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The little-known Marselan grape has found a foothold in China, thanks to its resistance to disease and suitability for the country’s climate. Elizabeth Gabay MW traces its history, and highlights some of the world’s best bottled examples.

THERE WAS a burst of enthusiasm in the media recently, generated by the widespread surprise that China seems to have wholeheartedly embraced Marselan wine. This newfound attention served to give the Marselan market a noticeable boost. However, despite its burgeoning appeal, the grape is still a little-known variety that has some way to go both in terms of volume and awareness.

A wide-ranging tasting of Marselan I undertook this March revealed a variety bursting with great potential. Diverse styles ranged from fresh and fruity to big and intense with the common denominators being good fruit, fresh acidity and fine tannins. Nevertheless, despite slow but steady growth in plantations, and some highly attractive wines, Marselan remains relatively unknown. This may all be about to change. Chinese Marselan came to international attention with a masterclass on world Marselan in November 2017 at Prowine China, and a masterclass led by professor Li Demei, chief winemaker at Hebei’s Domaine Franco Chinois, at ProWein in March 2018.

In 2018, Chinese Marselan’s potential was further acknowledged by five medals at an Asian wine-tasting competition, and by the hashtag #internationalmarselanday, created in April 2018 by China-based wine writer Jim Boyce.

The international press responded with curiosity to Marselan being claimed as China’s new signature variety.

In 2019, Julian Boulard MW, who lives in China, focused his Master of Wine research paper on Marselan’s potential. Marselans from other countries have also won medals, and in 2020, the Mondial de Bruxelles was due to host the first international Marselan competition, based in (where else?) China, which was cancelled due to the spread of Covid-19.

However, despite increasing awareness and newspaper column inches, Marselan is still very much regarded as a ‘new’ variety. In 1956, the Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique launched a programme to cross V.vinifera to create high yielding, disease and drought resistant and well-flavoured varieties. Then in 1961, Paul Truel, at the Domaine de Vassal INRA research station in southwest France, created a Cabernet Sauvignon/Grenache cross, which he named Marselan, after the nearby town of Marseillan.

The first clone, 980, was released in 1990. Researchers liked the variety’s disease resistance, especially to mildew, and its flavour. Growth was at first slow, but surged after INRA’s patent expired in 2010. Now, Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo in the Veneto region of Italy is working on a new clone, VCR498*, to give growers more choice.

The area under vine has almost doubled in France in the past decade. In 2018-19, it became the 12th most planted red variety in France, with 6,199 hectares, mainly in the southwest. Elsewhere numbers are sketchy. China is possibly the second largest producer with either 467ha or 667ha in 2019 (estimates by Li Demei and Dr Duan Changqing respectively). The Chinese government is funding increased planting.

NEW PLANTINGS

Meanwhile, Uruguay ranks highly in Marselan with 184ha, and new plantings yearly. In other territories, numbers are less precise but Marselan is also planted in Israel, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Bulgaria, with some plantings (albeit sometimes only a few hectares) in Russia, Romania, the US, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Portugal, Italy, Serbia, Switzerland, Hungary, India, South Africa, and Turkey.