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Marsanne ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as grosse roussette. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ermitage blanc or just ermitage), Spain (where it is known as Marsana<ref name="Oxford pg 429"/>), Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
Wine regionsEdit
The grape most likely originated in the Northern Rhône region where it is widely planted today, more precisely in the village and abbey of Marsanne (Drôme). It is a principal component of the white wines from the Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph AOCs. It is the most widely planted white wine grape in the Hermitage AOC, where it is often blended with Roussanne. Along with Roussanne, up to 15% of Marsanne can be added to the red wine of Hermitage under Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) regulations. In the Saint-Péray AOC, it is used for both still and sparkling wine production. In the Southern Rhône, Marsanne is not one of the white grapes permitted in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, although Roussanne is. (In Châteauneuf-du-Pape blends, Clairette blanc adds similar characteristics as Marsanne.<ref name="Oxford pg 429">J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 429 Oxford University Press 2006 Template:ISBN</ref>) It can be found in some white wines from the Côtes du Rhône AOC.<ref name="Robinson pg 235">J. Robinson Vines, Grapes & Wines pg 235 Mitchell Beazley 1986 Template:ISBN</ref> Although Marsanne is mostly made into a dry wine, it is commonly made into a sweet wine in Valais, Switzerland<ref name="Wine Grapes pg 601">Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding, José Vouillamoz Wine Grapes pg 601 Penguin Group 2012 Template:ISBN</ref> and some producers in the Rhône have also experimented with making a dessert-style straw wine with Marsanne.<ref name="Clarke pg 124-125">Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes pg 124-125 Harcourt Books 2001 Template:ISBN</ref>
Outside the Northern Rhône region, Marsanne is also found in Savoie and in the Languedoc where it is often blended with Viognier.<ref name="Clarke pg 124-125"/> It is a permitted grape in the Provence wine of Cassis though it is not widely used.<ref name="Robinson pg 235"/>
Outside FranceEdit
In Australia, the grape was first planted in Victoria in the 1860s. The Victorian vineyard of Tahbilk has Marsanne vines which date back to 1927 and are some of the oldest in the world.<ref name="Clarke pg 124-125"/> In Switzerland, Marsanne is grown in Valais where it is locally known as Ermitage and made into both sweet wines<ref name="Wine Grapes pg 601"/> and dry steely white wines with high alcohol levels.<ref name="Robinson pg 235"/>
In British Columbia and Washington State, plantings of Marsanne continue to increase as producers blend it with Roussanne and Viognier.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Varietal Marsanne from Washington has been shown to have notes of ripe white peach and spiced pear.<ref name="Gregutt pg 53">P. Gregutt "Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide" pg 53 University of California Press 2007 Template:ISBN</ref> In California, the Rhone Rangers movement introduced Marsanne to more consumers in wines that are often blended with Roussanne and Viognier. In Spain there are some plantings of Marsanne in the northeast.<ref name="Oxford pg 429"/> In New Jersey Unionville Vineyards grows Marsanne, Roussanne, and other Rhone varieties. Sommeliers have found that the vintage in relation to the climate has exaggerated effects on Marsanne blends in the United States. In Michigan Domaine Berrien Cellars is the sole non-California member of the Rhone Rangers and pioneered the planting of Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, and Syrah in 1992. Domaine Berrien Cellars credits the success of their award-winning Marsanne and Oak Marsanne varietals to the unique microclimate of the Lake Michigan Shore AVA.
In New Zealand, Marsanne is grown in the East of the North Island. In Gisborne, Doug and Delwyn Bell grow Marsanne which is used to produce the "Allison" Gisborne Marsanne for Coopers Creek.<ref name="CoopersCreek">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In nearby Hastings Marsanne is blended with Viognier and fermented in aged French oak barrels which give a richness and complexity without introducing intrusive oak notes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ViticultureEdit
While not as temperamental as the Roussanne grape, Marsanne is prone to underperform in less than ideal sites. In climates that are too hot, the grape can overripen and produce wine that is very flabby. In places that are too cool, the grape cannot ripen fully and produces wine with a bland and neutral flavor. In order to maintain a high level of acidity, winemakers try to harvest Marsanne just before it hits full ripeness. Some Australian winemakers prefer to let the grape hang longer on the vine to increase the alcohol level of the wine and its aging potential.<ref name="Robinson pg 235"/>
WinesEdit
Marsanne produces deeply colored wines that are rich and nutty, with hints of spice and pear. The wines can be high in alcohol and can be oak aged to develop more body.<ref name="Robinson pg 235"/> As Marsanne ages, the wine takes on an even darker color and the flavors can become more complex and concentrated with an oily, honeyed texture. Aromas of nuts and quince can also develop.<ref name="Clarke pg 124-125"/>
SynonymsEdit
Marsanne is also known under the synonyms Avilleran, Avilleron, Champagne Piacentina, Ermitage, Ermitage Blanc, Ermitazh, Grosse Roussette, Hermitage, Johannisberg, Marsan Belyi, Marsanne Blanche, Marzanne, Metternich, Rousseau, Roussette de Saint Peray, Roussette Grosse, White Hermitage, and Zrmitazh.<ref name="VIVC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>