Varietal Information:
Where the grape
is grown around the world:
(where the grape is mostly grown)
The Marsanne grape is suspected to
come from Marsanne, a town in the northern Rhone Valley of France. The grape is still grown today in parts of
the northern Rhone Valley and Languedoc.
It is increasingly currently in the southern Rhone region. In the 1860s it was introduced to
Australia. Now eighty percent of
Marsanne is grown in the country, particularly in Victoria. In the 1980s the varietal was introduced to the
United States, specifically California.
Today, it is grown notably in Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. It is additionally grown Switzerland (where
it is known as Ermitage) and Spain.
While it is commonly grown in these areas, it is increase in popularity in other regions where it is becoming more and more commonly drank. It is certainly not a common varietal but is more so known than it was a few years ago.
General flavor
profile:
Marsanne generally includes tastes
of nut or almond paste, wildflowers, citrus, melon (to some specifically
honeydew), white peaches, and pear. All
of these flavors can also be found in the nose of Marsanne wines. Other less noted flavors are toast, lemons,
apple spice, apricot, and orange peel. Commonly,
the wines are considered darker, heavier, and distinctive, with real texture.
Wine critics consider it fine, textural, food-friendly, and more complex with
age and either a transitional season or summer wine.
The
varietal is noted for taking taste of the mineral aspects of the soil in which
it is grown and general mineral flavors and aromas. However, under ripe Marsanne grapes can
result in bland/tastelessness while over ripe grapes have a lot of alcohol and
are flabby, lacking acidity. Its
mouthfeel is viscous, fat, oily, and waxy.
The wine ages well and with age takes on deeper tastes of spice, butter,
orange-marmalade, and hints of honey.
Though it is considered to be an ideal blending grape and is often
accompanied by varietals such as Voigner, Roussane, and even Chardonnay.
Critics
of the varietal suggest these grapes generally suffer from a lack of acidity (though
others consider it moderately acidic), that it does not age well, and is hard
to grown. Its wines are generally rich
and have a lot of depth and complexity, with deep colors, and generally low
alcohol content.
Difference in
general flavor profile in major regions:
(wine made from majority Marsanne (but also classic pairing with Roussanne))
Rhone region: Marsanne wines tend to be richly aromatic and
nutty, blended with approximately 15% Rousanne, and having high age potential.
Australia: Marsanne wines have higher citric and
honeysuckle flavors (reminiscent of Voignier).
California: The distinctive melon and mineral flavors of
the varietal are most pronounced. The nutty
flavor common to Marsanne comes out with age.
Switzerland: Marsanne is crafted into sweet and dry wines. No distinct flavor profile noted for this country other than the types of wines typical of the location.
Worldwide
plantings in hectares:
Worldwide approximations are about 2,800-6,800 hectares, with yields of three to four tonnes per acre. Unfortunately, this depends upon which online sites you consult and the estimates and reported "facts" vary widely for this statistic.
Characteristics
of the grape:
(Marsanne growing on the vine)
The vines take long to mature but
are hard, vigorous, and known to grow 100 years old in some places (some of the
oldest still living Marsanne vines are in Austalia, where they are over 100
years old). The berries come in winged,
long, well-filled, and compact clusters.
Individually, they are small, round, and medium gold to amber in color
with soft skin. They have fairly low
sugars and are also low in acidity and thus often harvested before optimum
ripeness to retain more acidity.
The
varietal is sensitive to water levels and does not tolerate too cool or warm
weather well in terms of its resulting flavors, but is considered easier to
grown than some of the other Rhone varietals (Roussane, Voigner). Grapes tend to oxidize and brown easily, as
well as being rather susceptible to disease such as powdery mildew, bunch rot,
and berry cracking but generally are disease-resistant.
When it ripens:
The plant produces a heavy crop of
grapes that ripen in the middle of the harvest season.
Soil preference:
The varietal grows well in the
granite and limestone soils that are typical of the Northern Rhone valley, and
tends to retain the mineral components of the soil in which it is grown in its
flavors.
Varietal Wine Tasting:
Domaine de Petit Roubie Herault
Marsanne 2007
Variety: 100% Marsanne (That is why I
choose this bottle. There are few wines
that are actually 100% Marsanne and I wanted to try it without the other common
varieties it is mixed with added in such as Roussane).
Region: Southern France
Sub Region: Languedoc
Country: France (I wanted a foreign
variety rather than an American one to taste Marsanne as it is more commonly
grown and native to its older growing regions.
This is particularly relevant to this grape which almost every source
says is very, very characteristic of the minerals of the soils in which it is
grown (more so than other grapes is what it seems). For these reasons I was looking for a French
of Australian bottle.
