Marsanne

Marsanne is the workhorse white of the northern Rhône and the easier half of its partnership with Roussanne. It ripens reliably, it crops well, it resists wind and it is far less prone to disease, which is why growers plant more of it even where they admire the other grape more.

The wine is full bodied, low in acidity and richly textured, tasting of almond, quince, honeysuckle and beeswax, with an oily weight that becomes waxy and nutty with age. Picked too late or cropped too high it turns flabby and dull, so the discipline is to pick early and keep the yield down. It is the majority of white Hermitage and white Crozes-Hermitage, and it appears in Saint-Joseph and Saint-Péray as well.

Its second home is unexpected. Château Tahbilk in Victoria, Australia, holds some of the oldest Marsanne vines anywhere, planted in 1927, and Australian Marsanne is a recognised style in its own right: leaner when young, and famous for developing a honeyed, toasty character after ten years in bottle without ever seeing oak.