Marselan is turning out to become China’s key grape variety: a seminar with Marselan expert and Chinese resident Julien Boulard
Julien Boulard (pictured above) presented this session on Marselan. He’s a master of wine based in China, and he did his dissertation on this variety. He’s fluent in Chinese and has been conducting masterclasses in Chinese for the last 15 years. He’s lived here for 22 years, and he’s visited over 100 wineries in China, so he knows what he’s talking about.
There is something special about Marselan in China, he says. There are three grape varieties in China that stand out: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischt and Marselan. Of these three, the only one we can argue is special for China is Marselan.
It was back in 1961 that INRA scientist Paul Truel made a crossing that resulted in Marselan (a cluster of which is pictured above in Garzon’s vineyard in Uruguay) at INRA’s domaine Vassal, which has over 2000 varieties on their own roots. Vassal is based in the village of Marseillan, and that’s where the name Marselan came from. He wanted the thick skin of Cabernet Sauvignon and the yield potential of Grenache, and so he crossed the two and got lucky (you don’t always get parental characteristics when you cross grape varieties). It was registered in 1991, and introduced into China in 2001. The initial Chinese Marselan vineyard bore its first fruit in 2003.
France now has over 5000 hectares of Marselan (which is more than you’d expect), and China had 400-700 hectares (as of 2019, and this is less than you might expect). In France you almost never see Marselan on the label. Now, six years after these data were recorded Julien reckons China has 1000-1200 hectares. People have been uprooting Marselan in the south of France, but it has been planted in Bordeaux where it is now a recognized variety.
In terms of regionality, in Shandong you need 182 days between budburst and harvest, and in Xinjiang you need 146 days. In the shorter cycles, sugar often rises but phenolics lag. An advantage of Marselan over Cabernet Sauvignon is that it doesn’t have pyrazines in the way that Cabernet does, and so if it’s a bit late with phenolic ripeness it doesn’t taste overtly green. And Marselan is much more disease resistant, because of thick skins and loose bunches. This is a strong asset in Shandong, a Chinese region on the coast where it’s frequently damp. Marselan is also compatible with dry and alkaline environments of the inland regions such as Ningxia.
Most of the Marselan in China is planted on its own roots, and vinifera roots don’t suffer too much from chlorosis. Marselan keeps higher acidity/lower pH at the same brix level than Cabernet. One producer harvests Cabernet Sauvignon at 3.8 pH but Marselan is at 3.6. It’s often the only variety that doesn’t need acidifying.
It is a high yielder, with four bunches per shoot, and often a green harvest is needed. But it can yield higher than Cabernet Sauvignon and still make tasty commercial wines.
In the cellar, the biggest challenge is dealing with the seeds, which never get ripe. They are green, and this can lead to astringent tannins. So extraction is key to handling Marselan in the cellar. It can also tend to reduction, so you need to bring oxygen to the must/wine as fermentation progresses. And Marselan has lovely aromatics but can lack structure, so many producers will add tannins to the wine, or use oak chips, or blend. It doesn’t need or like too much new oak.
We tasted six examples.
THE WINES
Longting ‘Lan’ Marselan 2021 Shandong, China
Supple, bright and fresh with lovely sweet berry fruits, showing beautiful balance. It’s ripe but still fresh and not at all over-ripe. Expressive with a core of sweet cherry and berry fruit and a nice grainy structure, finishing fresh. Very stylish. 94/100
Grace Vineyard Tasya’s Reserve Marselan 2021 Xianjing, China
This is chunky and dense with a bit of reduction, and burly but fresh blackberry and cherry fruit, with firm tannins. Grippy with some smoky notes and hints of tar and rubber. Lots of wine here. 89/100
Myst Vineyard Rock Mountain Marselan 2023 Ningxia, China
This is an inexpensive wine (80 RMB). This has some coffee and cocoa smoky toasty oak on the nose with sweet black fruits. The palate has dense, ripe fruit but also lots of charry oak, which is appealing up to a point, but which some will find to be a distraction. The fruit is lovely, though. 89/100
Château Hua Hao Marselan 2017 Ningxia, China
Fresh, vibrant aromatics with juicy berry fruits. The palate is a bit sweet and sour with ripe berry fruits, some sour cherry and good acidity. This is a little astringent on the finish. This isn’t a perfect wine, but it has nice personality. 90/100
Excelcis Ji Hai Marselan 2017 Huailai, China
Lovely fruit here, with nice tannins sitting under the fleshy but well defined berry and black cherry fruit, with nice definition. There’s a pleasant savoury twist to the palate with nice intensity. Has just a little development. 93/100
Domaine Franco Chinois Reserve Marselan 2012 Huailai, China
Nice development here with a core of sweet fruit, showing some chalky notes as well as textured berry fruits, finishing smooth. This is chunky and ripe but also mellow. Drinking really well now. 93/100
This seminar was part of the Wynn Signature Chinese Wine Awards 2025
