefit the grape’s reputation, “because it shines a light on how special these sites are”.

The masterclass showcased 11 wines from the five regions which make up Monastrell Spain, giving the wine trade in Manchester the chance to discover and explore an ancient grape variety deserving of more attention.