red grape · rare
Muscardin
Vaucluse, France
Say it
mew·scar·dan
The name comes from Italian moscardino, linked to musk.
On the palate
floralstrawberryred fruitdelicate spice
How you spot it blind: pale, floral red with lively acidity in southern Rhône blends
The story
First written down · 1895, southern Rhône, France
Native to the Côtes du Rhône in Vaucluse, it was recorded in 1895 among the old southern grapes. After phylloxera it declined because it gives pale, fresh wines and is hard to grow, and by 2018 covered about 16 hectares in France. It survives mainly in southern Rhône blends, with one certified clone (1101) selected and a conservatory planted in 2001.
Where it lives
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France · Gigondas, France · Vacqueyras, France · Côtes du Rhône, France
Shows up as
still redrosé