The Cabernet Franc (clone 623)

Medium budbreak which arrives about ten days before that of Cabernet-Sauvignon.
More vigorous than the Cabernet-Sauvignon.
Sensitive to mildew, to oidium, to black-rot and to botrytis.
Small, spherical berries with a bloom and a bluish black colour, which have fine skin, with a sweet juice which is slightly astringent.
It produces a quality, flavoured wine which is less coloured than that of Cabernet-Sauvignon and less rich in tannins, so its ageing is more rapid.
Ripens during the second period.

Late budbreak, eight to ten days after that of Merlot, Carignan and Cabernet Franc.
Quite vigorous, of erect habit.
Sensitive to oidium, to eutypiose and to excoriose. Equally sensitive to dry periods and to berry-drop when it over ripe.
Good resistance to botrytis, and moderately sensitive to mildew.
Spherical, small black berries which are bluish, with a bloom.
Thick and hard skin with a firm and crunchy flesh which has got a typical flavour.
Astringent taste.
Very good and regular producer.
It produces a very coloured wine which is tannic and requires ageing.
Ripens during the second late period, it arrives one week before that of Merlot and Carignan.

Otherwise known as Malbec, it comes from the region of Cahors.
Early budbreak and ripens during the first late period.
The grapes have a tendency to weep; It is sensitive to mildew and to grey mould.
It produces a wine which is rich in tannins, so it is more supple.

Late budbreak, five days after the Chasselas.
A cross between Black Grenache and Cot.
Its foliage resembles that of Grenache, but it is duller.
Produces a wine of an alcoholic strength which is identical to that of Black Grenache.
Fairly resistant to botrytis.
Quite big, elliptical black berries.
It produces a wine which resembles somewhat that of Black Grenache.
Ripens during the second period, about three weeks after the Chasselas.

The Carignan (clone 66)

Late budbreak .
Erect habit, its branches can easily break in the Spring.
Vigorous and very productive.
Very sensitive to oidium. Equally sensitive to mildew, to berry moth and to botrytis.
Spherical, medium and bluish-black berries with a thick skin and a sweet juice which is colourless with a slightly bland flavour.
With a high production, it produces a low alcohol wine without character, which is often acid.
With a low production , it produces a coloured, well-structured wine which is sligthly astringent.
Ripens during the third late period.

Fairly late budbreak, before that of Carignan.
Moderately vigorous of spreading to semi-spreading habit depending on clones.
Quite delicate grape varietal, sensitive to mildew, to oidium, to eutypiose, to black-rot, to botrytis, to pests, to spider-mites, to wasps, to cicadellidae....and so on
Very productive. If it is possible, this grape varietal should be planted on stony, dry and well-oriented slopes.
Elliptical, big berries which are bluish-black, pointed and with a bloom.
Firm and crunchy with a juicy flesh.
It produces a low-alcoholic wine which is deficient in acidity and in colour.
Used for making blends which must be consumed quickly.
On the slopes, it produces a beautiful red-coloured wine which is supple and mellow with a pleasant scent, which calls to mind almonds and hazelnuts.
Ripens during the second period.

A cross between the Petit Bouschet Noir and the Black Grenache.
Ripens during the early second period.
It has a slightly drooping habit and should be pruned short ( Royal cordon or goblet) because otherwise it exhausts itself quickly.
Sensitive to mildew (on the bunches), bacterial necrosis, excoriose and flavescence dorée.
After the mechanical harvest , you should apply copper-based fungicide.
On the enological level this grape varietal brings colour to the wine ( three times greater than that of Carignan). 

Budbreak, about one week before the Carignan.
Erect habit, vigorous, good resistance to violent winds and to dry periods.
Not too sensitive to oidium, but sensitive to mildew, to botrytis, to berry moth and to excoriose.
Very productive. It produces an excellent wine when it is planted on dry and stony slopes.
Medium, spherical or slightly ovoid berries which are black and with a fairly thick skin.
Melting and fairly abundant flesh, and colourless juice.
In good conditions, it produces a very alcoholic wine which is full-bodied, heady and a beautiful bronze-red colour.
Pure Grenache wine ages quickly.
Its colour quickly becomes oxidized and tends toward madeira-coloured (brownish).
To obtain good wines which can be consumed later, you must blend with other grape varietals.
Ripens during the third period, one week before that of Carignan.

Late budbreak, five days after the Chasselas.
A cross between Cabernet-Sauvignon and Grenache.
Big bunches but small berries so the juice crop is limited.
The Marselan can produce a coloured, typical, and high quality wine which is aromatic, full-bodied, structured and ages well.
The Marselan must be pruned short. It should be trained on a trellis which can support its fairly long branches.
Not too sensitive to botrytis.

Early budbreak, about one week before the Carignan.
Fairly vigorous of  a pendulous habit which must be trained on a trellis.
Sensitive to cold winters and to dry periods.
It prefers deep, rich soils which retain their humidity in summer.
If you don’t respect this, The Merlot will produce small grapes.
Not too attacked by oidium but sensitive to mildew, to botrytis, to berry moth and to cicadellidae.
Spherical, small to medium berries which are blue-black and with a medium thickness of skin, a juicy pulp and a pleasant flavour.
It produces a quality wine with an interesting aromatic potential wine which is mellow, fairly alcoholic and twice as coloured as Cinsaut.
You can drink it young. But you should be careful because wine made from Merlot oxidizes very quickly and you must avoid giving it repeated contact with the air.
Ripens during the second period, 15 to 20 days before the Carignan.

