Muscadelle

Last month, I wrote about Muscat also called Moscato. Last week I wrote about a grape called Melon de Bourgogne, produced in Muscadet, in the Loire Valley of France. I have received numerous questions about their similarities, of which there are few. I will know open a third door of area of opportunity for confusion by writing about Muscadelle. This grape is grown in Bordeaux, France. It is used most frequently in Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers to add bright fruit to the acidic Sauvignon Blanc, while not adding to the body already present in the Sémillon.

As I have learned recently, Muscadelle can be confusing because it is most commonly a small ratio of a blend, and people would rarely see it as an independent grape varietal wine. However, the Aussies, especially in Victoria often use the grape to make sweet fortified wines which they may or may not label as Muscadelle. So the grape name floats around, where in the old world one would rarely see it labelled by grape. I myself cannot recall a still, dry white, 100% Muscadelle wine to use as an example. I know what to expect in terms of bright fruit, medium acid, green grape aromas by mentally backing it out of blends where it exists, and blends where it does not, also textbooks...

I have had the sweet fortified Victoria, Australia versions, and they are delicious. I will continue to quest for a still white version fermented to dry, probably produced in Washington or California.