Muscadelle is a white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

. It has a simple

aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...

of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...

family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between

Gouais blanc Gouais blanc () or Weißer Heunisch () is a white grape variety that is seldom grown today but is important as the ancestor of many traditional French and German grape varieties. The name ''Gouais'' derives from the old French adjective ‘ ...

and an unidentified grape variety.

Wine regions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, it is a minor constituent in the dry and sweet wines of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, such as Sauternes. It rarely makes up more than 10% of the blend, which is dominated by

Sémillon Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC. History The Sémill ...

and

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

. Throughout the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century, plantings of the grape were falling. Some sweet wines from

Monbazillac Monbazillac (; oc, Montbasalhac) is a Communes of France, commune in the Dordogne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also * Monbazillac AOC *Communes of the Dordogne department R ...

, on the other hand, can have a higher proportion of Muscadelle. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the grape is used to make a

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...

, now known as Topaque (formerly Tokay). Those made in the

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

region generally receive considerable aging in hot cellars, leading to a maderised and

oxidative Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

character. A few other Australian wine regions, including the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley ( Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destinati ...

, make similar wines. A few other Australian wineries use Muscadelle to make table wines in a similar way to French wineries. In accordance with an agreement reached with the EU, Australian producers have until June 2020 to phase out their use of the term Tokay, but many have already begun the process, choosing instead the name ''Topaque'' to represent this style. The name, Tokay, convinced some Australian producers that the grape was

Pinot gris Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

(which used to be called Tokay by producers in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

). Others thought the grape might have been

Hárslevelű Hárslevelű (in Hungarian), also called ''Lipovina'' (in Slovak), ''Frunza de tei'' (in Romanian), ''Lindenblättriger'' (in German) and ''Feuille de Tilleul'' (in French) is a grape variety from the Pontian Balcanica branch of ''Vitis vinife ...

, one of the components of the famous Hungarian sweet wine

Tokaji Tokaji ( hu, of Tokaj ) or Tokay is the name of the wines from the Tokaj wine region (also ''Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region'' or ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'') in Hungary or the adjoining Tokaj wine region in Slovakia. This region is noted for its sweet wines ...

. However, it has been proven that Australian Tokay is Muscadelle.

Synonyms

Muscadelle is also known under the synonyms Angelicaut, Angelico, Blanc Cadillac, Blanche Douce, Bouillenc Muscat, Buillenc, Cadillac, Catape, Colle, Colle Musquette, Doucanelle, Douzanelle, Enfin, Guepie, Guilan Doux, Guilan Muscat, Guilan Musque, Guillan, Guillan Musque, Guinlhan Musque, Marmesie, Marseillais, Muscade, Muscadela, Muscadelle de Bordelais, Muscadet, Muscadet Doux, Muscalea, Muscat Fou, Musquette, Pedro Ximenes Krimsky, Raisimotte, Raisin de Musco, Raisinote, Raisinotte, Rousselou, Sauvignon à Gros Grains, Sauvignon Muscadelle, Sauvignon vert, Tokay, Vesparo, and White Angelica.Muscadelle
,

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

, accessed 2010-12-03

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties