Muscadelle Wine Guide: 3 Types of Wine Made With Muscadelle

Muscadelle is an old white grape with origins in southwest France. Primarily used as a blending grape, muscadelle is productive and early-ripening. Its flavor is reminiscent of raisins and other sweet dried fruit.

Muscadelle is a somewhat rare variety of grape, and it’s mostly found in the following areas.

1. 1. France: Muscadelle grows in its home of southwest France and also in the northeast of the country, where it's used in sparkling wine blends.
2. 2. California: In California, muscadelle has long been incorrectly labeled as sauvignon vert. It's grown in small quantities in the Columbia, Sonoma, and Napa Valley regions.
3. 3. Australia: Known as tokay in Australia, this variety was believed to be Hungarian until 1976, when it was identified as muscadelle. The word tokay is a reference to tokaji, the sweet wines of Hungary.

Muscadelle is rarely used on its own, but wines that include the grape in their blends can tend to be moderately acidic, fruity, and aromatic with a grapey, floral aroma similar to muscat (to which muscadelle is not related).

The three most famous fines made with Muscadelle are:

1. 1. White Bordeaux: Muscadelle is one of three grape varieties used to produce both dry and sweet white wines in Bordeaux, France (the other two grapes are sémillon and sauvignon blanc). Most plantings are in Entre-deux-Mers, but even in those appellations muscadelle typically makes up five percent or less of the blend.
2. 2. Monbazillac: Muscadelle blends with sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and sauvignon gris (the same grapes used in Sauternes) to produce this sweet white wine from Bergerac in the southwest of France. Muscadelle takes more of a star role in this wine, which can develop a dried-fruit flavor when aged.
3. 3. Topaque: This wood-aged dessert wine, formerly known as Liqueur Tokay, is produced in Northeastern Victoria, Australia, near the towns of Rutherglen and Glenrowan. It is the most famous Muscadelle varietal wine.

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