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Marsanne is a white-wine grape originating in the northen Rhône region of France, which remains its primary home today. It is an important ingredient grape in Rhône white blends, along with Roussette, considered a natural partner variety. But Marsanne is now being seen more and more as a monovarietal, especially in Australia, where the variety has found a second home.
When vinified as a monovarietal, its essence is richness. Marsanne tends to make deeply colored thick wines with fairly low acids but high alcohol, and modest aromas and flavors of almond and honeysuckle, sometimes with a bit of spice overtone. If sufficient care is not taken, the wines’ richness can turn to flabbiness, especially owing to the naturally low acidity. Particularly good specimens are age-worthy (including some oak-barrel aging), sometimes wanting as much as a decade to peak; at that peak, they can become honeyed and nutty, and such wines are prized.
Factoid: Marsanne is slowly but surely edging out Roussanne in Rhône whites owing to Roussanne being harder to grow well.
“Marsanne produces deeply colored wines that are rich and nutty, with hints of spice and pear. The wines can be high in alcohol and can be oak aged to develop more body. As Marsanne ages, the wine takes on an even darker color and the flavors can become more complex and concentrated with an oily, honeyed texture. Aromas of nuts and quince can also develop.”
“Marsanne wine generally possesses good weight and structure, but often lacks any depth of perfume and flavor. This explains the long-standing Rhône Valley tradition of blending the variety with its more aromatic cousin Roussanne, and the more international pairing with Viognier…In hot climates, Marsanne can struggle to develop enough acidity to prevent its weight from muting its flavor, but cooler climates can produce complex and ageworthy wine. In their youth, Marsanne wines are typically colored with straw-like hues, and even fleeting golden-green glints. On the nose the best examples have a slightly earthy minerality, lifted by notes of honeysuckle and melon…Marsanne is most famously found in [mono]varietal form outside of France.”
“On the nose, expect oranges, sweet lemon, figs, apricot, pear, and almond notes. On the palate, its rich texture elicits beeswax, roasted nuts, pears, Meyer lemon, cardamom and anise…Marsanne and Marsanne-blends can often replace Chardonnay for those who would like to expand their palates and try something different…Marsanne has a rather small window for harvest. If it’s left too long, acidity drops and the wines can come across as flabby. When harvested at the perfect moment, however, Marsannes are lush, layered, and delicious. ”
“Fashionable vine thanks to its origins as the most common variety in the white wines of the Rhône…Its wines tend to full-bodied, veering to heavy, with flavours reminiscent of glue and marzipan. Marsanne is a permitted ingredient in many of the Languedoc’s whites and is increasingly sold as a [mono]varietal IGP wine. The Australian state of Victoria has some of the world’s oldest Marsanne vineyards, which produce sturdy examples, and California has also planted it, particularly in the Central Coast.”
“Marsanne gets less attention than it deserves. There’s a reason. The grape mostly ends up stirred into blends, usually with zippier, herbal roussanne and oilier viognier, its classic sidekicks, and most such cuvées are produced in France, where geographical designations, not vines, tend to take precedence on labels…Richly coloured, even when not subjected to oak-barrel aging, the grape is fleshy and moderate in acidity, with restrained fruit character and delicately floral aromatics. As it matures in bottle—and it can age gracefully for up to 10 years or so—it can assume notes of nuts and honey. Think of it as chardonnay without the ego or pop-star status.”
“Marsanne is typically blended with Roussanne and Clairette. It finds popularity within California, Washington, and Australia for its nutty and sweet spice flavor. Full-bodied, low-acidity, Marsanne maintains relatively a high alcohol and gives aromas of peach, citrus, honeysuckle, and almond. Its surprising minerality adds to its fruity and rich flavoring. Typically designed to be enjoyed young, premium bottles can actually age beautifully up to a decade to improve its taste.”
“[Marsanne wines] are redolent of pears, quince and white peach with nutty and spicy flavors. The color of the wines tend to be deep and rich which deepen with age with a mellic or unctuous mouth feel. The wines can be high in alcohol, uncommon in white wines that haven't been fortified.”
“This is the white workhorse grape of the Southern Rhône and much of Southern France, and widely planted in Australia as well. Marsanne is a sturdy, hardy grape that produces a full-bodied wine – with the heft of a good Chardonnay. Its relatively simple fruity flavors make it a natural candidate for a blending base, though interesting varietal Marsanne can also be produced.”
