n.v. Eden Grapes “Gran Marselan” Limited Edition, Cuvée du Centenaire, Vin de France.
This deep garnet 100% Marselan non-vintage red wine starts with a full bodied array of flavors with red currant, plum, earthy cherry and raspberry fruits leading the way with mix of spice, wild herbs, bell pepper, a touch of cedary wood and anise accents. This intriguing wine from the Languedoc, specially crafted at Domaine Mas de Rey is well made and expressive version oof this grape. The brave, audacious and delicious Gran Marselan by Eden Grapes, and founder Christian De Rivel, was crafted to exploit the best individual features of this lesser known varietal, that was originally created by Professor Paul Truel in 1961 in Marseillan. Truel was one of the world’s leading ampelographers in the era, and he was looking to combine the structure and elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon with the disease resistance and rich flavors of Grenache to create Marselan. The quality seemed to be there with Marselan and it goes great in certain climates, but still remains almost unknown in the wine world. This wine is a tribute to Paul Truel and Marselan, also to honor Truel’s 100th birthday, who was born on April 27, 1924, hence the Cuvée du Centenaire on the label and that Eden Grapes decided to make this wine from a range of vintages to give a better representation of the grape. While I, most of the time, am not a fan of multi-vintage wines, I understand what De Rival was trying to do here, to provide a wine that educates as well as pleases the palate, allowing for more dimension and maturity in the glass. To craft this wine, De Rivel sourced the oldest Marselan vineyard in its original location, in the South of France, with 40 year old vines, organically farmed and hand tended, choosing very ripe and carefully sorted grapes. The macerations are done at cool temperatures and the wine each was aged 15 months in used French oak barrels, which were two year old medium toast barriques, with De Rivel painstakingly tasting the barrels to chose the final blend.

The unique French red varietal Marselan, that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache has small berries and was created in 1961 by ampelographer Paul Truel near the French town of Marseillan, where it gets its name. Marselan, which is grown mostly in the Languedoc wine region, as well in the Rhône, plus Israel, it is gaining traction in Italy’s Tuscan Coast, with some plantings now found in the Northern Coast of California. Interestingly, It has also become very popular in China too and I have tried one wine from there that included a percentage of Marselan, which was probably my favorite Asian wine to date. Because of the small berries, Marselan, almost didn’t get to market, but it has made impressive inroads into some regions, where it rarely makes a solo varietal wine, usually it plays a smaller role in blends, which makes this wine even more important, allowing wine lovers a chance to see it purely on its own. The ancient seaport village of Marseillan, which it is believed to have been founded by the Phoenicians, is the oldest village in France, dating back to 600 BC, making it a World Heritage site with many historically significant artifacts and buildings. Located in the Hérault, not far from Marseille, this birthplace of Marselan has a Mediterranean climate and complex soils, making it one of the most interesting under the radar terroirs of the Languedoc, and home to cult favorite Mas de Daumas Gassac, considered the Grand Cru of the Languedoc. De Rivel notes that Marselan was often heralded as the “Grape of the Future” and adds that It thrives where other varietals falter, making it the perfect candidate for organic and sustainable viticulture. He continues that with the challenges posed by climate change, Marselan is a strong contender for the future of winemaking in many places, in fact it is now allowed to be included in areas of Bordeaux, single approval in 2019, though it still cannot be on the label. Just 143 cases were made of this Eden Grapes Gran Marselan bottling and each bottle is individually numbered on the back label, and while this wine may not rock every wine enthusiast, it certainly will appeal to wine geeks that are thrilled with true obscurity in the wine world.
($169 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

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