Year: 2007
Price: $13.99
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Purchased from: Ebay.com (unfortunately
I could not find this wine readily available in stores around Blacksburg so I
turned to the internet). Yes, you can
still buy wine and have it shipped to Virginia, despite the conversation we had
in class about new wine laws. I am an
avid Ebay buyer, but I was rather skeptical of wines off the site due to the
nature of wines (that if they are not treated properly and kept in certain
temperatures they can easily be spoiled) that some sellers simply interested in
making money with no knowledge of wine might not know nor care about.
However, their listing
demonstrated knowledge of wine and their store was full of wines (they are
actually a wine store in Brooklyn, New York).
Their seller ratings were good as well.
So, I decided to take the educated gamble for a relatively inexpensive
bottle of wine of this variety. I was
not disappointed with my purchase and would shop from them again.
Personal Review: The color of
the wine was amber. The nose of this
wine is fresh and floral, with hints of sweetness. The wine itself was richer than I anticipated
and relative to other wines, but not exactly overt or overly sweet. The wine starts with a floral taste that
evolves into something that resembles honeysuckle. Then there is a mid-palate which was brief
but intense. It contained fruit where I
could swear I got a moment of apples but it was brief (and delicious!) but made
you question if that is exactly what you tasted because of the way it turned
into the finish. The finish is honey and
does not linger strongly in the mouth. It was moderately acidic, which was good
because I am not a high acid kind of girl.
I also appreciated the lack of dry flavor, because for me dry and
particularly a dry finish ruins a wine for my palate. The wine was not bitter at all.
I definitely got the notes of
different tastes common to newer and aged Marsanne wines (as this bottle’s
vintage was 2007). The flavor was much
more complex than the aroma. There was
certainly a peak tasting for this wine however.
It got increasingly better up to about a glass and a half, and then the
more I drank it the less good it was and the less of it I wanted to drink. It was definitely worth tasting though.
Food Pairing: Not tasted
with food
Suggested Food Pairing: Fish,
particularly a white fish, would go well with this wine. However, not one with a rich sauce or added
flavors, more of a simple, stand alone kind of fish. I chose these because, while it is
recommended on many sites that describe the varietal (along with a few other
dishes), I would think it to pair well after trying the wine by itself. Because it is a white wine it would probably
go well with salty of fish and the subtle rich flavor would go well with
something that at least has some natural fattiness like a fish. Neither the wine nor the food is too strong
or too delicate to where it would be overwhelmed and lost to the other. The moderate acidity of the wine would be
overwhelmed by a food too rich. The
intensity of the wine flavor goes well with something more mild and a food that
is not overly flavorful (especially because I would want to concentrate more on
the wine, since I have never had it with food).
Languedoc where the wine is from is also known for seafood, so it is probably
a safe pairing bet, especially coupled with all the other suggestive
attributes.
Sources:
http://www.bbr.com/grape-ma-marsanne
http://www.winepros.org/wine101/grape_profiles/marsanne.htm
http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-educational-questions/grapes-for-wine-making-flavor-characteristics-explained/marsanne-wine-grapes-flavor-character-history/
http://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-268-marsanne
http://ezproxy.lib.vt.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=24360151&scope=site
http://ezproxy.lib.vt.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=201202185005549514&scope=site
http://ezproxy.lib.vt.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=200604261018025834&scope=site
Image Sources:
http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-educational-questions/grapes-for-wine-making-flavor-characteristics-explained/marsanne-wine-grapes-flavor-character-history/
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1137&bih=582&tbm=isch&tbnid=bjesAYDqua36cM:&imgrefurl=http://www.kcet.org/living/food/the-nosh/california-wine-marsanne-vs-rousanne.html&docid=ow-jAKfUHsC4GM&imgurl=http://www.kcet.org/socal/food/assets/images/qupe_marsanne2_1a.jpg&w=300&h=225&ei=3yNiUcjVNYTu8QT3oICIBA&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:3,s:0,i:93&iact=rc&dur=479&page=1&tbnh=180&tbnw=240&start=0&ndsp=12&tx=159&ty=90
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1137&bih=582&tbm=isch&tbnid=iZyBdO2xTRapTM:&imgrefurl=http://www.sundaytimeswineclub.co.uk/DWBase/jsp/templates/wineguide/grape-detail.jsp%3FgenericGrapeId%3D39&docid=0v2iO5fcXV27RM&imgurl=http://www.sundaytimeswineclub.co.uk/DWBase/images/wineguide/grape/Verdelho/article-image.jpg&w=420&h=280&ei=3yNiUcjVNYTu8QT3oICIBA&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:30,s:0,i:183&iact=rc&dur=1111&page=3&tbnh=164&tbnw=252&start=30&ndsp=20&tx=211&ty=89
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Domaine-de-Petit-Roubie-Herault-Marsanne-2007-France-/320459421454?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4a9cdeb70e
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languedoc-Roussillon_wine