“Like its Rhône counterpart Roussanne, Marsanne is a hard grape to get right. Extremes of temperature are its main enemies, though it is also susceptible to several common vine diseases. However, winemakers persevere – because the results from a good harvest are simply delicious. Marsanne’s traditional heartland is in and around Hermitage, and it is one of the principal varieties in white Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It has also taken very well to vineyards in Australia, where it arrived in the Yarra Valley via the Swiss retinue of the first Governor of Victoria. Aussie Marsanne often possesses greater citric fruit than its French cousins, with a honeysuckle flavour reminiscent of Viognier. Marsanne wines take well to oak, which results in some very long-lived wines. As time goes by, these wines take on a dark, honeyed color and viscous texture, and gain strong nut and quince flavors.”
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Some Descriptions of Marsanne Wines
“Marsanne produces deeply colored wines that are rich and nutty, with hints of spice and pear. The wines can be high in alcohol and can be oak aged to develop more body. As Marsanne ages, the wine takes on an even darker color and the flavors can become more complex and concentrated with an oily, honeyed texture. Aromas of nuts and quince can also develop.”
“Marsanne wine generally possesses good weight and structure, but often lacks any depth of perfume and flavor. This explains the long-standing Rhône Valley tradition of blending the variety with its more aromatic cousin Roussanne, and the more international pairing with Viognier…In hot climates, Marsanne can struggle to develop enough acidity to prevent its weight from muting its flavor, but cooler climates can produce complex and ageworthy wine. In their youth, Marsanne wines are typically colored with straw-like hues, and even fleeting golden-green glints. On the nose the best examples have a slightly earthy minerality, lifted by notes of honeysuckle and melon…Marsanne is most famously found in [mono]varietal form outside of France.”
“On the nose, expect oranges, sweet lemon, figs, apricot, pear, and almond notes. On the palate, its rich texture elicits beeswax, roasted nuts, pears, Meyer lemon, cardamom and anise…Marsanne and Marsanne-blends can often replace Chardonnay for those who would like to expand their palates and try something different…Marsanne has a rather small window for harvest. If it’s left too long, acidity drops and the wines can come across as flabby. When harvested at the perfect moment, however, Marsannes are lush, layered, and delicious. ”
“Fashionable vine thanks to its origins as the most common variety in the white wines of the Rhône…Its wines tend to full-bodied, veering to heavy, with flavours reminiscent of glue and marzipan. Marsanne is a permitted ingredient in many of the Languedoc’s whites and is increasingly sold as a [mono]varietal IGP wine. The Australian state of Victoria has some of the world’s oldest Marsanne vineyards, which produce sturdy examples, and California has also planted it, particularly in the Central Coast.”
“Marsanne gets less attention than it deserves. There’s a reason. The grape mostly ends up stirred into blends, usually with zippier, herbal roussanne and oilier viognier, its classic sidekicks, and most such cuvées are produced in France, where geographical designations, not vines, tend to take precedence on labels…Richly coloured, even when not subjected to oak-barrel aging, the grape is fleshy and moderate in acidity, with restrained fruit character and delicately floral aromatics. As it matures in bottle—and it can age gracefully for up to 10 years or so—it can assume notes of nuts and honey. Think of it as chardonnay without the ego or pop-star status.”
“Marsanne is typically blended with Roussanne and Clairette. It finds popularity within California, Washington, and Australia for its nutty and sweet spice flavor. Full-bodied, low-acidity, Marsanne maintains relatively a high alcohol and gives aromas of peach, citrus, honeysuckle, and almond. Its surprising minerality adds to its fruity and rich flavoring. Typically designed to be enjoyed young, premium bottles can actually age beautifully up to a decade to improve its taste.”
“[Marsanne wines] are redolent of pears, quince and white peach with nutty and spicy flavors. The color of the wines tend to be deep and rich which deepen with age with a mellic or unctuous mouth feel. The wines can be high in alcohol, uncommon in white wines that haven't been fortified.”
“This is the white workhorse grape of the Southern Rhône and much of Southern France, and widely planted in Australia as well. Marsanne is a sturdy, hardy grape that produces a full-bodied wine – with the heft of a good Chardonnay. Its relatively simple fruity flavors make it a natural candidate for a blending base, though interesting varietal Marsanne can also be produced.”
“Like its Rhône counterpart Roussanne, Marsanne is a hard grape to get right. Extremes of temperature are its main enemies, though it is also susceptible to several common vine diseases. However, winemakers persevere – because the results from a good harvest are simply delicious. Marsanne’s traditional heartland is in and around Hermitage, and it is one of the principal varieties in white Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It has also taken very well to vineyards in Australia, where it arrived in the Yarra Valley via the Swiss retinue of the first Governor of Victoria. Aussie Marsanne often possesses greater citric fruit than its French cousins, with a honeysuckle flavour reminiscent of Viognier. Marsanne wines take well to oak, which results in some very long-lived wines. As time goes by, these wines take on a dark, honeyed color and viscous texture, and gain strong nut and quince flavors.”