Late budbreak with a long phenoelogical cycle.
Vigorous and of erect habit.
Perfectly happy when planted on south-facing slopes which heat up very quickly.
Fairly sensitive to mildew and oidium but resistant to excoriose and botrytis.
Roots sensitive to winter cold.
Sensitive to lack of potassium.
Small, black, spherical berries with thick skin, melting flesh and a sharp taste.
Produces a highly-coloured alcoholic tannic wine, a little harsh at first, very solid, requiring keeping for several years.
Matures in the third period, one week after the Carignan.

The Portan

A cross between Black Grenache and Portugais Blue.
Early budbreak, at the same time as the Chasselas.
Very vigorous.
Good production.
Preferbly trained on a trellis.
Not too sensitive to botrytis but sensitive to oidium and excoriose.
Almost spherical, black berries.
It produces an alcoholic strength equal to or slightly above that of  Black Grenache.
It is tannic, and should be drink quite soon.
Matures during the first period, several days after the Chasselas.

The Pinot is particularly adapted to temperate zones.
It gives its bests results on chalky, clay soils.
In a hot climat it matures very rapidly, the leaves are sensitive to heat.
The berries tend to wilt rapidly after ripening.
The Black Pinot is generally grown on wires.
It produces its best flavour when well-pruned and when the crop is limited.
This varietal which requires careful disbudding tends to produce a large number of little bunches.

Fairly late budbreak, about one week before that of Carignan.
Medium to good vigour.
Its branches are long and break sometimes because of violent wind.
Must be trained on wires.
Very good production depending on clones.
Sensitive when over-ripe to berry-drop.
Small, ovoid berries of a fine blue-black with abundant bloom; Fine skin but fairly resistant; Melting flesh which is juicy with pleasant taste.
Remarkable, highly coloured wine which is rich in tannins and with a strong aromatic potential.
Nevertheless requires blending with other wines produced for example for the Cinsaut, the Black Grenache, the Mourvèdre.
Requires ageing.
Matures during the second period, 10 to 15 days before that of Carignan.

The Tannat (clone 472)

Fairly vigorous grape varietal which is usually pruned short and must be trained on wires.

The Tempranillo (clone 770)

Fairly vigorous grape varietal. Well-adapted to southern conditions, its shoots are easily broken and sensitive to wind.
Its early character allows one to expand its zone of cultivation (colder climatic zones) or harvest before equinox rains.
Fertile enough to be pruned short.

Early budbreak.
Productive.
Its grapes keep well on the plant.
Sensitive to mildew and to anthracnose.
Medium, ovoid berries which are black and juicy.
It produces a fine, delicate wine which is low-coloured and must be drunk young within the year.
Grape varietal which is mostly cultivated in southeastern France.
Ripens during the second period.

The Marselan

A Cabernet-Sauvignon × Black Grenache cross. Registered in 1991, it has been recommended since 1997.
Its forte is in its organoleptic capacities, together with a production potential similar to Merlot.
According to ICV, wines made from Marselan feature aromatic and taste qualities worthy of a top-of-the-range wine: “the nature and complexity of its aromas (notes of black-pepper, marmalade,
 
liquorice and prune), its power and fullness in the mouth, together with the fined-grained tannins, place wines made with Marselan among the great Mediterranean wines”. They also keep well.
Technically, Marselan is adapted to a wide range of locations. It can even out quality variations between harvests.
Of semi-upright habit. It is robust and very tolerant of botrytis. Remarkably, its foliage is almost never affected by acarids – this might be due to its capacity to harbour typhlodromes (associated with acarids). It is thus important with Marselan to cut anti-flavescence spraying down to the minimum and to use products that are as harmless as possible to preserve natural typhlodrome populations.
Very late budbreak, later than Chasselas.
Marselan can be spur pruned and requires a degree of training on wires as it grows fairly long branches (cordon pruning).Large bunches of grapes, with very small berries, thus with a limited juice yield (160 kg/hl). Marselan allows one to make characteristic, coloured, high-quality wines that are aromatic, full-bodied, structured and age well.

Synonyms : verdau, lambruquet in the Pyrenees.
 
Origin: Very probably from the Bordeaux region.
 
Description: Medium-sized, loose, cylindrical bunches with small, spherical grapes with a bluish- black colour.
 
Aspects of the growth: Slightly late budbreak. Dooping habit with soft, supple branches which are not always long enough.
It is vigorous with low susceptibility to mildew, a little more so to oidium and resistant to botrytis.
Equally sensitive to spider-mites, to grape moth and excoriose.
It is also sensitive to spring frosts and has good resistance to wind, but it doesn’t like dry periods.
It must be planted in sufficiently deep soils and should be trained on wires.
Ripens during the second late period.
 
Clone: only one clone has been recognized: the 400.
 
Wine type: it produces a tannic wine with high concentrations of anthocyanins, well-structured and highly-coloured.
The wine has good keeping qualities (its total acidity level is often high), and takes a long time to develop its bouquet.
These wines would be very usefull in blending with the wines from other grape-varietals.
Is used in a large number of Bordeaux AC wines such as Graves, Margaux, Medoc, Pauillac,
Pessac-Léognan.
Its a recommended varietal in the départements of the Bouches du Rhône, the Dordogne, the Gironde, the Lot and Garonne, the Perenees and in Languedoc-Roussillon.
Liquorice flavour.