Grape Variety: Marsanne

Colour: White

The rhyme of the ancient Marsanner, wrote Randall Graham, a man who doth occasionally write reams without rhyme, son. (Has he lost his sense of Roussanne?) At its best this variety will stoppeth one in ten. Seen to advantage in Hermitage (where it is often blended with the aforementioned Roussanne), Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Saint-Péray (and with some particularly good Californian and Australian examples) Marsanne produces vinous, occasionally oily whites aromatically redolent of beeswax with suggestions of warm apricot skins, pears and sweet spices. With their relatively low acidity the wines rarely age well. The mineral soils in Hermitage give the grape an extra dimension, a rocky underpinning and aged versions develop interesting secondary notes of almond and quince.

Stephane Montez’s Saint- Joseph Blanc is quite a fragrant style of Marsanne with white floral notes and almost delicate crystallised fruit flavours. Very much in the modern idiom and none the worse for it.

Bourride of monkfish, stuffed squid or zander in a buttery sauce would be good company for many a Marsanne wine but your best Hermitage is reserved for grilled lobster, turbot or roast pork