red grape · regional specialty
Marselan
Marseillan, Hérault, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Say it
mar·suh·lahn
Named after Marseillan, a coastal town in Hérault; final syllable carries a French nasal vowel, commonly anglicized to a hard n by English speakers.
On the palate
How you spot it blind: deep color and pronounced aromatics with unusually supple, fine-grained tannins
The story
First written down · 1961, Marseillan, Hérault, France
Created in 1961 by INRA ampelographer Paul Truel at Domaine de Vassal by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon with Grenache Noir; shelved for decades due to small berry/low yield before official French registration in 1990 as quality displaced quantity as the priority.
Family tree: Cabernet Sauvignon × Grenache
Where it lives
Languedoc-Roussillon, France · Southern Rhône, France · Bordeaux (blending, ≤10%), France · Ningxia, China · Xinjiang, China