Marsanne

WhiteVinifera white

Northern Rhone

Almond, pear skin and honeysuckle, full-bodied and low in acid, taking on a nutty richness after a few years.

At harvest

Each bar drawn against the full range of all 54 varieties

Sugar

22-25 Brix

22 - 25

Titratable acidity

4.5-6 g/L

4.5 - 6

3.4-3.7

3.4 - 3.7

Juice yield

0.66 L/kg

free run plus a gentle press

Sugar per kilogram

170 g

at 23.5 Brix, the midpoint

Fruit for 23 litres

35 kg

before racking losses

Potential alcohol

12.9-14.1%

from 1.099 fermented dry. A range, because conversion varies by strain

What it punishes

Low acidity. Marsanne almost always needs tartaric, and blending with Roussanne is the traditional answer.

Made into

Rhone blend
Dry white

Sulphite at this pH

At pH 3.55, protecting a white wine to 0.8 mg/L molecular SO2 takes 45 mg/L of free SO2. Work it out for your own reading.

More vinifera white

21-24 Brix

Chardonnay

Burgundy, and every wine country since

20-23 Brix

Sauvignon Blanc

Loire and Marlborough

19-24 Brix

Riesling

Mosel and Rheingau

21-24 Brix

Pinot Gris

Alsace and northern Italy

21-26 Brix

Muscat

Everywhere around the Mediterranean

22-26 Brix

Gewurztraminer

Alsace

23-26 Brix

Viognier

Condrieu

20-25 Brix

Chenin Blanc

Loire and South Africa