red grape · rare
Prunelart
Tarn, southwestern France
Say it
proon·lar
Final -d is silent in French; 'prune' rhymes with English 'moon'
On the palate
black plumblackberryblack currantlicoricevioletblack pepper
How you spot it blind: dense plum fruit with firm tannins; paternal parent of Malbec
The story
First written down · 16th century, Tarn, France
DNA analysis (Boursiquot et al., 2009) confirmed Prunelard as the paternal parent of Malbec (Côt); near-extinct by 1988 with only 1 ha remaining, it was revived by Domaine Plageoles after surviving vines were rediscovered circa 1993 in Gaillac.
Where it lives
Gaillac AOC, France · IGP Côtes du Tarn, France · Marcillac AOC, France
Shows up as
still redrosé