Wines made from Marsanne grapes of Conthey
Discover the best wines made with Marsanne as a single variety or as a blend of Conthey.
Marsanne is a white grape variety that originated in Montélimar in the Drôme, several centuries ago. Marsanne is also found in Cassis, Savoie, Languedoc-Roussillon and Saint-Péray in the Ardèche, where it produces remarkable sparkling wines. The warm, sunny climate of the Rhone Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, as well as the dry, stony soil, are ideal conditions for its development. Its bunches are quite large and provide small, juicy berries that are sensitive to grey rot and strong winds. These two grape varieties complement each other perfectly: together they give light wines with little acidity, aromas of yellow fruit, white fruit and flowers with notes of honey and liquorice. This is for example what the appellations Saint-Péray, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Côtes-du-Vallée du Rhône, Corbières, or Cassis express... which represent about 700 hectares.
The wine region of Conthey is located in the region of Valais of Switzerland. Wineries and vineyards like the Cave La Tine or the Domaine Fabienne Cottagnoud produce mainly wines red, white and sweet. The most planted grape varieties in the region of Conthey are Pinot noir, Diolinoir and Amigne, they are then used in wines in blends or as a single variety. In the mouth of Conthey is a with a nice freshness.
At a national committee meeting held on Thursday 8th September, members of the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) voted unanimously to ratify the change to the appellation guidelines to allow white wines into AP Gigondas. A working group of growers and négociants has been pursuing the amendment for 11 years. The amendment states that white Gigondas must contain a minimum 70% Clairette. Other permitted varieties include Bourboulenc, Clairette Rose, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blan ...
As one of the largest wine making regions in the world, it is not surprising that the Rhône Valley is home to some exceptional wines and when it comes to deciding on which place to visit, you are spoilt for choice. If you’re thinking of taking a trip, we have listed a few of our favourite village/vineyard sites to help you have an unforgettable experience, while sampling the finest wines. Top vineyard sites for red wines The Southern Rhône produces a wide range of premium wines, with red ...
I’d like to say we took advantage of the lockdown and its related commotion to do a stock-take, explore new avenues, turn over intriguing stones, widen and deepen our drinking, taking careful notes as we went. Sadly, no. I won’t say we got stuck in a rut, but we did tend to stick with comfort wines – and “comfort”, in our case, means familiar. Regular readers of this quarterly column can probably guess the labels on the resulting empties. We have a wider range of comfort foods, I’m afraid, than ...