Wine fairs as big as Bordeaux’s VINEXPO can be somewhat exhausting and by 5pm on the last day, after a full week tasting during the sweltering Bordeaux summer, you’re usually ready to get out as quickly as possible and head for a G&T followed by a long nap. “Have you tried the original Tannat?” a French accent volunteered as I scuttled past, making a beeline for the shuttle bus. My badge (it said Wines of Uruguay because of a masterclass I was presenting) gave it away, I am a sucker for Tannat. I’m also a sucker for trying wine varieties that I consider ‘South American’ from wherever they originated in the first place, which coincidentally is often South West France. Uruguayan Tannat and French Tannat from Madiran AOC is one example, Argentine Malbec and French Malbec (or Cot) from Cahors AOC is another, and – as it turns out – there was another French relation of Malbec that I’d never heard of… and it goes by the name of Prunelard.
Prunelard: The long-lost relation of Malbec
“Prunelard is the father of Malbec,” explained Jean Alain from Lionel Osmin & Cie, a wine production company specialising in old vines and oddities from South West France. It was enough to pique my interest, and that meant convincing him to let me take away the bottle for some further inspection. (By this point he was desperate to get home too).
Before phylloxera, Prunelard was thought to have been widely planted in France’s Gaillac region and formed the basis of red wines there. Following the devastation of phylloxera, however, the population of Prunelard vines dwindled and replantings were rare.
It wasn’t until 2008 that it was discovered that Malbec, as grape geneticist José Vouillamoz describes, is ‘a progeny of Magdeleine Noire des Charentes and Prunelard’. Magdelaine Noire des Charentes is a rather obscure grape (and also, interestingly, the mother of Merlot) and Prunelard is just as obscure today. In fact, there are only some 15 hectares of this variety left and, as far as we know, they are mainly in Gaillac.
So finding a bottle of this rare grape is a real pleasure. The 2015 vintage displayed soft, fleshy fruit notes with marked plum aromas. Ripe tannins were mouth-filling but the wine was rather easy to drink. If I tasted this blind, I might well guess it was Malbec.
The similarities aren’t only in the bottle, but also on the vine. The French actually call Malbec by the name of Prunelard Noir in some regions and that’s because there are great botanical similarities. Prunelard vines are also quite low yielding with medium bunches and small berries. Like Malbec, the grapes have a very dark colour and notable purple pigment, the aromas tend towards plum notes, and the wine is usually quite generous in alcohol.
As Malbec continues to storm the world market in its popularity, I wonder if there’s an extra space for its elderly relative on the bandwagon? I’d like to think so.
A taste of Prunelard wine
- Lionel Osmin & Cie, Prunelard 2015
This dark red wine displays soft, fleshy fruit notes with marked plum aromas and in the mouth is juicy, dry and really rather easy to drink. The tannins are ripe and soft and the wine is filling but by no means exhausting. There’s a slightly meaty and earthy note, but this is probably more to do with the winemaking than the variety.
