Weird grape spotlight: Marselan from Bodegas Enguera

This wine blog is in danger of turning into a gushing-about-Spain blog. But it’s hard to deny that Spain is home to many creative, unbeatably-priced wines. Today’s weird grape: Marselan.

Marselan is a 20th century crossing of Grenache and Cabernet that balances the former’s red fruit notes and the latter’s firm tannins and vibrant color. It was developed in 1961 in the town of Marseillan by French ampelographer Paul Truel with the goal of breeding a grape with Cabernet’s structure and Grenache’s heat resistance, ideal for the southern France’s sunny climate.

Marselan never became widespread due to its small berry size and low yields; however, lately, it’s experienced a bit of a global renaissance. In Europe, it’s permitted in a handful of PDO wines, including Bordeaux and Côtes du Rhône, and tends to be used as a blending component rather than a main variety. It’s also used in a handful of European winegrowing regions (including Valencia, the home of the wine I’m about to describe) in PGI wines. Interestingly enough, it’s found an unlikely home as a star player in China.

I found Bodegas Enguara’s 2019 “Megala” being served by the glass at Xanglot in Valencia’s Ciutat Vella (“Old City”) neighborhood, where the waiter was kind enough to let me snap a photo of the bottle.

Grown in the Enguara municipality of Valencia, the wine is a blend of Marselan, Monastrell, and Tempranillo. It features bright red cherry, wet stone, and black pepper on the nose; on the palate, you’ll find bright acidity with earth, bramble, blackberry, and cranberry notes and fine, angular tannins. It’s a steal at €14 retail.

Bodegas Enguera doesn’t seem to export this particular wine to the U.S., but you can find some of the winery’s other offerings at 57th Street Wines in Chicago and D.Vino Wine & Spirits in Brooklyn.