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Muscardin is a dark-skinned grape variety primarily found in the southern part of the
RhôneThe Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône river valley and produces numerous wines under various Appellation d'origine contrôlée designations...
region. It is primarily noted for being one of the thirteen grape varieties permitted in the
Châteauneuf-du-PapeChâteauneuf-du-Pape is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. It is the most renowned appellation of the southern part of the Rhône Valley...
appellation. It is a very rare variety, and in 2004 only 0.4% of the appellation's vineyards were planted with Muscardin.
The resulting red wines tends to have high acid levels, low alcohol, light tannic structure but can show attractive flowery aromas. The color is also lighter than most Rhone varieties and the wine is prone to the
wine faultA wine fault or defect is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine often resulting from poor winemaking practices or storage conditions, and leading to wine spoilage. Many of the compounds that cause wine faults are already naturally present in wine but at insufficient concentrations to adversely...
of oxidation.
Relationship to other grape varieties
Muscardin appears to be nearly identical to
Mondeuse NoireMondeuse Noire is a red wine grape that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, and California. The grape was hit hard during the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century which nearly wiped out the vine from eastern France...
except that it has less sensitivity to
downy mildewDowny mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to Peronosporaceae. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of crucifers, grapes and vegetables that grow on vines...
. They are however not thought to be the same variety.