Marsanne

Marsanne is a dry, medium to full-bodied white grape best known from France’s Rhône Valley, with ripe pear, peach and melon alongside white flowers, almonds and gentle spice. Rich, rounded and beautifully textured, it’s brilliant with roast chicken, pork, grilled fish, creamy pasta, mushroom dishes and buttery seafood.

Taste:

Rich, rounded and definitely not a lightweight white.

Marsanne is typically dry and medium to full-bodied, with moderate acidity and flavours of pear, peach, melon and sometimes apricot. Expect floral aromas alongside almond, herbs and a subtle mineral character.

As it ages, Marsanne can develop richer flavours of honey, nuts and spice, while oak ageing can add vanilla, toast and an even creamier texture.

It’s generally less intensely aromatic than Viognier and often softer in acidity than many crisp white varieties, giving the wine a smooth, generous feel.

Basically, if your white wine order usually comes with the words "something with a bit more body", Marsanne heard you.

Food Pairings:

Marsanne’s richer texture makes it brilliant with roast poultry, creamy dishes and buttery seafood.

Try it with roast chicken, chicken in a creamy sauce, roast turkey, roast pork or pork chops, particularly with herbs such as rosemary and thyme.

For seafood, pair it with scallops, crab, prawns, lobster, salmon or grilled fish. Buttered prawns, seafood pasta and fish with creamy sauces work particularly well.

Creamy pasta is another easy win. Try chicken Alfredo, mushroom pasta, truffle pasta, carbonara or creamy garlic pasta.

Mushroom risotto, truffle risotto and roasted vegetables are great meat-free options.

For cheese, Brie, Camembert, Comté and Gruyère all complement its rich, nutty character.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy Marsanne, Roussanne is the obvious next stop. The two Rhône grapes are frequently blended together, with Marsanne bringing body and richness while Roussanne can add fragrance and freshness.

Viognier takes Rhône white wine in a more intensely peachy, apricot and floral direction.

Grenache Blanc offers another rounded Mediterranean white, while Chardonnay is worth exploring if rich texture and creamy food pairings are what you love most.

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More About Marsanne:

Marsanne is most closely associated with the northern Rhône Valley in France, where it’s responsible for white wines from appellations including Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph.

It’s frequently blended with Roussanne, a partnership that has become one of the Rhône Valley’s classic white-wine combinations.

Marsanne has also travelled particularly successfully to Australia, where some old vineyards – especially in Victoria – produce distinctive examples capable of ageing for decades.

Young Marsanne can be relatively restrained, but time in bottle can transform it, bringing honeyed, nutty and increasingly complex flavours.

Quiet when young, fascinating with age.

Marsanne is apparently playing the long game.