Wine and Movie Pairing: Is It Mourvèdre? Black Bag.
“If a situation presents itself, would you choose your marriage over everything else?”
A husband-and-wife spy thriller? Directed by Steven Soderbergh? That features not one, but two killer dinner party scenes with wine acting as Chekhov’s gun? Say less, I’m there with bottle in hand. Black Bag (2025), meet your match with a sensational California Mourvèdre.
Black Bag (2025) is the Bond movie that Soderbergh was meant to direct, with a hearty nod to the psychological game play between couples found in movies like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Legendary British intelligence agent George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) receives some intel that there’s a traitor within the National Cyber Security Centre. The primary suspect? His wife, fellow intelligence agent Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett). As two younger couples within the NCSC get closer to George and Kathryn and raise some questions about interdepartmental relationships, will George show more loyalty to his country or his marriage?
This is a riveting and stylish 93 minute chamber piece that makes me question whether Soderbergh has been directing West End theatre in his “down time”. The screenplay feels tightly coiled, ready to unravel all its secrets with just the right pulling of the thread, but eventually leaving the audience in thrilling suspense until the very last scene. Production design is impeccable here, especially with the multi-faceted views inside the central couple’s home - the moody ambient lighting for the dinner party sequences made me shop for new lighting fixtures exactly 5 seconds after walking out of the movie theater, but the harsh light of day shedding a new, colder light on Kathryn (styled very warm for contrast) is brilliant. Without a doubt, this film captures the thrill of the chase in a quintessentially British manner that Jeff Bezos’ Bond could never duplicate.
I’ve dubbed this a chamber piece because of the limited set pieces, the perfectly compact run time, and the wider shots that slowly focus on one or more reactions during major plot points. However, it’s truly the six characters at the heart of the story that have the heaviest lifting to do in the movie. Most of the burden falls on the incredibly capable shoulders of Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, who have insane chemistry together (and coaxing some charisma out of the typically stone cold Fassbender is no small feat).
Naomie Harris (Spectre, Moonlight) channels Moneypenny once again as department psychologist Dr. Zoe Vaughan, but Marisa Abela (Back to Black) just about steals the show as the professionally savvy but emotionally naïve Clarissa Dubose. Tom Burke (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) appears appropriately aloof as Clarissa’s boyfriend, jaded intelligence agent Freddie Smalls, and Regé-Jean Page (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) proves he is every inch a James Bond in waiting as the suave but detached Col. James Stokes. And while we’re cooking with gas, let’s throw former Bond Pierce Brosnan into the mix as NCSC chief Arthur Stieglitz to lend an extra stiff upper lip to this thoroughly British ensemble.
As you can see from the epic dinner party scene pictured above, red wine is an important character in the film with a place of prominence at the table. Judging from the bottles already on the table, the two young couples would likely have brought some serviceable Bordeaux to this party, only to find this bottle of California Mourvèdre already in the decanter when they arrived. George and Martha Kathryn have to keep people on their toes… what better way to do it than with Enfield’s XB 05 Old Vine Mourvedre?
Enfield Wine Co. bills itself as “the family project of John Lockwood and Amy Seese, with a focus on producing wines of personality. We do not subscribe to the ideal of the perfect wine, but to the notion that the very best wines tell a unique story”. When a master luthier’s apprentice met a digital marketing manager, they didn’t know that their joint wine label would become such a critically lauded success. Enfield began as a side project for the couple in 2010, when John Lockwood was working as a winemaker at Failla, and became the full time focus in 2013 after the couple welcomed the birth of their daughter, London. Since that point, both John and Amy have been working tirelessly to get these unique wines on store shelves and in restaurants, and the hard work has paid off. Seeing the iconic Enfield Wine Co. typeface on a label is a solid indication of a thrilling wine waiting to unravel a story.
Mourvèdre is a dark and brooding kind of grape that makes for an endlessly fascinating wine, no matter its application. In a blend, the imbiber can point out its roasted plum notes and bass-heavy structure no matter how much of it was used. But as a single varietal wine? Mourvèdre is intense, and can be tightly wound if the bottle is opened too young. While I am a huge fan of Domaine Tempier’s Bandol Rouge, it is still a Mourvèdre-heavy blend that uses about 25% other grapes to lighten it up.
The XB 05 Old Vine Mourvedre from Enfield gets its name from its status - it’s an experimental batch, Lockwood’s way of playing with grapes from specific vineyards before adding a new cuvée to the permanent lineup. Made up of Mourvèdre from Enz Vineyard in San Benito County (planted in 1923) and Del Barba Vineyard in Contra Costa County (planted in 1910), this is a varietally true expression of all the many things this one mighty grape can do.
At first glance, you can’t help but get caught up in the saturated purple color that still allows for the occasional speck of light to peek through. This is the first clue that the grape itself may be a no-nonsense sturdy workhorse, but Enfield’s wine captures a more personable aspect of it. The nose has a lot of range, starting with gently pressed purple flowers, Herbes de Provences, and some ripe black cherries. On the palate, the typical roasted plum starts to come through, supported by all the delicate notes from the nose and a substantial amount of rustic grip. It’s a wine that tries on a new disguise with every sip - a mysterious bedfellow that may or may not be capable of betraying an entire country’s trust.
This is a wine in desperate need of a roast. Any roast. If it roasts, it pairs. (I’ll probably do a black pepper crusted beef tenderloin, but this would be a delight with Sunday roast chicken or a good mushroom dish.) Best saved for a fun occasion with treasured company so that all may see the kaleidoscopic interpretations of the wine. No need for a decanter, but highly recommend changing your shirt if a little wine literally puts blood on your hands.
The 2020 vintage of Enfield’s XB 05 Old Vine Mourvèdre is available at your local independent wine store. Check WineSearcher for details on stockists near you. Thank you for supporting small businesses!
Black Bag (2025) is now playing in theaters.