Popular Varietals / Marselan

Marselan

Red Grape Variety

Photo for: Marselan

Marselan, a French wine grape variety is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. The name of this particular varietal comes from the coastal French town of Marseillan. Marselan was first bred by French ampelographer, Paul Truel in 1961. At that point of time, Marselan could only produce small berries, and owing to this reason, the variety was shelved and deemed, considered not good for commercial release.

 

With the change in the viticulture trends in the twentieth century, wine producers started giving more importance to quality rather than quantity. This brought Marselan back into the fold of winemaking grape varieties. Marselan was originally grown to combine the high yielding and heat tolerance capabilities of Grenache and the finesse of the Cabernet Sauvignon. This grape variety produces wines that have good aging potential, supple tannins, and great aroma. Marselan wines also tend to be deeply colored.

 

A collaboration between the French and Chinese government brought Marselan to the Chinese shores. The varietal is now planted in various Chinese wine growing regions including the Sino-French Demonstration vineyard in Huailai county in the Hebei province. Marselan is also grown in Penglai, Shandong.